YARN
Most of the kits are based on Jennifer’s Flock Sock yarn, which is a tight-spun 4-ply fingering weight, 75%/25% superwash merino/nylon.
We’ve also planned one kit (#4, I think) in Jennifer’s Bamboo Ewe, also a tight 4-ply, made up of 40%/40%/20% bamboo/wool/nylon.
I’m still hoping to come up with something different/new/interesting for kit #3, but that remains to be determined.
Kits may also include small skeins of other yarns (contrasting laceweights, for instance) and other embellishments such as beads.
NEEDLES AND GAUGE
The patterns are all “needle-neutral” to the degree possible - I work the prototypes on 2-circs, that being my own preferred configuration, but I encourage knitters to use whatever they are already comfortable with, and I try to cover all bases in the writing. If DPNs are what you like, DPNs are what you should use, as many or as few as you’re used to. If you’re a magic-looper, then you should magic-loop.
Most of my patterns are written for US #1 (2.50mm) needles, but there is occasionally a call for #2s (2.75mm or 3.00mm). Firebird, this year’s first pattern, is written for #0s (2.00mm).
More to the point, the typical gauge will be 8 sts x 12 rows = 1” - Firebird being, again, the exception, at 9 sts x 13 rows to the inch.
THEMES AND CONSTRUCTION
If the whole world and its brother didn’t know we were kicking off the 2008 season with a Firebird sock, it wasn’t for lack of my telling them! I’m still going to be a little coy about some of the themes for the rest of the season - a little suspense is fun, I figure - but I’ll generally blog a sock before it’s shipped, sometimes even while I’m developing it if I think there’s anything interesting to be said about it. What I’m getting at is… we don’t worry about spoilers here. There will be some surprises in the packages anyway, but by the time you get each of them you’ll probably already have some idea what the actual sock is going to be, and that’s fine. (I can’t be too coy about the theme for Sock #3, since a bunch of you were instrumental in developing it!)
I suppose it’s no secret that I am a passionate lover of toe-up socks - but I do try to vary the structural menu for the club offerings. Firebird is toe-up, with a toe-tip cast-on and a pseudo-gusseted short-row heel. Sock #2 will probably be cuff-down. Sock #3 - toe-up because of directional pattern stitches. After that - well, you’ll see.
TECHNIQUES
Each kit comes with complete illustrated tutorials for every technique called for. Some of these will be included in the pattern itself, some (the more generic ones, the ones most likely to be repeated) will be in the accompanying Techniques Booklet, which grows by instalments as needed for each kit.
Recidivists please note: this year’s booklet looks very much like last year’s, but the contents will not be identical; I try to keep my terminology consistent, but there are places where this year’s definitions will supersede last year’s. (Some day I hope to consolidate all this material into one lovely little book that will be universally useful… but that day is not here yet.)
Where applicable I always include both charts and written instructions for pattern stitches. Charts are printed on cover stock.
THE “LARGE” OPTION
If you’re paying for the Large Size Upgrade, what you’re getting is 25% more yarn (and other materials like beads, if applicable). All the club patterns contain instructions for both Medium (9” foot circumference) and Large (10” foot circumference) sizes. (This is also true of most of the standalone kits, the exceptions for now being Kitri, Imbas and Poseidon.) Depending on the size and shape of your foot, it is possible that you might want to use the Large yarn allowance with the Medium pattern, or vice versa.
CUSTOM ADJUSTMENTS
One size does not fit all - neither do the two standard sizes I write for my patterns. But no matter what size/shape your feet are, I’m obsessed with getting the right fit. If you have any issues of this kind, if your feet have any features that may call for special attention - high arch, narrow instep, deep heel, wide calf, whatever - please do not hesitate to discuss with me. I will be happy to work with you to modify the shaping to suit you.
GOODIES
I’m going to be coy about most of these for now too - surprises from the Yarn Fairy turn up at random, and if you know more than that they won’t be surprises, will they. But I did want to remind anyone who has read this far that club membership entitles you to a 10% discount on other yarn and kit purchases!
THE STORY SO FAR
I was going to include a summary of the Yarn Drought Saga on this page, and a sort of developing calendar-ish thing. But I think I’ll save that for a separate page - there’s already enough stuff on this one!
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