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Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Why, Designers, Why?

Knitting and crochet designers--unless they're affiliated with some of the really big yarn brands--have this super annoying habit of choosing really expensive yarn that isn't necessarily easy to find. This makes me insane.

Never mind that the stuff is usually expensive. That irks me, too, but is a separate problem. It's the fact that I can't even find the flipping yarn they're using. Yes, I know about www.yarnsub.com, but a lot of times (for real!) they call out substitutions that are every bit as hard to find as what the designer used to begin with. That's even more frustrating.

So I have this pattern for a gorgeous shawl made with bright colors. I love bright colors. It calls out for Azula Nebula and can I find all four colors in one online yarn store? No, of course I can't. I can get two at one store with a third sold out and the fourth not available at all. I can get two at another store with the other two colors not carried at all. A lot of stores don't have the colors I need or they'll carry like four shades and nothing more. These four shades are usually boring colors.

Seriously, this yarn is expensive enough without having to add shipping from multiple stores into the equation!

I headed over to Yarn Sub, hoping I could find a less expensive substitute that was widely available. Instead there was only one replacement yarn that really matched the Nebula. It's a yarn that costs about $10 more a hank (yes, really!) and is just as hard to find as the first yarn and then I have to worry about color substitution to get the same color look.

Do these yarn makers sell their own yarn on their website? No, of course they don't. That would be too easy.

I wanted to pick up some Wonderland Yarns for a project and on their website they have a huge selection of awesome colors. I wanted to buy from them because they have it all right there with pictures. Instead, I have to start the yarn store odyssey and guess what? I can't find one store that carries the colors I planned to use in the pattern.

These are just two examples and I just started crocheting in January and Knitting in April. Either there's some tricks more experienced knitters/crocheters know on how to find yarn in the colors they want or I'm in for years of frustration.