5 years on Etsy

February, 21st marks my Etsyversary! My shop has changed a lot through the years! 

First item sold: kntited pillowcase with cable pattern

First 3 Stockings

Year 1: Within 5 minutes of hearing about Etsy, I opened my shop. I had one (badly-photographed) aran cardigan, beautiful and way too cheap! Later on I listed baby booties, leg warmers, socks and pillow cases that I knitted. I sold nothing for 4 months. Finally got some orders for pillow cases (with aran patterns, all kinds of colours and sizes), most were custom orders. Got into personalized Christmas stockings and sold a few around my first Etsy Christmas, way too cheap, although they weren't as good as they are now.









Year 2: Custom pillow cases took off! Had to go yarn shopping every week (yeah, such a chore), because everyone wanted a different colour and lots of yarn goes into them. I realized I wasn't charging enough but kept going. Around Christmas time again Christmas stockings were popular. I raised my prices. I offered more choices on colours and patterns. Sold more than I could make, ran out of time, customers had to wait a long time.

More colours, more patterns

Year 3: Found my niche: Personalized knitted Christmas stockings. I wasn't giving any discounts before Christmas. I stopped doing the pillow cases. I offered more choices for Christmas stockings: More patterns, more sizes, more colours, pure wool and acrylic yarn.

Popular Christmas Stockings

Year 4: My out of season discount was still quite high and I had a waiting list I was working on well into the time new orders started rolling in. I started creating knitting patterns. I changed my shop name to SantasSockCentral.

Lots of large stockings

Year 5: Last year. Out of season discount went down to 10% and I finished the waiting list by August. Success! I created more knitting patterns. Promoted on Instagram and Twitter. Started an email list of customers.










https://www.etsy.com/shop/SantasSockCentral

Christmas Stockings - Creating Memories

Christmas conjures up soothing memories - the scent of pine and cinnamon, the crackle and warmth of a fire, and time-honored traditions that thrill hearts young and old in equal measure. One of the most delightful of these traditions is the Christmas stocking. Whether your family dives into stockings bursting with treats the night before Christmas or early in the morning before the main event, the hanging of empty stockings always elicits a tiny thrill of expectation. 

Wool Christmas Stockings

Stockings are the perfect place for the most personal of gifts: little trinkets that remind our beloved ones of the best things in life often find themselves tucked neatly in the toe of a knit sock. Capture the spirit of this tradition with a traditional Christmas stocking personalized for your family.

Personalized Christmas Stockings

Now accepting orders for 2016, out of season discount available until May 2016 (or a small stocking for cat or dog as my gift): Santa's Sock Central on Etsy

Set of 6 Knitted Christmas stockings

I got a great order for 6 personalized knitted Christmas stockings last month, I like everything about them:

Personalized Knitted Christmas stockings by Santa's Sock Central

These 6 stockings are extra large: 29" long and 8.5" wide. Each stocking repeats 3x a smaller pattern (hearts, snowflakes and trees). I was also able to include the diamond pattern at the foot.

I enjoyed knitting these

I made a mistake as well, but caught it in time to be fixed: The Santa heads were supposed to be blue on white, the first time I made them white on blue. 

Mistake fixed! 

They are really quite big, here held by a fully grown person (me):

Big Christmas stocking

I got the official order on 10th August, finished them on 7th September. There were a few smaller orders I was working on at the same time, but this was my main project. In September till November a set of 6 would take me longer (I would have more orders at the same time). I exchanged about 75 messages with the buyer. 

Very happy with the result

To order a set of (or just one) personalized knitted Christmas stockings, please contact me via my Etsy shop: Santa's Sock Central

February - and swamped with orders...

Well, it's not so bad. Nobody is in a big rush to get their Christmas stockings at the moment. But I'm still knitting 3 orders at the same time, all for 4 or 5 stockings. I have finished 2 orders in the new year, these four:

These are pure wool (Donegal Tweed), a few new colour combinations, each one is different, but they are still clearly a set. 

And for these two I had to make up a fox and an owl pattern, which took ages again. I test knitted each pattern in a smaller stocking, originally the fox hat a long tail as well, but the customer preferred the foxes matching the owls, two each side, both so cute. 










10 % out of season discount is still available (for orders received by May 2015), my shop on Etsy: Santa's Sock Central

1 month until Christmas

I'm making good progress on my Etsy orders. Every promised stocking for 2014 has been shipped. Like every year I got a few more orders of people who I can't promise a delivery in time for Christmas. If I get them shipped in the next two weeks or so they might still arrive in time. 7 more Christmas stockings to go, 2 of which are small ones, 2 almost finished and 3 might be cancelled because the customer has disappeared. 

set of 3 all different main colors

Christmas stocking with hearts and polka dots

On instagram I'm hosting a giveaway: Simply follow me and comment on one of my photos which Christmas stocking you would like to win. Winner will be drawn on Dec 9th, 2014. So far there are 18 entries, so the chances are good. http://instagram.com/santas_sock_central


Find me on etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SantasSockCentral

Finished Christmas Stockings and a new crochet project

Last weekend I finished 4 orders. 

Reindeer and Snowflake in pure wool

Purple with grey with cute little ones

Each one a different colour heel

Set of 5, took about 3 months. 

As a reward I also continued on my crochet blanket. It will have stripes of different patterns. I see a lot of them on the internet, but I'm not following a pattern (just patterns for the different squares). I also want to do stripes and some sort of horizontal stripes. And maybe something really simple, like squares in one colour. I don't want airy patterns, these are pretty solid so far.

Christmas stockings & patterns are for sale in my Etsy shop (but no more custom orders for 2014): Santa's Sock Central

Knitting Week 42

Last week I've been busy again, finished 2 orders (basically finished). 

From left to right:
- set of 5 stockings (4 done)
- Emily stocking with snowflakes, now finished
- new colours stocking just started in the middle
- Purple stocking with smaller stocking
- 2 wool stockings finished (the turtle!)

Here's a better shot of this week's finished stockings:

Turtle! Christmas stocking, because I can! 

Snowflake Christmas stocking

Orders are now for 2015 in my Etsy shop: Santa's Sock Central