KnitCrate is a monthly yarn subscription box for knitters and crocheters! Each box includes a new exclusive yarn and corresponding patterns for knit and crochet projects.
They currently offer two different subscription options:
- Membership Crate: $24.99 per month, for two skeins of their in-house premium yarn plus exclusive knit and crochet patterns in a booklet
- Sock Crate: $19.95 per month, for one skein of their in-house premium fingering weight yarn and exclusive knit and crochet patterns in a booklet
This review is of the KnitCrate Sock Crate, $19.99 a month.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
About KnitCrate Sock Crate
The Subscription Box: KnitCrate
The Cost: $19.99 per month (other plans available from $19.99 to $39.99 per month)
The Products: One skein of premium sock yarn plus a pattern booklet (contains 3 patterns!)
Ships to: US and worldwide for free!
Good to know: All members receive 25% off shop purchases, and earn points for every dollar you spend on your subscription and any orders from their shop. You also can earn points for reviewing the yarn on their website! Points can be redeemed for cash off of shop purchases or can be used towards your regular subscription.
KnitCrate Sock March 2019 Review
KnitCrate Sock is a great yarn subscription if you love working with sock weight (also called fingering weight) yarn! I love the flexibility of working with this type of yarn because you get so much yardage in just one skein. It’s great for shawls, scarves, baby garments, other accessories, and of course socks!
KnitCrate Inspirations Booklet, March 2019 - Retail Value $40.00
The pattern booklet included a downloadable code so that you could add the PDF version to your Ravelry library. When I used the code it listed the booklet as having a value of $40, but at the time of our review, the booklet is not currently for sale as a separate item.
The theme this month is “Whisper,” which is described as the breath before seasons change. The yarn for March is inspired by “this wordless, quiet transition from one season to the next.” The colors are a mix of muted blues, pinks, and grays - this inspiration board is so calm and lovely!
The yarn featured this month is a sparkly deep evergreen color. Greens of all shades are a mainstay in a nature-inspired palette, so I do think this goes along with the theme this month. However, this particular green does lean a little wintery to me, rather than feeling perfect for springtime.
The pattern this month picks up on the tree-inspired theme and has a pretty lace texture that mimics evergreen branches. I was excited to see a pattern with lace this month since the last couple of sock patterns from KnitCrate have featured cables and I was ready for something different! The dark green and evergreen tree theme does feel like a little bit of a miss for me when looking at the theme of the box - I would have loved to see this yarn and pattern a couple of months ago. It seems like the perfect pair of Christmas socks and doesn’t fit this time of year as well as most KnitCrate boxes do. That said, it’s still a very pretty pattern and I know I’ll get a lot of wear out of these socks! See below for more of my thoughts on the pattern.
If you missed my KnitCrate reviews last month, I went into detail on the changes to the box lineup - the main takeaway is that KnitCrate discontinued their Artisan and Sock Artisan subscription boxes. Instead, they are featuring the Artisan yarns as a pop-up shop each month on their website. As a subscriber bonus this month due to the change, KnitCrate included download codes for all of the Artisan patterns in the back of this booklet! There were a total of 4 extra patterns available for download, which was a wonderful surprise!
The booklets always include a bio page on the designers behind the patterns, and I always love reading these.
The KnitCrate booklets always have a short article on a knitting topic, and I’m always impressed by the unique ideas they come up with. This month they have a list of their favorite knitting or yarn-related podcasts. A lot of people like to listen to podcasts while they work on their knitting, so I think this is a great idea to include. I personally love to listen to podcasts on my commute to and from work - I’m excited to add these suggestions to my lineup next week!
The back of the booklet shows a sneak peek of the theme for April - the theme will be “Entomology.” It looks like it will feature lots of bright colors!
The booklet also includes a knit and a crochet pattern that goes along with the KnitCrate Membership yarn. See our review of KnitCrate Membership for more information on those!
Vidalana Shimmer by KnitCrate in color Tangles - Retail Value $24.00
The name of this yarn is “Tangles,” and it is a true, deep leafy green color. I feel like this color of green almost works as a neutral because it’s found so often throughout nature. It would work equally well for any type of garment or accessory - I could see this as a hat, a scarf, a cowl, a pair of mittens - the list goes on!
This base is comprised of 70% Superwash Merino wool, 20% nylon, and 10% stellina. The stellina is what gives it the silver shimmer, and nylon is great for sock yarn because it provides extra strength and stretchiness to the fibers. It is a fingering weight yarn and contains 399 yards in 100 grams.
In the photo above you can see the shimmery parts - it really is very subtle, and doesn’t jump out at you as glitter would. I like that the yarn just catches the light with a little bit of sparkle!
Here’s the start of my socks! I was first introduced to toe-up socks through KnitCrate, and it quickly became my favorite method of sock construction. I was happy to see that this pattern brought that technique back! The pattern is fully written and fully charted, which I appreciate because it makes the pattern more accessible to all preferences.
The actual lace instructions and the instructions for the heel turns are very well-written and easy to follow. However, the pattern is not very clear in the instruction on the rest of the sock. They definitely expect you to be familiar with sock construction and leave out parts of the instructions that I feel like would be helpful, especially for newer sock knitters. For example, after you cast on for the toe stitches, the pattern states, “Work increases until there are X total stitches.” Since I have knit toe-up socks before, I know to knit M1L and M1R increases on either side of the toe in alternating rows until I get to the width needed. Even so, I found this frustrating. I prefer patterns that are clear in what to do in each step and don’t require you to make assumptions on how to complete the pattern.
The lace pattern has been fun to knit, and I think it shows off this yarn very well. This is the same yarn base that was sent in the November Sock Crate, and I have worn the pair of socks from that box quite a bit, and they have held up wonderfully. I expect the same will be true for this pair!
Verdict: I thought this was a good month for KnitCrate Sock Crate. The yarn is a beautiful color and I loved the sparkles in it. Even though I had a few technical issues with the pattern, I think it’s still a very pretty design and a fun lace texture. Overall, if you are a knitter or crocheter who likes to try new yarns, I think this is a fantastic subscription box! I love getting a surprise yarn in the mail each month, and I think the quality of the materials they include is top notch.
A few other things that are good to know: if you follow KnitCrate on Instagram or join their Ravelry group, they reveal spoilers at the end of each month (usually around the 20th) before the subscription renews on the first. The April 2019 Sneak Peak page is available here. If you are pickier about what fibers you like to use or want to avoid certain colors, these would be great to check out. Otherwise, you won’t know what the theme, yarn, or patterns will be before they renew your subscription for the month. (But if you sign up during the month of March you’ll see the March yarns and patterns before you join, so you WILL know what your first box will be).
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Yes - if you sign up anytime during the month of March your first box will be the March box (while supplies last).
Value Breakdown: For $19.99, we received one skein of yarn and five knitting and crochet patterns, with a total retail value estimated around $64.00. I think this is a very reasonable price for what you receive, since the high-end premium yarn is usually around $25-35 per skein in a local yarn store, and most patterns on Ravelry are $5-10 each.
At $19.99, here’s approximately what you are paying for each item (not including the pin):
- Vidalana Shimmer yarn - $7.50
- Pattern Booklet - $12.49
Check out the Craft Subscription Box Directory for more great knitting, craft supply, and DIY project boxes!
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What did you think of the March 2019 KnitCrate Sock Crate? Let us know in the comments!
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