Hi everyone! I was wondering if there’s a way to tell if a knit hat (for instance) in a shop or street vendor is handmade or mass produced? Also, how fundamentalist are you in purchasing the two? Do you even buy stuff you didn’t make?
Old Skool
P.S. I’m “Ribbing the Cuff!!” Puts on my Proud face!
I do buy stuff I didn’t make. I wouldn’t make a sweater with lace or even fingering weight for instance. Too much work on tiny needles so I’d buy that for sure. I probably wouldn’t buy a hat or scarf though because those area easier.
Well, because its hand made and not mechanically precise, the stitches will never be 100% exactly the same like they look when machine knit.No offense to knitting by hand of course; obviously I love it. I think the slight unevenness of the stitches are wabi-sabi.This is why I love DIY.
It really depends for me what I buy.I tend to stay away from anything mass produced because I like a unique wardrobe.Stores don’t tend to just sell stuff I like either.A lot of the crafts I take up, I do because the store bought version is expensive.I really wanted a Victorian corset a couple years ago and looked at the prices,then made my own.
As for handmade items, I only buy from street vendors.If I can make something and I find it in a small shop, I make my own.I realize these people still need business and luckily I have a lot of friends that aren’t quite as crafty who I can recommend these places to 
I couldn’t agree with meow more!
To tell if something is handmade or mass-produced I would look at the seams. Mass-produced sweaters and things tend to be cut out of large pieces of flat machine knitting and then sewn together with a sewing machine. Hand-seaming will look different. Or you could look at the size of the yarn. Look at a T-shirt, or underwear, or a commercial sock. No one could knit with yarn that small, you’d need like 000000000 needles. :teehee:
I have scads of sweaters I’ve bought at the store. I don’t have enough talent to knit them, but I appreciate that someone, somewhere had to, then wrote out a pattern or program for a machine to reproduce. But, I have been known to incorporate things I see in mass produced goods into my own projects.
That is funny you say that…I wanted to get stuff that I couldn’t find, or couldn’t find to my satisfaction in the stores. For me it was all about finding what I thought was authentic looking Harry Potter Gear. And although it is probably widely available in England, it is not in Canada. So, I started making my own!
I will usually buy stuff in the store that I can’t make my self. I am not a seamstress, so anything regular cloth, or leather, or anything of the like I will buy. If I see something that catches my eye sweaterwise (usually a bulky knit) I pass it buy, cause I would feel prouder if I made it myself. I tend to shun scarves/hats/mitts that I don’t make myself, and fall/Spring I am only wearing socks I have turned out myself. Once the weather gets warmer, I need to be in a lighter sock!