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Hobby to Hustle: How Knitting Got Monetised | Craft, Money and Power Part 2

All Homesteading

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This is Part 2 of my series 'Craft, Money and Power' where I explore the relationship between Craft, Culture and Identity Politics.

If you like what I do, Ko-Fi tips go a long way to help these videos possible: https://ko-fi.com/allhomesteading

Resources & Further reading/watching for this episode.

Books:
The New Politics of the Handmade, Anthea Black & Nicole Burisch
Useful Work Versus Useless Toil - William Morris

Articles and Essays:
Trade In Medieval Britain https://www.worldhistory.org/article/...
How Hobbies Changed The Home https:// daily.jstor.org/how-hobbies-changed-the-home/
The Tyranny Of The Algorithm: Why Every Coffee Shop Looks The Same https://www.theguardian.com/news/2024...
Knit Is A Four Letter Word https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/...
Capitalism Is Dead. Now We Have Something Much Worse. https://www.theguardian.com/world/202...
World’s Top 1% https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releas...

Watch:
Fabric of Britain, BBC Fabric of Britain - 1 Knitting's Golden A...
Spies, Socks and Soldiers, Shannon Makes Spies, Socks, & Soldiers // The Fascinatin...
How to Improve Capitalism How to Improve Capitalism
How to Fix the Gig Economy How to fix the gig economy - BBC Newsnight
Unemployment surges Unemployment surges to 5.2% - UK youth hi...

20 Comments

@AllHomesteading Creator 4 months ago Pinned

If you like what I do and want a way to support me, you can shop my zine bundles here: https://ko-fi.com/allhomesteading/shop

@thinkinghandspodcast 7 months ago

I so appreciate how simultaneously serious and funny this series is (I particularly enjoyed Karl's cameo). Thanks for another great video!

@amsewcrafty 7 months ago

Yes!Yes! Thank you for this video. You expressed the exact reason why I don’t make things for other people when they say “ Make me a sweater, a scarf or sew me a bag I will pay you”. They are all my hobbies and I want it to remain that way. I feel stressed when ask to make these things for money, I will make things as gifts for people who understands and appreciates the time and energy that goes into the making. The side hustle brings to much stress for me.

@MissMEhere 7 months ago

Another aspect of why monetizing hobbies may seem so attractive is because we actually see the “finished project” of our efforts. Whereas in an office job, you don’t usually get to see where all of your time and energy goes to. This is also why we tend to not feel a lot of satisfaction in our jobs.

Another great video! Watched it while crocheting a summer cardigan. 😊

@AlecStory 7 months ago

I love the way you talk about this stuff. Please keep pointing out the contradictions in our hobbies!

@jenniferschacker9996 2 months ago

This is really brilliant! So happy to have discovered your channel. As someone who has been knitting since the 1980s, I truly appreciate your analysis and celebration of “invisible” crafting (even if that represents just one corner of each person’s creative life).

@gadgetgirl02 7 months ago

I admit I took a big step back from "stitch n bitch" sessions because I got sick of the peer pressure to buy the latest yarn and the latest patterns, especially if the get-together was being held at a yarn shop. If the event was at a yarn shop, of make a point of waiting on a new purchase until the event day, just to be polite and show I appreciated the shop providing the space. But a lot of the time I wound up getting yet another skein of sock yarn that I didn't actually need, and it adds up. Then there are the people who are constantly at the events, and majorly buying things, but they never seem to make anything. I've heard way too many jokes about how shopping is their real hobby to feel comfortable with it.

Bravo for getting such a heavy-hitter celebrity on the video (Karl).

@SoftlySubversive 7 months ago

These are excellent ideas, well-expressed. Thank you.

@mayajarrad6195 7 months ago

My econ brain loves this breakdown.

...and also gets in the way of me starting hobbies. I'm constantly calculating "this isn't worth my time" even before I start. How miserable is that!

@michelecraig9658 7 months ago

This series is very fascinating and I love that you pull William Morris in, as he was also mucking around in this space of monetizing handcraft.

@jas3277 7 months ago

Amazing video! I have been loving your content in the short time I’ve been watching. Grateful to have found you

@mechitalabonita 7 months ago

As I was getting into my knitting journey, I decided very early on I would not ever monetize/knit for profit because I knew my efforts/time/skills would always be undervalued and I wouldn’t be able to have this sacred space of creativity for myself. I’ve also learned that I cannot share my makes and projects with everyone in my social circle because some people will instantly ask for said item for themselves without being able to share in my joy of something I made. Thank you for your thoughts, time, and effort to cut through the crapitalism!

@emilylarson1603 7 months ago (edited)

I really appreciate you pointing out that rest is even monetized for content by having B-roll footage and vlogs of leisure activities. I hadn't made that connection, and it was kind of shocking to me honestly. It has sparked some reflection for me in the kind of content I consume for sure. Thank you for another lovely one!

@gradstudent1011 7 months ago

Great essay. The internal struggle that appears to be happening when you say the spiel about subscribing to your channel is palpable, and it calls back how I feel about the prospect of going back to the corporate world after grad school.

@thistlepatch 7 months ago

chilling making myself a nice little hat and you hit me with the techno-feudalism bit and i realized you were right

@EsmereldaPea 7 months ago

Thank you! I've enjoyed creating and have been thinking a long time about monetising by making patterns of what I create. This has given me a lot of food for thought!

@goswamigeeta 7 months ago

Appreciate your content.

@mary-annhall8926 7 months ago

So glad you´re making videos again. A breathe of fresh air!

@drth8989 6 months ago

I really enjoy your videos! I recently started a knitting substack that I keep free because I don’t want to monetize my hobbies, but hustle culture is always try to find it’s way to the front of my mind. Thank you for making me reflect on these things

@cosydow 7 months ago

Totally agree! Hobbies are there for fun and relaxation, not to mention the enjoyment etc. I loved baking. I opened a tearoom/coffee shop where everything was home-baked, fresh, on the premises. On selling said business, can you guess how much baking I've done since? Killed my hobby. I do all sorts of crafts, including knitting, crochet, etc, etc, but I won't be doing it as a business. Apart from the fact that folks want everything for nothing, and expect you to pay for the stuff needed to magically produce the outcome that they don't appreciate and are happy to want discounts without having paid a penny, why would I want to do that 🤔
Brilliant series, love it so far!