Dive into Dyeing with ChemKnits & KnitCrate! (NEW Learn to Dye Subscription Course!)

I am thrilled to share that I teamed up with KnitCrate & Dyer Supplier to create 15 videos for their new learn to dye course: Dive into Dyeing! Last summer, I filmed 15 videos to accompany this three month subscription to help you get started on your yarn dyeing journey.  

I am an affiliate marketer with KnitCrate and Dyer Supplier which means I earn commissions on sales made through my links.  All of the links and coupon codes to both companies in this blog post are affiliate links/codes.

Dive into Dyeing is a 3-month subscription kit designed to introduce you to hand dyeing yarn with acid dyes and highlights 3 techniques (semi-solid, variegated, and speckles).  Each month you will receive 200 g of bare yarn, 3 - 1/2 oz jars of Jacquard acid dyes, gloves, a booklet with step by step instructions, and some other extras that will be helpful in your dyeing journey.  I filmed 15 videos to accompany this subscription to help you get set up with tools & equipment, safety tips, and then how to begin your yarn dyeing journey.  

What is included in the Dive into Dyeing Subscription?

Each month's Dive into Dyeing box will include 2 - 100 g skeins of yarn, 3 - 1/2 ounce jars of Jacquard acid dyes, 2 gloves, 2 zip ties, a booklet with step-by-step instructions, and some extras.  The step by step instructions are fantastic - KnitCrate pulled images from the videos I created and included color coded explanations of formulas so you can keep track of your dyeing recipes.  

What are the extras?  Box 1 will include citric acid, Box 2 will include some squeeze bottles and wooden stirrers, and Box 3 will also include some stirrers.  

What else do I need to start dyeing yarn? What is not included in the Dive into Dyeing Subscription? 

The Dive into Dyeing subscription does NOT include Respirator masks / Dust masks, Safety glasses, pots/pans/steamers, measuring spoons, digital scales.  

Personal safety is really important.  I recommend that you get a N95 or respirator mask with P100 filters for when you are dealing with dry dye powder.  I also wear protective safety goggles and gloves.  

Make sure that all of the tools and equipment you plan to use for yarn dyeing are dedicated for dye and won't be used for the preparation of food.  Here are some of my favorite dedicate dye tools for dyeing yarn. 

How much is the Dive into Dyeing Subscription? 

Dive into Dyeing is $39.99/month plus the cost of shipping. Starting April 1, 2021, the Dive into Dyeing Subscription will be $39.99 plus ($7.95 S&H Domestic or $11.95 S&H International)  As of  New KnitCrate customers can save 20% off the first month with the coupon code "chemknits20"

When the kit launched, shipping was included in the cost, as it was with all KnitCrate Subscriptions. I became aware of this price increase in an email KntiCrate sent 3/17/21 notifying customers of price increases across the board.  

Can I cancel after the first month? 

Yes.  I believe that if you sign up again a few months later the system should know you have already received lesson 1 and start you back up with lesson 2.  Please reach out to KnitCrate directly to confirm.  

What is covered in the videos?

• Dyeing Tools and Equipment
• Safety tips for dyeing yarn at home
• How to make acid dye stock solutions
• Level 1 (goes with the Month 1 box) - How to dye Semi-solid yarn
• Level 2 (goes with the Month 2 box) - How to dye variegated yarn on the countertop
• Level 3 (goes with the Month 3 box) - How to dye speckled yarn low immersion 

There are also some bonus videos that will demonstrate some other fun ways you can combine color and yarn:

• Dyeing a yarn cake for a fun gradient
• Dyeing a 2-color gradient with connected miniskeins
• Dyeing self striping yarn
• Dyeing variegated and speckled yarn low immersion
• Dyeing "watercolor" yarn
• Solar dyeing yarn in mason jars
• Ice dyeing yarn

Finally, there are two videos that feature food coloring.  Food coloring works very similar to acid dyes so a lot of the above videos will also work with food coloring.  

• Dyeing yarn with KoolAid in the microwave
• Dyeing yarn with KoolAid in a crock pot

Want to watch the videos to see if yarn dyeing is for you?  You can!  The videos I created for KnitCrate are available to the public for free.  I created a Dive into Dyeing playlist that I will share on my channel or you can watch all 15 videos below: 

Are the included gloves laytex-free? 

Yes!  The gloves are vinyl laytex-free and powder-free.  

Can we watch you unbox the Dive into Dyeing Subscription? 

Yes!  I will unbox the first level on Friday 8/28 at 1 PM EST on the ChemKnits Tutorials YouTube Channel.  You can watch the replay below: 

I am an affiliate marketer with KnitCrate and Dyer Supplier which means I earn commission on purchases made after clicking on my affiliate links.

10 Reasons Why I Love KnitCrate

KnitCrate is a company that provides fun surprise packages through their yarns subscription services.  These crates feature hand dyed yarns (from both in house dyers and independent dyers) and patterns from independent designers.  I was delighted when they reached out to me this February and offered to send me a few months of their KnitCrate Membership subscription so I could test it out. 

Last week, I received my third KnitCrate package. The more I learned about KnitCrate in these last few months, the happier I was to be working with them.  Today I want to share with you 10 reasons why I love KnitCrate. 

April 2018 KnitCrate Membership Package.  Yarn: DK Weight 100% Superwash Merino Wool

1. Monthly Surprise Yarn

Each month when that bright turquoise package lands on my doorstep, I don't know what type of yarn I am going to get.  The yarn weights, colors, and fiber content are a surprise every month!  (Unless you are using one of their sock yarn clubs where you will get a different kind of sock yarn every month.)  One of the best parts of their flagship kit, KnitCrate Membership Subscription, is that even if you see spoilers, there are 3-4 different colorways each month.  Therefore, you might know something about the type of yarn you will receive, but the color in your package will always be a surprise.

My 3 Months of KnitCrate Exclusive Yarns

2.  Free Shipping, Even International!  

The price of all KnitCrate subscriptions include shipping costs.  International members might need to pay import duty and taxes to their home country, but they won't pay KnitCrate any extra for shipping for any of the different crates. 


3. KnitCrates are Economical

KnitCrate subscriptions start at just $19.95 for the Sock Crate Membership.  The KnitCrate Membership Subscription that I've been unboxing is only $24.99 and includes two 100 g skeins of hand dyed yarn, free shipping, 1 crochet pattern, 1 knitting pattern, and exclusive discounts in the KnitCrate Member Central shop and at some KnitCrate partners. 

February 2018 KnitCrate Membership.  Yarn: Worsted Weight 40% Merino Wool, 30% Silk, 30% Alpaca

To put this in perspective, if you love the yarn from a kit and want to buy some more, you can get some more skeins at a discount (up to 25% off in the Member Central.)  Yarns featured in the February and March 2018 KnitCrate Membership kits are $18/skein for members, but $24/skein for people who don't have a subscription.  (You can see the discount when you log into your account.) If you factor in the cost of two $24 skeins of yarn, $5 shipping, and $5/pattern, you get to a value of $63 for the KnitCrate membership kit. 

Members also earn KnitCrate Stash Points every month which you can save up for coupons off your next month's crate or for coupons to use in the Member Central. 


4. Enough Yarn to Make a Project

There's nothing worse than buying some cool yarn and then realizing once you are home that you do not have enough to complete a project.  Each KnitCrate membership kit comes with two patterns, 1 knitting and 1 crochet, and you have enough yarn to make either of the patterns.


5. Bringing Me Outside My Color Comfort Zone

When I pick my own yarns, I tend to choose purples, blues, and greens.  KnitCrate helps me come out of my comfort zone by sending me a surprise color each month.  Sometimes they send me the one I might have picked, otherwise it is something new, that brings me out of my color comfort zone. 


6. Pattern Download, No Extra Paper

I love that the KnitCrates come with links so you can download the knitting and crochet projects either to your computer or directly into your Ravelry library.  I find the patterns to be an excellent suggestion of what to make with the yarn, but sometimes the patterns inspire me to use the yarn for something already in my queue.  Since I don't have to worry about keeping track of paper patterns, I can save them in my library to use when I'm ready. 

The pattern download link is located on the back of the kit theme.  When you type that link into your computer, it is only a couple clicks of a button to add them to your library.

The Designs from 3 months of my KnitCrate Membership.  The postcard has the crochet pattern on one side and the knitting pattern on the other.  

7. KnitCrate Supports Independent Designers 

KnitCrate has multiple different programs for working with independent designers (see the link to Designer Programs at the top of their website.)  For patterns featured in the monthly creates, designers can pick between a flat fee or royalty program. 

For the designer, being featured in a KnitCrate means that you will get more people checking you out on Ravelry.  Each of the KnitCrates includes coupon codes for the designers' Ravelry shops, which provides incentive for people to check out their other patterns.  If I try someone's design and love it, I am much more likely to buy another pattern from them versus try someone new. 


8. KnitCrate Supports Independent Dyers

KnitCrate has two subscriptions that feature Independent Dyers, Artisan Crate and Sock Artisan Crate.  I haven't tried any of these kits, but I love the idea of a surprise yarn package that features a different Indie Dyer every month. 

KnitCrate offers yarn support for dyers FREE OF CHARGE and pays for shipping both ways.  Dyers are paid a flat rate for the yarns to cover their time, dyes, and other materials. I assume that the info card in each package contains information about the dyer's shop so you can learn more about who dyed the yarn.  (And there are likely discounts to the shop as well.)  

There is also a great potential for cross promotions, KnitCrate promotes the dyer, and the dyer promotes KnitCrate.  I know that the first thing I would do upon getting a surprise indie dyed skein of yarn is to look up the dyer's shop to see what other types of yarn they offer.  I really like that KnitCrate makes it so easy for all consumers to see the programs for Indie Dyers and Designers, it makes me really respect the company.  You can learn more about the Indie Dyer Programs by following a link on the top of KnitCrate's website.


9. Brightly Colored Packaging 

When the teal mailer shows up on my doorstep, I know that it is going to be full of beautiful yarn.  It brings me joy straight from the beginning!

March 2018 KnitCrate Membership.  Yarn: Fingering weight 70% Superwash Merino, 20% Nylon, 10% Stellina

10. Bare Yarns 

I mentioned above that KnitCrate offers yarn support to their indie dyers, but they also let everyone in the community to buy their bare yarns.  DyerSupplier by KnitCrate is an ethically sourced line of undyed yarns at wholesale prices.  The prices are very reasonable and most of the yarns come in 10 packs.  Singles skeins are available for select yarn lines so you can try the yarn out before committing to buying multiple. 

My First 3 Months of KnitCrate!  

Thank you, KnitCrate, for letting me try out your subscription service!  I am so happy to share this with everyone. Do you want to give KnitCrate a try?  Use the code ChemKnits20 at checkout for 20% off your first month! 

-------------------
Disclaimer: KnitCrate sends me the monthly KnitCrates for free and I am part of their ambassador program.  All thoughts and opinions in this post are my own.  

Unboxing My First KnitCrate! (Feb 2018 KnitCrate Membership)

Today I opened up my very first KnitCrate!  I was so excited when they reached out to me to see if I would like to test their KnitCrate Membership Subscription.  Of course my answer was, "YES!"  My first package was the February 2018 KnitCrate Membership Crate:

KnitCrate Membership February 2018

What was inside my delightful teal bubble mailer?  The KnitCrate Membership subscription includes 1 knitting and 1 crochet pattern every month and enough yarn to complete one of the designs.  First I pulled out two skeins of Knitologie Glowing Worsted Yarn in the color Mist.  Mist is a really deep and saturated blue/green.  The yarn looks like it has been kettle dyed and has very subtle variations in the depth of color.  Semi-solids like this are one of my absolute favorites to knit with because it gives the finished project so much dimension. The yarn is a 40% Merino Wool / 30% Silk / 30% Alpaca which is not only incredibly warm and soft, but also had a wonderful sheen that almost makes the yarn look iridescent. 

This month, I got two cowl patterns which were shared on two sides of a postcard in my package.  Vincent W. Green designed the crochet pattern "Mariana Trench Scarf" and the knit "Raindrop Cowl" was designed by Noelle Davis.  Both of these patterns say they require 300 yards of yarn, and I have 298 yards total between the two skeins.  I hope that I'm not going to play yarn chicken when I make my cowl!  However, since these patterns were designed with this yarn in mind I am sure that I would have no trouble completing the project.

I really like that the KnitCrate includes a link to download the designs instead of paper copies.  I was able to easily add these patterns to my Ravelry library so they can be searched and downloaded at a future date as needed.  (If you don't have a Ravelry account you can download the patterns directly to your computer.)  The theme of this package is "Petrichor", and I got an explanation of the rainfall and shimmering puddles that inspired the colorway and patterns on a postcard.  This postcard also contains coupon codes for the pattern designers' Ravelry shops, email addresses for pattern support, and the value of each of the included items in the kit (Yarn, Patterns, and Shipping.)

All February KnitCrate Membership packages will have codes for the same knitting and crochet patterns plus 2 skeins of Knitologie Glowing Worsted Weight Yarn.  The colors of yarn will be a surprise.  In addition to Mist, you could receive either of the colors Rain Drops or Verdant.  The total retail value of this kit is $63 (2 x $24 skeins + 2 x $5 patterns + $5 shipping). During my livestream, we discovered that you can buy skeins of yarn found in the kits at full price, but you had better jump fast at the beginning of the month because most of the Feb exclusive yarns are sold out as of 2/21.

Are you interested in trying out a KnitCrate Subscription, too?  Use the coupon code ChemKnits20 to receive 20% off your first order!  (Thank you, KnitCrate!) To hear more of my thoughts as I opened up my KnitCrate, watch the livestream replay below.  (My 4 yo interrupted the livestream from his rest a couple of times. I have edited out the long pauses but left the rest of the interruptions in their unedited form for the true ChemKnits livestream experience.) 

I am so excited to see what shows up in my March package. Which subscription looks the most interesting to you? The Sock Crate is currently sold out, but I think that the Artisan Crate, which features a different indie dyer each month, looks AWESOME. 

-------------------------------------------

KnitCrate sent me the package for free and I am enrolled in the KnitCrate Affiliate Program.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.