Knitted Dog Sweaters –What Type are you Looking for?
The Low-Down on Choosing Dog Sweaters & Cable Knit Based on Price and Quality
Knitted dog sweaters are ‘all the rage’ and available everywhere
online from
small boutique stores to large, big-box retailers. With such a range in
availability, it’s essential to know what dog sweaters & cable you’re looking
for and on what basis. With this in mind, here is the low-down on choosing knit
doggy sweaters based on price and quality with associated purchasing options.
Price:
To determine a pooch jersey’s price, there are typically a few major factors:
cost of goods, labor, brand awareness and distribution. Cost of goods pertains
to the price the knitter paid for the yarn and embellishments. Labor is always a
large factor because there’s a big difference between someone carefully knitting
the dog sweater by hand and a machine winding the garment together within
minutes. Brand awareness is always built into the cost because people pay for
what they perceive a brand to be worth. In other words, if brand and its
associated products project high quality and attention to detail, people will
pay accordingly. Finally, distribution is factored into the price of items like
crochet dog jackets to account for whether or not the goods had to be negotiated
through a ‘middle-man’, sent halfway across the world to reach the store, etc…
Ultimately, when buying a knitted pooch poncho or
custom dog coat of any kind,
it’s wise to keep remember these guide-posts so you can make the call as to
whether or not you perceive the price to be expensive, cheap, or worth it.
Quality:
In many cases quality can be subjective as sometimes people choose to put less
emphasis on quality when other factors rank higher. One such example is value as
it relates to quality and price. In other words, if someone sees a cute yet
low-quality dog sweater for $2, they may consider it due to the perceived value.
From a practical point of view, high or low quality dog jumpers will often
contain the following distinctions:
• Quality of material used
• Knitting style (ie –tightly woven or loose loops)
• Hand-made or machine constructed
• Type of pattern –complex or simple
• Manner in which final product is sewn together
• Machine washable or dry-clean only
Options:
With price and quality in mind, there are a number of options in the land of
canine capes and sweaters. For ease, these options have been broken down into
categories:
Luxury knit sweaters – High-end, well-made knit sweaters can start at $100 and
go up from there –especially if you’re looking into the haut-couture brands.
However, a saving grace for the pooch who'll only wear fabulous designer
outfits is that Nicole Miller has a series of well-priced dog garments available
at petco.com .
Value and price-sensitive knitted doggy duds – This middle ground is likely the
biggest market when it comes to dog sweaters. Droves of smart-looking dog sweaters can
be found at larger online retailers for great prices –especially if you buy in
the off-season.
Do-it-yourself – If you’re adventurous enough to knit on your own,
many dog sweater patterns exist on the web and at
fabric stores . There are lots
of free patterns to choose from on the web, but if you’d rather buy a pattern,
they can be found for $2 to $15.
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