Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Building the Gift Knits Club

I've been talking with yarn companies, fans, customers, and students, and the Gift Knits Club idea has really started to gel.  I'm looking at having subscriptions for either 6 or 12 months at a time.  The club member would pay up front, and kits would be mailed on the 15th of each month.  Any month's project that doesn't appeal to you can be substituted, but only for the mitten pattern and kit of my choice based on availability.  The calendar would look something like this (example only! Not real calendar!):

January: Easy Straight-needle Gloves for HER
February:  Easy Straight-needle Gloves for HIM
March: Sprightly Spring Socks
April: Woven-look Spring Handbag
May: Set of 4 spa washcloths in organic cotton
June: Lacy Ribbon Scarf

...and so on throughout the year.  No really long patterns, and no really high prices.  It depends on the deals I'm able to make with yarn manufacturers what the exact price will be.  I'm aiming for about $25 - $35 per month.  This appears to be on par with most other knitting project clubs, and considering the pattern design, yarn, coordination and shipping, seems to be a good bargain.  After much consideration, I've decided to work with multiple manufacturers to keep the patterns and variety really interesting.  (An all Cascade club might not be interesting to you if that's all your LYS carries!)

Skill level of the patterns will vary from easy to moderate.  Knitting in the round, simple cables, simple open work, and grafting will all be part of patterns at one time or another.  If these are newer skills for you, get help from your LYS, YouTube, or your knitting circle friends, and expand your skills! 

I cannot accommodate fiber allergies (there are too many possibilities), so if you have multiple fiber allergies, this might be a problem, or you may wish to give the kit as a gift on the months you are allergic to kit contents.

Each pattern will be a club exclusive for at least three months after it is released to the club.  At the end of the year, all 2012 patterns will be available as a collection in an e-book. 

We're down to crunch time, folks, so please, tell me everything on your minds!  I would love to make this club meet your needs as gifters, crafters, and knitters!  Thanks.

3 comments:

f1bercat said...

I am super excited about this. I love your designs, so that is a huge plus. But, I tend to get in a rut, always knitting the same type of thing (socks right now) and this will push me out of my comfort zone but with really doable projects!

Deb Welch said...

I think this is a terrific idea and I am looking forward to joining the club. My one suggestion would be to schedule the item to be knit before it would be used if possible. (So schedule mittens/winter hat for September or October.)

Sharon said...

it all sounds good to me