Know your audience
I wonder how many members of this community are experienced knitters vs beginners? It really seems like the drops are all targeted to beginning knitters. As an experienced knitter, none of the drops appeal to me. I don't like acrylic - it hurts my hands and doesn't breathe.
The kits are clearly geared towards beginners. Not that I think a beginning knitter should buy them--they're problematic for a host of reasons. Especially the ones that include needles. First, I don't know many people that enjoy using straight needles. Second, what are the odds of a beginner getting gauge on the provided needles? Most beginners (and a lot of experienced knitters too) I know think swatching is some form of torture. So, I predict lots of FOs that don't fit.
I would just like to see some drops that include high-quality yarns. Let me decide what to knit. Let me decide what tools to use.
What do you think?
The kits are clearly geared towards beginners. Not that I think a beginning knitter should buy them--they're problematic for a host of reasons. Especially the ones that include needles. First, I don't know many people that enjoy using straight needles. Second, what are the odds of a beginner getting gauge on the provided needles? Most beginners (and a lot of experienced knitters too) I know think swatching is some form of torture. So, I predict lots of FOs that don't fit.
I would just like to see some drops that include high-quality yarns. Let me decide what to knit. Let me decide what tools to use.
What do you think?
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Leah Bigley
Agreed. I'd like high quality yarns. Natural fibers. Matches dye lots if applicable. Maybe separate notions kits for newbies. Even stitch library books with the basic info on many stitches would be good for newbies.
39
As an experienced crocheter and beginner knitter, I'm just getting over myself that it's called knitting and not yarncraft or something.
I think the drops requested in the polls are by and large more what you're talking about and what people would buy: a bunch of yarn, enough to make a specific pattern, but nobody's tying you down with notions and patterns.
The problem with the yarns that have been dropped so far, I think, is that there is a HUGE gulf in how much an enthusiast spends in this hobby. Some people legitimately love to make big acrylic blankets, and that's it. All they want is an assortment of yarnspirations goodies at $5 instead of $8. Some people, though, only really enjoy themselves if they're $100 deep in artisanal materials for their shawlette.
So we get our yarn snobs (and I call them that affectionately, I'm an aspiring snob myself) bummed that everything is Bernat or ColorWul, and we get our basic bitches like myself who look at drops for 10oz of cotton for $50+ and laugh. At least we can all agree that kits coming in small and medium only is absurd.
There's also a bit of a problem with the drops for notions. The discount for the needle and hook sets that have been here so far is barely enough to bring them below Amazon or KnitPicks. Plus, some of the luxury sets have been obviously more something for someone to put on a shelf and hand down to future generations to put on their shelves, rather than something to be used. Rosewood hooks? Cool. Rosewood hooks with rhinestones in the handle? Get out of town.
That said, we have had a few really good drops, like the beautiful handmade yarn bowls. The drop for Patons Grace was also great, I think because it was a) a big enough quantity to accomplish something with one order and b) a good middle of the line yarn, fancy enough to be a splurge for the low-end spenders and nice enough that the snobs like it, too.
I think the drops requested in the polls are by and large more what you're talking about and what people would buy: a bunch of yarn, enough to make a specific pattern, but nobody's tying you down with notions and patterns.
The problem with the yarns that have been dropped so far, I think, is that there is a HUGE gulf in how much an enthusiast spends in this hobby. Some people legitimately love to make big acrylic blankets, and that's it. All they want is an assortment of yarnspirations goodies at $5 instead of $8. Some people, though, only really enjoy themselves if they're $100 deep in artisanal materials for their shawlette.
So we get our yarn snobs (and I call them that affectionately, I'm an aspiring snob myself) bummed that everything is Bernat or ColorWul, and we get our basic bitches like myself who look at drops for 10oz of cotton for $50+ and laugh. At least we can all agree that kits coming in small and medium only is absurd.
There's also a bit of a problem with the drops for notions. The discount for the needle and hook sets that have been here so far is barely enough to bring them below Amazon or KnitPicks. Plus, some of the luxury sets have been obviously more something for someone to put on a shelf and hand down to future generations to put on their shelves, rather than something to be used. Rosewood hooks? Cool. Rosewood hooks with rhinestones in the handle? Get out of town.
That said, we have had a few really good drops, like the beautiful handmade yarn bowls. The drop for Patons Grace was also great, I think because it was a) a big enough quantity to accomplish something with one order and b) a good middle of the line yarn, fancy enough to be a splurge for the low-end spenders and nice enough that the snobs like it, too.