A Way too Detailed KnitCrate Stitch Starter Learn to Knit Review

I’m not sure how to review this class. I was super excited when I saw that KnitCrate* was getting back into the teaching game. When I wanted to expand my skills beyond knit and purl I did the original KnitCrate class and loved it. I recommended it to everyone and I was more than a bit heartbroken when they took it down. When they announced new classes in knitting, crocheting, and dyeing of course I had to try them all. After… a lot I’ve finished the knitting one and, quite frankly, I’m confused.

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The Videos

All the videos are free on YouTube. They’re fine. The production quality is good, they explain the techniques in a clear way. I don’t mind that they’re free, but when I found out they were I was a bit… confused. While I’m happy they’re trying to make knitting accessible, what you’re paying for here is the kit so that’s what I’m going to focus on.

The Kits

I’ve been subscribing to KnitCrate for a while. Usually, you get two skeins of yarn, an extra, and two patterns for $24.99USD, or $19.95USD for one skein of sock yarn, an extra, and two patterns. These kits are $34.95USD for… one skein of yarn, a set of needles, a beginners kit the first month, and an instruction booklet with the pattern.

I didn’t mind the beginner kit. I like that it came with everything you need right out the box. I’ve always considered knitting the best hobby for travel and seeing just how little you need for the essentials reaffirmed that. The first month’s yarn wasn’t a KnitCrate yarn, despite the pattern calling specifically for a yarn made and dyed by them. I think they got a deal on this yarn in this colour and dye lot because it came in the crochet kit as well. It’s a good enough yarn, but it’s not as luxurious as the yarns I expect from KnitCrate. It was just… fine.

Month two included double points, literally the exact same needles in the first kit, and a skein of yarn.

This is where the real issues started.

Hat patterns tend to need three kinds of needles- circular small for the ribbing, circular 1-2 sizes bigger for the body of the hat, and double points for when there are too few stitches for the circulars to handle. I think the intention was to send out the smaller circulars instead of the ones I got. Luckily I had interchangeables in the size needed.
The second issue was the yarn. This pattern calls for worsted yarn and they sent a fingering. To be fair to KnitCrate their customer service was awesome and they sent me the right yarn right away. I didn’t realize the needles until it was too late. I just had this image in my head of a beginner attempting to make this hat with a fingering weight yarn and not figuring out what they were doing wrong, let alone being discouraged they got the wrong needles.

The third and final month saw needles, two skeins of yarn, and a graduation pin. They finally got the yarn and needle size right. I got two of these grey skeins in a previous KnitCrate and it’s nice. It’s 100% Pima cotton. I’m still not too sure about the pink, but it is what it is. At this point, I was honestly just happy that the right size yarn and needles showed up.

The Instructions

I liked that each booklet had written and photographed instructions. I tend to learn well by reading things, and it was also convenient mid-project when you just needed a memory jog and didn’t want to load up a video.

I think they were trying to go for an easy overview. I’ve done courses where there’s just too much information and it causes you to get overwhelmed and not even start, however; I think this sacrificed a lot of useful information. They had a class on winding a ball, but no mention of knots in a skein. The industry standard of knots per skein is no more than three. I had a skein of the first yarn with a knot. There was no mention on what to do if you come across a knot mid-project.

They also didn’t mention that you need to take apart your swatches in order to have yarn for the project. If you had done a bind off on all your swatches you’d need guidance on how to take them apart and join a new ball. There was also nothing about substituting yarn (which they, very boldly and, in my opinion, very unwisely did on the first month) and nothing about checking for errata’s before you start a project.

I think the biggest oversight in these instructions is that they only teach English knitting. There are two types of knitting- English knitting uses your right hand to hold your working yarn, Continental uses your left. I’ve always knit English and was planning to knit this course Continental to simulate the beginner experience. Not only do they only teach one way, but they also don’t even mention the two types. Knitters are passionate about this. Many swear that Continental is better for your joints and faster. Not mentioning something so big is, quite honestly, inexcusable.

The Patterns

Month one was a cowl that used garter and stockinette. I think the concept of this cowl is good. It teaches a lot of skills. It’s also good to see how knit and purl stitches combine to make many stitch patterns.

I think the yarn let it down. It just didn’t have enough drape to make the design look good. It made the cowl look a bit cheap and scratchy as opposed to the luxurious and cosy cowl pictured. I ended up taking this apart because between the scratchiness, style, and colour I knew I’d never wear it.

The second pattern was a hat. Despite all the issues with the kit, I was optimistic. It’s a hat. I like making hats; I’m good at making hats. All was well until I hit the top of the crown. I’m 100% sure there’s an error in this pattern and you knit a row you’re supposed to purl. I had a bit of a crisis over this and noticed that looking up a pattern errata isn’t mentioned anywhere in the course. I decided to follow the pattern exactly to see what happens. It’s not made this hat unwearable, and people who just look at it as a casual glance don’t notice it, but I know it’s there.

Month three was this kerchief cowl. The instructions on changing colour were good, though I wish they had mentioned a bit more about yarn jogging. The yarn was nice and the colours looked good together.

The increase you learn is knit front and back. I understand they were only trying to teach one increase for simplicity; however, I think both the pattern and course would have benefitted from learning make one right and left and discussing the way increases lean. There was also an issue with the seed stitch on the bottom. The more I think about it, the more I think that’s probably my mistake, but also, that bit will be tucked into a coat or sweater so it doesn’t matter. Out of everything, this is the one I’ll wear the most. It’s warm, but not too warm and it’s easy to throw on while walking the dog. I also like the colour combo a lot more than I thought I would.

Would I Recommend This?

Generally, this is how I judge a course and… with this one I haven’t really come to an answer. I think it really depends on why you want to learn to knit.

If you’re going in hoping by the end of these three months you can make a sweater with lace and cables on it, that’s not going to happen. At the end of this kit, you’ll probably be on beginner patterns for a few projects while you worked out more increases, decreases, and cable techniques. There will definitely be a lot of searching for explanations of new techniques.

If you want to learn a new skill while stuck in lockdown you really can’t get any better than the delivery of these kits. You literally get everything you need to start and aside from the first cowl, the projects are really nice and wearable. I have a friend who wants to try everything and I’d recommend this to her. At the end of this course, you can say you knit, and have proof of it.

I think another huge factor was my timing. I’m pretty sure I got the first round of boxes. From the first month to the third they really did improve, so I’m hoping that there was a learning curve and they sorted some of the issues out. If you’ve subscribed recently, let me know. Especially if you got a nicer yarn in your first box!

So, what’s my opinion? If you’re looking to try something new this isn’t a bad way to do it, especially since getting to shops right now is difficult at best. Just don’t go into it thinking you’ll be ready to cast on a sweater when you finish.

To subscribe, head over to Knitcrate.

And hey, knitting is a great way to pass the time…

…and so is watching videos!