Knit Picks is an online yarn and knitting supply company that specializes in providing high-quality materials at a reasonable price. Knit Picks overhauled their subscription models for 2020, and they now have a completely new line up of boxes to choose from:
- Cotton Club: $39.99 per month for one accessory or home decor knitting pattern, recommended knitting needles, and all the cotton yarn needed to complete the project
- Sock Yarn Celebration: $39.99 per month for one or two patterns and sock yarn to complete the project(s), which will range from shawls to socks
- A Year of Hats: $39.99 per month for patterns and yarns to complete hat projects that focus on teaching new skills and techniques, plus a fun tool or accessory
This review is of the Cotton Club option for 39.99 per month.
COVID-19 Update: Because of implemented safety measures, Knit Picks orders may incur shipping delays. You can get all the details here.
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 Cotton Club Box
The Cost: $39.99 per month + free US shipping
The Products: A surprise assortment of yarn, patterns, knitting needles and tools, and fun extras
Ships to: The US and Canada for free, and to Australia and the UK for $10.00
Knit Picks Cotton Club August 2020 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! The box was overhauled and re-done for 2020, and I've been excited to see what stayed the same and what changed with these new boxes (see our previous Knit Picks Box reviews here). Overall, I'm loving the new format of the boxes!
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First up we have an information card about the Knit Picks boxes in general, welcoming us to the new subscription model. While this is nice information to have, one thing I'm missing in this box is the info card detailing all of the items that were sent this month - I always like to see what the theme of the box is, or where the inspiration for the items came from.
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Knit Picks Dishie Yarn in (from left to right): Blue, Honeydew, Dewdrop, Swan, and Navy - Retail Value $17.94 ($2.99 per skein)
Dishie is one of the staple yarn lines that Knit Picks is famous for, and it's one that I've never actually tried out, so I was so excited to see this array of Dishie yarns in the box this month. The yarn is worsted weight and 100% machine washable cotton, and they proclaim it as "an elevated workhorse yarn." I have to agree with that statement - I was expecting a yarn designed to be hardwearing and be used for cleaning to be rough or coarse, but the opposite is true. This yarn is super soft and smooth and doesn't have even a little bit of the stiffness that cotton yarns can sometimes have.
Each skein is 100 grams and contains 190 yards. We received five different colors - three shades of blue (a light, medium, and dark), a lime green, and two skeins of a creamy white.
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Posies Kitchen Set Pattern - Retail Value $4.99
The pattern that came to go along with the Dishie yarn is a kitchen set featuring two hot pads and a kitchen towel. The patterns look like great ones to try out if you are new to colorwork techniques - they use both stranded colorwork and intarsia - since a smaller-scale project is always a good place to start with a new-to-you technique, rather than jumping right into a sweater.
Although I know a lot of people love making dishcloths and using knitted items in their households, this idea isn't something I'm personally quite sold on. My husband is the cook in our house (which is amazing and one of the reasons why he's the best) and he tends to be pretty messy with our dish towels. I can just picture spending weeks making these pretty colorwork knitted dishcloths only for them to end up with spaghetti sauce stains!
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Knit Picks Snuggle Puff Yarn in Bunny and Polliwog - Retail Value $11.98 ($5.99 per skein)
We also received two skeins of Snuggle Puff yarn, which is an Aran/heavy worsted weight cotton yarn. The construction of this yarn is different from typical spun/plied yarn - the cotton fibers are blown through a nylon mesh tube. This blown construction gives the yarn a super lofty and lightweight feel since each strand contains quite a bit of air. I like to think of these types of yarn as "gauge shifters" because you can really get away with a variety of different gauges due to the amount of air in the strand. Although this is classified as Aran weight (which is quite bulky), you can easily knit this yarn at a DK-weight gauge without the fabric becoming too stiff.
Each skein is 50 grams and contains 142 yards. It is 70% cotton and 30% nylon.
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Cozy Lines Hat Pattern - Free pattern!
Yay for free patterns! If you love the look of this hat pattern, go download it from the Knit Picks website and store it for future use!
This hat is made up of slipped stitches, so it's a lot easier to create than it appears at first glance. I also love the swirled look of the top of this hat - the way the decreases are constructed is so clever! This hat uses two skeins of Snuggle Puff, and it's for sure going on my to-make list once the weather cools down this fall.
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Knit Picks 8" Radiant Double Pointed Needles in Size 8 - Retail Value $8.99
Knit Picks Nickel Options Interchangeable Needle Tips in Size 6 - Retail Value $6.49 (currently on sale for $5.19)
As always, I'm thrilled that this particular Knit Picks box sends needles and notions! I don't use double-pointed needles very often (I'm more of a magic loop type of girl), but they are always handy to have in a pinch, especially for working the tops of hats!
The nickel-plated interchangeable tips are my favorite type of needle that Knit Picks produces. They are smooth and so easy to knit with, and the joins to the cable are pretty seamless - I never feel like my yarn catches on them at all.
Photo courtesy of Knit Picks.
Knit Picks Options Interchangeable Needle Cable in Purple, 32" - Retail Value $2.49
The last item in the box was supposed to be a 32" purple interchangeable needle cable, but it was missing from our boxes. Shortly after my box arrived I received an email from Knit Picks apologizing for the missing cable and letting me know that the cable would be shipped separately. I received a shipping notification but have not yet received the cable in the mail, so the photo above is just a stock photo from their website. I'm glad that we are getting a cable to go along with the needle tips, because if this was your first box and you didn't have a stash of Knit Picks needle tips and cables already you wouldn't be able to use the tips without this!
Now, let's get knitting!
Like I mentioned above, I wasn't very excited about the prospect of knitting colorwork dishcloths (although if that's your jam, absolutely go for it! That pattern is very pretty). I really wanted to try out the Dishie yarn to get a good feel for how it handled, so I turned to trusty Ravelry and searched for worsted weight cotton patterns. I ended up finding this gorgeous chevron baby blanket pattern and fell in love!
Photo courtesy of Espace Tricot via Ravelry.
I cast this blanket on immediately with my Dishie yarn and am so glad that I chose this pattern to make! The yarn is SO soft - it just glides off my needles.
I loved the classic look of the stripes in the pattern photo, but I wanted a bit more whimsy for my blanket, plus I wanted it to be a little bit more interesting for me to knit. Instead of doing 10 rows of each color before changing to a new stripe, I decided to make my stripe widths and color changes random.
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I'm loving how this is turning out! This yarn is machine washable and colorfast, and it's designed to withstand some hard wear and lots of washing. To me, that sounds perfect for baby items. I'm entering that phase of life where it seems like I always have a friend expecting, so I've been working on building up my baby knits gift stash and I think this will be a go-to pattern for me.
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Here's the progress that I've made as of this morning! This blanket is turning out even cuter than I even imagined, so although I started this with the intent of gifting it, I think I might just have to keep it for the future! I think the lime green adds such a modern edge to this color palette, and I'm enjoying knitting each stripe until I'm bored with it and ready to add a new color in - it keeps the project exciting and fresh!
Verdict: I thought this was a great Cotton Club box! I loved getting to try a staple yarn that I've heard lots about before, and I am enamored with the project I'm creating with it. I also like that this particular box features more household projects, as I can get a little bit burned out on hats and scarves in yarn subscription boxes. For $39.99 we received eight skeins of yarn, two patterns, an interchangeable needle cable, one pair of interchangeable needle tips, and a set of double-pointed needles for a retail value of $52.88. This is a higher valuation than the past couple of months of boxes have been, so I'm pleased about that. 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? No, if you subscribe now you will receive the September box, which will start shipping on the 1st.
Value Breakdown: At $39.99, here’s approximately what you are paying for each item:
- Dishie Yarn - $13.56 (or $2.26 per skein)
- Snuggle Puff Yarn - $9.06 (or $4.53 per skein)
- Kitchen Pattern Set - $3.77
- Double Pointed Needles - $6.80
- Interchangeable Needle Tips - $4.90
- Interchangeable Cable - $1.88
Check out all of our Knit Picks reviews and the best arts & crafts subscription boxes of 2020!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
What did you think of the August 2020 Cotton Club Box?
Want to see what Knit Picks' other options are all about? Let us know if you'd like to see another type reviewed: the Cotton Club box, the Sock Yarn Celebration box, or the A Year of Hats box. Thank you!
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