Making (or commissioning) Christmas gifts—please post here

If you’re available to create custom items this fall/winter, please let us know here. Please describe your offerings in as much detail as possible so that readers and potential buyers can get an idea of what you offer.

If you’d like to commission a custom item for Christmas, you can either post here in this thread or contact a suitable vendor directly.
 

So that means I can pick out something, post it here, and then hopefully someone will come along and make it for me?
Hmm, actually a nice idea.
What’s the advantage over things you can just buy in a store?

So, theoretically, could I order 10 pairs of socks made with extra-itchy wool for my mother-in-law?
Since she otherwise “gifts” the whole family with extra-itchy socks, we could, just this once, throw some socks back at her.
Maybe even made from a material that wrinkles easily, so she has something to iron.

This isn’t a serious request. She just really got on my nerves again last week, but even a mother-in-law has to get a Christmas present. Liqueur chocolates should do the trick, too. She’d just end up complaining about any kind of socks anyway, as long as they weren’t knitted by her personally. :-)
 

Well, you’re quite something. ;)
Still, a warm welcome to our community.

It’s true :-)
Thanks for the welcome.

I’m happy to take on knitting commissions. Some of my knitting patterns are available here at crazypatterns, so if you can’t or don’t like to knit yourself, you can also order the designs from me. But of course, I also accept commissions for other patterns—they don’t have to be mine. If you need something for Christmas, though, you should inquire as soon as possible; experience has shown that things get really tight starting in late October.

@fashionworks
This totally surprises me—I had no idea things would get so busy as early as the end of October.
I clearly completely underestimated the demand for custom-made handcrafted items.

May I ask what kinds of items you make for your customers?
If that’s too nosy, I’ll of course withdraw the question.
So, are we talking about socks, sweaters, scarves, etc.?
Are these gifts, or do the customers keep them for themselves?

I’d always naively assumed that for custom handmade items, people would turn to a grandma or aunt, if they have one. But not many people have mastered handicrafts at a professional level these days.

By the way, I think your patterns on crazypatterns are really pretty—they’ve got style. It’s a nice change from those garishly colorful crocheted hats you see everywhere. Nothing against crocheted hats—you can always use them. But with your work, you can really see that handicrafts/crochet don’t necessarily have to be rustic.

@muetzekatze:
Yes, this is simply based on experience. I’ve been active online with my knitted items and patterns for four years now, and every time before Christmas I end up short of time. Sure, a hat or a loop scarf is quick to knit, but I often get requests for sweaters or jackets as well. Or like last year: one customer wanted hooded scarves for her whole family, which consisted of 7 people. Then it simply becomes a time issue, and unfortunately I have to turn down further requests (sometimes I’m already annoyed that my day only has 24 hours too). So if you submit your request by mid to late October, you’re still on the safe side.

And of course, thank you for your compliment - of course knitted items don’t have to be frumpy! However, they sometimes seem that way if cheap material is used. Just choosing a high-quality yarn can make a sweater look completely different. That’s why there’s no acrylic in my items, and I’ve noticed that many people have started to appreciate that again. Of course, with my patterns everyone is free to choose the material. But my motto is always: better to spend a little more on the material than to be annoyed after the first wash. After all, the work is the same.

Has the 2013 Christmas business gotten off to a good start?

I’m interested in that too. Is it going well?

The ladies are all very busy with the patterns and making the items, so they can’t reply at the moment.

Well, it’s nice when the ladies are so busy that they don’t have time for this thread anymore.

That’s right—things are slowly getting started. Two hooded scarves are currently in the works. My Facebook post has had an impact, and a few people are making sure the items will be ready in time for Christmas. However, I’m not getting any inquiries at all via Crazypatterns, which is why I have to admit I’m not here on the forum very often. But a platform like this just takes time, so I’ll just wait and see what else comes up.

It’s a shame you haven’t had many inquiries through crazypatterns yet — I really would have wished that for you.

Hi, ladies :)
I’ve heard from several sources that Christmas sales this year—in general, not just for handmade items—are off to a very slow start. Are people now buying everything online or at big online retailers like Amazon or Zalando, etc.?
Downtown yesterday—Saturday—wasn’t as crowded as you’d expect on one of the Saturdays leading up to Christmas.
The Christmas market is already open—I was almost about to grab one of those delicious bratwursts—but I decided against it in the end.
Maybe the Christmas rush is already in full swing elsewhere, but around here, nothing’s happening.
Even at work (in an industry that’s usually extremely busy before Christmas), things are pretty quiet.

What’s it like where you are?