In an effort to reduce some of my ongoing expenditure I recently made the difficult decision to cancel all of the crochet subscription boxes that I was receiving.  This was not an easy decision for me, but one that I feel quite pleased in making and I thought I would use the opportunity to share some of them with you and why I enjoyed them.

I have been a subscriber to at least 3, and up to 5 crochet subscription boxes at one time for the past two years (at least!).  As someone new to crochet I found them an awesome way to meet new yarn and to be introduced to new projects.  I was even a designer a few times for one of the boxes too.

As someone that prefers to create my own designs though, I found that a lot of what went in to each box was wasted on me.  I was in it for the yarn!  Many of the projects were lovely, but with the exception of one of the boxes, I next to never made any of the projects included.  And judging by my ever growing yarn stash, it is quite evident that I didn’t use a lot of the yarn that arrived either!

So let me tell you which ones I had been receiving and a little bit about them – and they’re in no particular order!

Yarn Crush

This box came all the way from Canada and I was receiving their Yarn Crush Indie box.  The focus on this box was supplying hand-dyed yarns from independent dyers.   I met some truly beautiful yarns through this box.  There were always a couple of crochet patterns to choose from and a little gift inside.  I loved that you could choose your preferred colour palette too as it meant you were more likely to receive yarn in a colour you would love.  They also have a sock box too.

Crate Crochet

This box was one that is much closer to home as it is Australian!  The focus of this box is Australian sourced yarn, and occasionally some from overseas.  This is the box that I also did some designs for.  I was receiving their Yarnaholics box and every box came with a pattern and the yarn you needed to make it.  They also have a beginners box and one that came with a hook and extras as well, but I only ever wanted the yarn.  I met some truly beautiful Australian yarns through this box and all of the patterns came in both US and UK terms.

Knitcrate

This is a US based box that provided hand-dyed yarn.  There was always a crochet pattern included too.  They have a few subscriptions to choose from, and have a waitlist.  I was receiving their one called KnitCrate.  I had recently gone onto their waitlist for their sockcrate – not because I like socks, but because I like sock weight yarn!  Most of the yarn that came in the knitcrate box was DK or worsted weight and I always received 2 skeins in each box.  They also have one that comes out every quarter.  I did end up ordering the quarterly one recently when spots became available, but I am yet to receive it so can’t really comment on what it was like.  I do have high hopes for it though!

Little Box of Crochet

This one is based in the UK and was the first that I ever signed up for.  It is beautifully presented and always came with everything you needed to complete the project.  I never ever made any of the projects though and stopped receiving it when I realised I was just loving the mini balls of yarn, the stitch markers and the pretty box!  I did sign back up for it in March or April this year though as it was switching from being a monthly box to being one that came every second month with a bigger project.  I received one and loved it, and will probably make the project one day when I have more time for crochet that is not designing.  They also have a “not so little” box of crochet that comes out a couple of times a year with a much bigger project.  I was tempted but opted to not purchase that one.

Crochet Surprise

This one is another US box, but is managed by someone in my home city of Perth!  I loved the projects more than the yarn in this one, and I did actually make part of one of the projects.  I ended up switching to their digital membership a while back though which provides me with the pattern that came in each box.  I do miss the gourmet loose leaf tea that came in every box too.

So there you have it, a little bit about each subscription box I received.  There were some others in the past two years too, one just disappeared one day and others I received limited boxes for as I needed to make the effort to sign up each time I wanted one.

I am content with my decision to cancel my subscriptions.  I am at a point now where I know a lot more yarn and know what I am wanting when I buy it.  I have many independent dyers and commerical yarn stores that I want to purchase from, and I will as the need arises.

If you want to meet new yarn and/or be supplied with a new project each month, then I would recommend each and every one of the boxes above.  There is a thrill in opening a new surprise every month – even though I was one to be happy to sneak a peak at the previews online.  If I had the time to use up the contents more I would still probably keep getting some of them, and may even sign up again one day.

But for now, I will let someone else have their turn at receiving the joy that comes in a box filled with yarn every month.

Are you thinking about or currently subscribe to a crochet box?  What do you think of them?  I’d love to hear your point of view too.

Seona x