KUALA LUMPUR - From being a hobby she picked up after completing school 27 years ago, Noorhafizah Hamid has skilfully transformed her interest in knitting into a source of income.
The mother-of-one from Pekan, Pahang, also swears by the therapeutic benefits of knitting, saying it instills a sense of tranquillity in her and serves as a powerful stress deterrent as well.
Noorhafizah, 45, has come a long way since learning the basics of the craft from her elder sister. Over the years, the homemaker has knitted over 1,000 items, having enhanced her skills with the help of YouTube tutorials and Pinterest
She is currently focusing on creating more saleable products such as handbags, water bottle holders, beach hats, blankets, kopiah (skullcap) and amigurumi (the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed toys and other things out of yarn) items, which she markets under her brand name Izariecraft Handmade.
Given that knitting is an art requiring significant levels of concentration and patience, her hobby cum business has taught her to be meticulous in all her endeavours, according to Noorhafizah.
"I’ve also observed knitters in countries like Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Thailand create designs and products that are more up-to-date,” she told Bernama, adding the overseas market for knitted products seems more promising than that of Malaysia in terms of value and prospects.
CHALLENGING
Noorhafizah showcases and sells her skilfully-knitted handiwork through her Instagram, TikTok and Facebook accounts, with the prices of her most sought-after product, handbags, ranging from RM80 to RM250 each. Her other fast-selling items include kopiah, priced at RM25 (children’s size) and RM40 (adult), and amigurumi keychains (RM15 to RM60 each depending on the size) and toys (over RM60 each).
Each month, she is able to knit 10 to 20 bags, 50 pieces of kopiah, and 20 to 30 small and five large amigurumi keychains, netting an income of about RM2,500 from the sales.
It takes her about a week to knit a handbag, depending on its size and shape, and two days to complete an amigurumi toy. As for water bottle holders and kopiah, she needs only a day to knit each one of them.
"Bags and amigurumi items are particularly challenging to knit because they have specific patterns, so I’ve to focus intently when knitting them. Some bags will have to be fashioned to the specific requirements of my customers... I also have to provide linings for the bags if the customers want them.
"Knitting amigurumi toys can also be very trying especially when I’ve to meet the requests of customers who seek perfection. This is why the emotional factor plays a significant role whilst knitting,” she said.
For her knitting, Noorhafizah uses Chinese and Indonesian PP (polypropylene) yarns as well as PP spring yarn, all sourced from local suppliers.
"A lot of yarn is used especially when knitting bags... two balls of yarn are needed to knit a bag,” she said.
She added that to create an eye-catching handbag, colour combination is crucial.
"Usually, to achieve a more elegant look, red is paired with black while brown is paired with emerald green,” she said, adding she has had her share of bitter experiences in the past when dissatisfied customers requested her to redo their orders.
CLASSES
Noorhafizah also conducts private knitting classes on Telegram and Facebook. So far, she has conducted 20 online classes with 50 to 100 people participating in each session. She does not set any duration for her classes and also leaves it to the participants to decide how much they want to pay her.
"Depending on how committed they are to learn knitting, a person can pick up the skill within a month,” she said.
Noorhafizah’s future plans include opening a handicraft shop complete with facilities to conduct knitting classes, either online or face-to-face.
"The classes are important, especially for homemakers who can earn a living by knitting (and selling their products) and need not be too dependent on their husbands or families,” she said.
Homemaker Norliza Ghazali, 35, who lives in Kuala Lumpur and took up knitting only three months ago, told Bernama so far, she has made and sold 13 handbags.
"I earned RM500 from that,” the mother-of-two said happily, adding, "Now I’m getting orders to knit five to eight bags every month. Other homemakers like me can also earn some pocket money from knitting.”
She hopes to produce other knitted products as well as encourage others to take up knitting.
Norliza said she finds knitting "a welcome relief” after dealing with the antics of her two daughters, aged eight and five, all day.
"When I hold the knitting needles, I feel a sense of relief... in fact, it’s like an addiction now. But I must admit my patience was tested when I first started to learn to knit. Each time I made a mistake, I had to unravel the whole thing.
"But each time I produce a perfectly knitted piece, it makes me feel incredibly happy and joyous,” she said.
She also said using the wrong knitting technique can also cause cramps in one’s fingers, making it painful to even straighten them.
"But the discomforts disappear when I attain customer satisfaction. When my customers praise my handiwork, it elevates my spirit and I pursue my (interest in) knitting with even more enthusiasm,” she added. - BERNAMA