Lately, I’ve been a little fascinated by the yarn clubs I keep hearing about. I thought I’d take a cruise around the internet and take a look at a couple of them:
YarnBox: This is interesting! There are three plus subscription levels and several single-month options. For $35.95/month for six months, you can treat yourself to two full-size skeins of luxury yarn, 2 patterns, pattern coupons and designer profiles. $39.95 gets you a single month subscription, which is great for those who’d like to try it out before making a 3 or 6 month commitment. Other single-use options include the “Luxe” package at $69.95 which includes handcrafted extras, and the “Sock” package (a great value at $19.95), which includes one or two hand-dyed skeins of sock yarn. There are some really attractive gift subscriptions as well and I like that the yarns are not brand-specific. The only drawback here is that there are no examples of past boxes to peruse and no mention of which yarn companies might be participating. A girl would just have to throw caution to the wind and order the $39.95 one-off.
YarnClub.net: Oooh! Look at this pretty little “Awesome Box”, a cute crate that comes packed with goodies. YarnClub partners with artisans all over the US with the mission of delivering unique yarns along with handmade knitting tools and accessories. What a great idea! The boxes are available for purchase one at a time rather than by subscription which means there is no commitment and no upfront fees. The boxes, themed according to season, range between $85 – $100. The website is rich with examples of past boxes and videos detailing the contents of current boxes, such as the Winter Wonderland box featured in December. It included two luxury skeins by Yarn Circus and some really top-notch swag like a laser-etched needle gauge in the shape of a snowflake, Lavishea lotion bars and handmade stitch markers pretty enough to be jewelry. And 1 in every 100 boxes contains a special bonus gift, in this case, a hand-wrought silver tapestry needle by Celtic Swan Forge. What a gorgeous gift idea!
Blue Moon Fibre Arts Rockin’ Sock Club: This was one of the first sock yarn clubs with some very loyal devotees. For $297 paid up front, you’ll get delivered to your door every other month: a sock length (about 405 yards) of Socks That Rock light weight or medium weight in a unique, exclusive colorway, 2 fancy-schmancy designer sock patterns, Notorious Sock Knitter mini-skeins (doesn’t say how many or what size), stitch markers, buttons and an NSK bumper sticker AND a 15% off coupon. You can save a few clams by choosing the ‘PDF only’ rather than the print option. This is not a bad deal considering I paid close to $40CDN for a skein of STR last summer, but the jewel in the crown is design. Tina Newton and her team have a great eye for edgy, up-and-coming designers while pulling the best and freshest from their stable of the tried-and-true.
Tanis Fibre Arts Year in Colour Club: This is my favorite of the brand-specific packages, partly because I love Tanis yarns and partly because the terms are so perfectly clear. $235 (CDN!) gets you a custom dyed skein with a pattern to match every 2 months and includes shipping. Additional skeins in the club colorways are available for Club members, but are not available to the general public for 1 calendar year. The custom skeins come in a variety of weights, so members can expect to receive anything between a lace weight and an aran. Past packages are documented on the website so one knows just how wonderful they are. Nice.
Kick Ass Knitters/World Domination Yarn Club by Indigodragonfly
: Hmmm….This is a cool set-up: A basic membership plan with optional add-ons like extra skeins, mystery skeins and swag. The Basic includes one or two luxury skeins in an exclusive Club colorway, 2 patterns per package and a project bag. That’ll set you back $390 for 6 months, $195 for 3, (in color-c0ded Canadian dollars) if you’re in Ontario. For International and other provinces, add a little. Yarn add-ons start at $110 and swag extras are $60. This year, the focus will be on sock and DK weight yarns. I’ve never used this yarn before, but the colors look delicious and I’m tempted to try a skein.
I can’t say the Club idea is for me, though it would be lovely to receive a little surprise in the mail now and then. I think it’s perfect for those who are looking to shake things up and break old routines. And some of the gift ideas are just scrumptious…hmmmm!
