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 offer four different subscription options:
- Membership Crate: $24.99 per month, for two skeins of their in-house premium yarn, exclusive knit and crochet patterns in a booklet, and an extra
- Sock Crate: $19.95 per month, for one skein of their in-house premium fingering weight yarn, exclusive knit and crochet patterns in a booklet, and an extra
- Malabrigo Partner Crate: $45.00 per quarter, for a box curated by Malabrigo and KnitCrate that includes delectable yarns, notions, and exclusive knitting patterns
- Mrs. Crosby Travels Partner Crate: $69.99 per quarter, for a box curated by Mrs. Crosby Travels that features three skeins of yarn, notions, and exclusive knitting patterns inspired by different parts of the world
This review is of the KnitCrate Membership Crate for $24.99 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 Membership Crate
The Subscription Box: KnitCrate
The Cost: $24.99 per month (other plans available from $19.95 per month)
The Products: Two skeins of premium yarn, a pattern booklet (contains 3+ patterns!), and an extra
Ships to: The 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 Membership April 2020 Review
KnitCrate Membership is the flagship box from the KnitCrate brand. In my opinion, it’s the best box to start with if you’re looking to expand your knitting knowledge or expand your yarn stash! The yarn they send is from one of their in-house brands, and it’s always very high quality.
A note on shipping: this month, our crates arrived in a poly mailer, rather than a cardboard box like they usually do. KnitCrate said in an email regarding shipping:
We are shipping the contents of your crate inside of a soft mailer bag instead of the usual cardboard crate. This is allowing our team to build your packages faster to account for the lack of staff and it is facilitating zero contact delivery since these fit better into mailboxes.
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KnitCrate Inspirations Booklet, April 2020 - Retail Value $40.00
Due to COVID-19, we did not receive a printed booklet as we typically do. Instead, we got this card that contains a message from the company as well as a code to download the booklet (you must have an active KnitCrate subscription to get access).
The pattern booklet included a download 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.
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Above are a couple of screenshots from the PDF booklet so you can see the three yarn choices and the two patterns that go along with them.
The theme this month is "Luminous," which is described as "the glowing moment of the first warm day, a golden tone that permeates the evening and makes the shadows seem cooler." Normally I think that KnitCrate's yarn colors absolutely nail the theme, but this month it feels a little bit like a miss to me. I don't see anything particularly golden or warm in these colors - on the contrary, they seem to be on the cooler side of the spectrum.
Also, this box continues the influencer-curated boxes for 2020. April's influencer is Dayana Knits, and she is also the designer behind both of the knit and the crochet patterns for this month.
KnitCrate has "Color Vibe" options, where you get to choose which color family you would like to receive. Coordinating with those three color options are three colorway combinations available this month: Ruby (Energize Me), a bright pinky red; Diamond (All Natural), a true neutral tan; or Lapis (Chill Out), a jewel-toned purple. Each box contains two skeins of the same colorway.
The KnitCrate Membership box always has one knitting pattern and one crochet pattern included. I love this inclusivity for both crafts, as a lot of yarn-focused boxes and companies have an emphasis on knitting only. Dayana Knits, the designer of both patterns, says that she loves making garments best, and she wanted to show how garments can be made with only two skeins of yarn.
While I applaud KnitCrate and this designer for thinking out of the box, neither of these patterns appeal to me personally. I am a sweater knitter at heart, but I prefer more classic silhouettes than are featured here. However, I think it's wonderful that the box is branching out and has more options than the typical scarves and hats!
The back of the booklet shows a sneak peek of the theme for May - it will be “Blank Canvas,” and I can’t wait to see what this will entail!
The booklet also contains two patterns for the Sock Membership Crate box. You can find out more information about this box by reading our previous reviews and visiting the KnitCrate website.
Now, onto the good stuff - the yarn!
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URU.Yarn Sugared Sport by KnitCrate in "Lapis" - Retail Value $52.00 ($26.00 per skein)
I received the Lapis colorway, which was the color for the Chill Out vibe. It is a really rich true purple with silver sparkles throughout. The yarn is 70% superwash merino, 20% nylon, and 10% stellina (the sparkle). It is a sport weight, coming in at 300 yards in 100 grams. The yarn is so silky and drapey - the skein folded over on itself when I picked it up! It doesn't have that buttery softness of some yarns, and I think that's because of the stellina - you can feel a little bit of roughness due to the sparkle. However, it's not scratchy or itchy in any way.
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Soak Wash Packet in Scentless - Estimated Value $1.00 (a 48-pack retails here at $48.00, or buy a full-size bottle here for $16.00)
I'm never sad when I receive Soak in a subscription box! Soak is far and away my favorite laundry soap to use for my handknits, and these little packets are perfect for taking with you during travel, or I like to tuck one into a package with any handknitted gifts. While I love the scented Soak products as well, the scentless one is always my favorite, because it allows the smell of the fresh wool to shine through.
Now, let's get knitting! (or crocheting, in this case!)
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When I saw this sparkly purple yarn upon opening the box, I couldn't help but think of my three-year-old niece. She loves anything sparkly or princess-y, and I just had to make her something with it! I searched on Ravelry and on Etsy for ideas and landed upon this tutu dress pattern. It seemed like the perfect fit for this yarn!
Overall, I'm happy with how this yarn worked up. It was smooth and fairly easy to work with, although I did experience a little bit of splitting as I crocheted - although this may have to do with the small metal hook I was using, and not necessarily the yarn. I do feel like some of the sparkle was lost with the dense crochet stitches, but when you look up close you can still see it!
You can tell from the photos above that this yarn looks very different in different lights! In some lights, it had more of a warm, pink tone, and in others, it has a cooler more blue-purple tone.
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Here's my finished crochet top for the dress! I made the larger size in the pattern, and it used almost exactly one skein - I had maybe 15 yards leftover at the end. For the closure, I pulled out these sparkly buttons, which I received over a year ago in the February 2019 KnitCrate Artisan crate. I knew they would come in handy one day!
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Here's my finished tutu dress! I used a combination of white tulle and sparkly silver fabric to create the skirt, and I love how the silver peeking through complements the silver sparkles in the yarn. My niece absolutely loved this dress, and her mom tells me that she wears it all the time when she is playing dress-up!
I love my KnitCrate boxes because even when I am not immediately crazy about the yarn I received, I feel like I can always find a project that fits it well and that I enjoy making. I think this was the perfect project for this yarn, and I'm so happy with how it turned out.
Verdict: I thought this was a fun KnitCrate box! I always like being able to try new types of fibers and getting stretched out of my comfort zone with my making. If you are a knitter or crocheter who is open to trying new types of yarn, this would be a great subscription box to check out! For $24.99, we received two skeins of yarn, four knitting and crochet patterns, and a packet of Soak with a total value estimated around $93.00. I think this is an amazing value for what you receive, since 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.
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 15th) before the subscription renews on the first. They then release all the details on the yarns and patterns on the 1st of the month. May's reveal post is 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.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, you'll likely receive the May box (while supplies last).
Value Breakdown: At $24.99, here’s approximately what you are paying for each item:
- URU.Yarn Sugared Sport - $13.97 ($6.99 per skein)
- Pattern Booklet - $10.75
- Soak Packet - $0.26
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What did you think of the April 2020 KnitCrate Membership Crate? Let us know in the comments!
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