Knit Picks is an online yarn and knitting supply company that specializes in providing high-quality materials at a reasonable price. They also launched a line of monthly subscription boxes featuring their products!
It looks like Knit Picks totally overhauled their previous subscription selections (listed below) in favor of three new choices, with more details being offered at the end of January 2020.
The previous options for boxes are as follows:
- Skill Builder: $48.00 per month, for yarn, knitting needles, instructional materials, and other knitting supplies. This box focuses on teaching you something new each month!
- Sock Yarn: $48.00 per month, for 2 skeins of sock-weight yarn, a sock pattern book, a shawl or accessory pattern, and knitting goodies (needles, accessories, stitch markers, pins, etc.)
- Fan Favorites: $48.00 per month, for a surprise assortment of yarn, needles, and tools that are either brand new to the shop or products that are best sellers.
- Crochet Lover: $27.00 per month, for at least 150g of yarn, a crochet pattern or book, and crochet goodies (hooks, tools, etc.)
- Sock Labs: $27.00 per month, for 2 limited-edition hand-painted skeins of yarn and one pattern
This review is of the Sock Yarn box for $48.00 per month.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About Knit Picks
The Subscription Box: Knit Picks Sock Yarn Box
The Cost: $48.00 per month + free US shipping (other plans available starting from $27.00, and save with longer subscription plans)
The Products: A surprise assortment of yarn, patterns, knitting needles and tools, and fun extras
Ships to: The US for free and worldwide for varying rates
Knit Picks Sock Yarn December 2019 Review
Knit Picks is a fantastic online store for knitters and crocheters, and it’s always been one of my favorite places to shop for yarn and tools! They launched a line of subscription boxes that feature different products from their in-house yarn and pattern lines.
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A card is included in the box that details the contents of this month’s Sock Yarn Box. The description reads:
This month's box features our newest star, Muse Handpainted Sock Yarn, as well as one of our hall of famers, Hawthorne Tonal. Both are great for crafting lightweight shawls and accessories and, of course, the coziest socks in town!
There was a second card in the box that goes into more detail on each of the different boxes available.
Now, onto the good stuff - the yarn!
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Muse Handpainted Yarn in "Impluse" - Retail Value $15.99
The Muse base from Knit Picks is 75% superwash merino wool and 25% nylon. It contains 423 yards in 100 grams, putting it right at an average fingering weight skein. The color I received is called "Impulse," and it's a bright rainbow explosion of color! The notes about this yarn state that it is hand-painted in a manner that is supposed to avoid pooling or flashing of the colors, which can happen sometimes with hand-dyed yarn. Pooling is when you get a spot where the same color is repeated over and over again, instead of being a more dispersed, variegated look. I'm interested to see if this is actually true - a lot of hand-dyers claim that their yarn doesn't pool, but still always recommend that you should alternate skeins when using hand-dyed yarn just in case.
The yarn is very soft and has a very round plied structure. These bright colors are way outside of my regular wheelhouse, so I'm not quite sure what I'll be doing with this yarn yet!
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Hawthorne Tonal Hand Painted Yarn in "Corvallis" - Retail Value $13.99
The other skein of yarn we got is the Hawthorne base, which is 80% fine superwash highland wool and 20% polyamide (nylon). It's 357 yards in 100 grams, so this is a much heavier fingering weight yarn (I would almost say verging on sport weight). The ply structure looks to be more of a 2-ply, where the strand has a little bit of texture rather than being perfectly smooth and round. Online the color I received, "Corvallis," is described as a purple-toned blue, but the skein I received is much more of a purple than a blue. This is the beauty of hand-dyed yarns - they can vary slightly from skein to skein!
I was super happy to receive these two skeins of hand-painted yarns in the box this month, especially after the last two boxes contained the more basic Stroll line of yarn. I love the character and variation in hand-dyed yarns and was excited to see these skeins when I opened the box.
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Campbell Sock Pattern - Retail Value $4.99
The first pattern sent in the box is for the Campbell Socks, which are mid-calf length socks that feature a ribbed pattern throughout - I love the fun twist at the cuffs! Ribbed socks always seem to fit me better than plain stockinette knitted socks, so this pattern is going on my to-make list for sure.
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Copan Hat Pattern - Retail Value $4.99
The second pattern included is for the Copan Hat, which is a brand new pattern - when I first started drafting this review, the pattern was not yet available. It features a complex multi-cable pattern winding up the sides of the hat. See below for more of my thoughts on this pattern!
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Wool Enemy Number One Tote Bag - Retail Value $24.99
We also received a black cotton tote bag with a screen-printed image of a wool moth on it. I get the attempted humor of this, but it's not my favorite knitting-related design I've ever seen. The bag is made of completely recycled cotton and is fair trade, which is wonderful. However, the price point for this bag, which is a simple cotton tote bag with no zippers or pockets, seems kind of high to me. Also, it only took about five minutes of being inside my house before this bag was completely covered in cat fur - the fabric it's made out of seems to be one of those that immediately attracts all fur in the nearby area!
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Currently, I've been making a lot of projects that are plain knitting with not much texture or patterning going on. I was ready to cast on a challenge project right when this box arrived, so the Copan hat was the perfect pattern for me! I am not always the biggest fan of knitting cables, but so far I've enjoyed this pattern. It's making me slow down and focus on my project, which is always a nice change from a mindless type of pattern. The cable pattern is quite complex, with lots of small twists within the larger main cable. Some of this detail is lost visually because this yarn is so dark, which is a bit of a bummer. I lightened up the photos a bit so that you could hopefully see some of this detail, but in person it's fairly dark. I still love the color and think this hat will be very wearable, so I can't wait to have it finished!
Verdict: I thought this was a great Sock Yarn Box! I liked that we received the full supplies needed for two different patterns, and I appreciated that one of the projects was not socks. I also love that we got fancier yarn than we have received in the past few boxes. For $48.00 we received two skeins of hand-dyed yarn, two patterns, and a tote bag for a retail value of $64.95. Knit Picks advertises the boxes as having a $60 value, so this valuation is right on the mark. If you know you are a fan of Knit Picks products, or you want to try new yarn and knitting/crochet items at a discounted price, I think this box has a great value!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Knit Picks isn't currently accepting new subscribers as it looks like they're relaunching their subscription with new options at the end of January 2o2o. Check back here for more details!
Value Breakdown: At $48.00, here’s approximately what you are paying for each item:
- Muse yarn - $11.82
- Hawthorne yarn - $10.34
- Sock pattern - $3.68
- Hat pattern - $3.68
- Tote bag - $18.44
Check out all of our Knit Picks reviews and the best arts & crafts subscription boxes of 2019!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
What did you think of the December 2019 Sock Yarn Box?
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