We love our pets, they are a part of the family and raise our spirits when we’re down. But the fur! The amount that they can shed and that can appear tangled in our crochet. What to do about this if you’re going to sell what you crochet? Is it possible or will you have endless complaints from your customers?
Can you sell your crochet If you have pets? The short answer is yes, you can. But there are some things you need to take into consideration.
Lots of people have allergies to animals, cats and dogs being the most common but any animal can cause an allergic reaction to someone who comes in contact with the dander. It’s not usually the fur itself that causes the allergic reaction, It’s the dander or the skin particles attached to the fur. So if you’re going to sell your crochet and your pets, the first and most obvious thing you need to do is try and make sure that you keep your yarn away from your pets.
Here’s this and several more tips if you have pets and want to sell your crochet
Keep Pets Away From Your Yarn
The ideal situation is to have your yarn and to crochet your items in a separate room that your pets don’t have access to. I know that’s not always possible, there may not be room in your home to allow this set up. I didn’t have my own crochet room when I was selling what I made and I had a dog, so what I did was to keep my yarn in a set of drawers that I kept closed at all times. I found this to be very effective, and kept my yarn fur free when in storage.
But what about when you get your yarn out to crochet, how do you keep the fur away then?
I recommend vacuuming the area you will be crocheting in before you start work. This will minimise the amount of fur around that can get transferred while you are working. I used a yarn bowl to help as well. Since my yarn wasn’t touching any soft furnishings, it helped to keep my yarn much cleaner. Anything that you can do to minimise the contact of fur with your yarn is definitely to be encouraged and will go a long way to keeping your customers happy.
Inform Potential Buyers You Have A Pet
The other thing I did was to mention my dog on my product listings. I sold my products on Etsy, and on my product listings I had a statement in the description, saying that I had a dog, and as much as I try and keep her for away from my work, a little bit of fur may turn up. Its just a little statement to add to your listings, but it means that you are keeping people informed, so that those who really suffer from.those allergies can decide to avoid your products so that they won’t suffer a reaction.
Most people who don’t suffer allergies don’t mind knowing that the odd stray hair may appear in their hand made product, as long as they know. Customers only take exception when you don’t give them the information.
Some people’s allergies are really quite severe. So you really do need to make sure that you’re given giving people a chance to say no, this product isn’t for me. Its just having the consideration to inform people, and will save you an awful lot of bother down the line.
Careful How You Present Your Pets On Social Media
The other thing to think about is how you present your pets on social media. We love showing off our furbabies, they are part of our families and they always create really good engagement on our social media. But what you shouldn’t do is show pictures of your pets either lying on your yarn, sitting on what you’re currently making or showing them playing with your yarn.
Because if you’ve got a statement in your product description, saying, I try my best to keep my pets away from my yarn. And then on your social media, you’ve got your pet SAT on your yarn or wrapped up in your latest WIP, that’s a complete contradiction and makes you out to be a liar who can’t be trusted – not a reputation that you want.
So make sure you are careful about how you show your pet interacting with your yarn and products. I would even avoid showing them with your own personal supplies that you are fine with them snuggling up to, as your customers may only see the picture and jump to conclusions without ever reading the post caption. Your business page is all about promoting your brand image, so you need to make sure everything posted on there makes you look professional at all times
But that doesn’t mean you should never post pictures of your beloved pet, after all it’s also a great way to make your customers aware that you have a pet, just don’t show them all over your yarn or all of your crochet as it’s it’s not a professional look. It can come off as quite disrespectful to your customers if they are lying all over what you’re making. So just be careful what you’re posting.
Remove As Much Fur As Possible
The other thing to think about is how do you remove fur. There are times during the year when there is more fur around the usual. I have two Huskies now- I did not sell what I made when I had my huskies and I certainly wouldn’t now because the amount of fur that comes off these dogs is incredible. When they’re moulting, I feel like I’m living in a fur factory.
I could not sell what I make with huskies if I did not have a separate room that they couldn’t get into. So this is where you may have to rethink things a little bit. If your pet gives off an awful lot of fur then selling what you make may not be a viable option for you, because you simply cannot get rid of that much fur or avoid it having contact with anything you are making or using.
I stopped selling what I made a while ago, I now create patterns instead. And when I’m taking the pictures from my patterns, I have to remove the Husky hair to make sure I’ve got a fur free picture. It really is that bad at times – if you’ve got a husky, you know what I’m talking about. They are just fur machines. But when I was selling what I made, I had a lovely Border Collie called Meg and she didn’t shed nearly as much, but there was still fur about. Before I packaged up what I made, I would always give everything a shakeout to try and remove as much fur as possible.
To Wash Or Not To Wash
But I didn’t wash my finished products, the reason for that is that you can be adding another allergen. Some people are allergic to detergents. So I could end up not only sending them the dog dander, I could end up sending them something else they are allergic to in the detergent I used. So I tended not to wash what I made. And just tried to make it as clear as possible that I had a dog and it was possible that fur was going to turn up even though I would try my absolute best to get as much fur off as possible. But it’s not guaranteed.
Honesty Is The Best Policy
Awareness is the best thing possible. Most customers are fine when they see that declaration. And it just means if they are allergic to pets that they can make sure that they give everything a wash before they use it. Which is another reason why you should always include the care instructions in your product listing so that if someone is allergic to pets, or if they think they may be allergic to whatever the yarn may have been washed in, that they know how to take care of it as soon as it arrives. So I would always list the care instructions as well in your product descriptions, so they know it can be easily decontaminated.
Giving your customers as much information as possible, protects you as well. Because if a customer takes exception to having an allergic reaction when they’ve just used your product for the first time, they can get very upset.
They may see your lack of information, not as a lack of thought that it could be an important piece of information, but as covering it up, of deliberately hiding it to try and increase your sales. So it’s always better to include as much information as possible. So you can avoid these situations. It protects you and it informs your customer.
So yes, you absolutely can sell your crochet if you have pets. Just make sure that you keep your customers as informed as possible. And keep your pets away from your yarn and your crochet as much as you possibly can.
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