*EDITED UPDATE: As naturalbodycare notes in the comments, the called for yarn from Fitted Knits is indeed a Knit Picks yarn. I am all for saving money and I do appreciate the effort that goes into knitting new garments. I still don’t understand why they wouldn’t focus on designing, or feature the photography and model from the book (which is totally allowed). It’s a beautiful shot and I know firsthand that a lot of work goes into those photo shoots! I am a Knit Picks customer and am really pleased with some of their products (needles, in particular). This wasn’t meant as a disparagement, I just wanted to see what other bloggers thought.*
First things first…I’m feeling snarky about something. I got the Knit Picks catalog in the mail the other day, I’m thumbing through and something starts to bother me. It’s been bothering me awhile but I can’t quite figure out the ‘rules’ of the situation. To promote books and their own yarn line Knit Picks, will knit a garment in their brand of yarn (versus the one called for in the original pattern). Many of us do this to save money without any prompting and there are definitely guidelines surrounding the use of free patterns published on the Internet (Hello Yarn‘s in nice and clear, as is Knitty‘s)…but what about this?
I suppose it’s okay and I’m sure they’ve researched the legality of it but it’s a little out of hand.
This was the most egregious offense in the recent catalog–not only have they replaced the yarn, it looks like they’ve replicated the photoshoot!! Is anyone else a little perturbed by this?
Could’ve been accidental…I’ve unintentionally produced a Japel–ish design myself, my Trinket tank has a twin in Fitted Knits. Stefanie and I do share a birthday, so it could be Virgonean kismet.
As I mentioned, I’ve got a big project planned for my summer (and knowing me, far, far, beyond) that involves a fuzzy bag of gold. The inspiration was a dress from Urban Outfitters:
I like the puffed sleeves but since the color I picked isn’t as sweet as the lilac I might try to do something more like a petal sleeve. Still dainty but simpler. Another option is a slight puffed sleeved with a button closure:
I’ve trolled my B. Walkers and this is the stitch pattern I’ve been most drawn to, Sunspots:
This particular pattern seems to be popping up everywhere I look. Right after I fell for this one and sketched out my ideas I came across this on Facehunter and I cringed. NOT exactly what I am going for, but eerily similar to my notes!
Some other stitch patterns I’m considering. I’ll have to swatch to see how they show up in the Kidsilk Haze…
I was thinking about the yellow…I thought long and hard before settling on that color. In a way I was being a contrarian, there are so many amazingly beautiful colors! I think it could be fantastic in the late summer and fall, especially with a contrasting dress or slip underneath. And if I hate it, yellow can become a delicious green. I couldn’t find any blog entries about people over-dying Kidsilk Haze…is it risky, sacreligious, unnecessary, what?
CR
Skrilla Knits 
I LOVE the dress!!! I can’t wait to see what you come up with. I’m sure it will be a winner.
Amy
I have never commented on your blog before but i am a reader of it. I wanted to say that I received my Knit Picks mag today and also pondered as I flipped the pages, very strange but who knows.
Dana
Look at your Fitted Knits book a bit closer, and you’ll see that the specified yarn for the red sweater is indeed KP’s own Merino Style. My guess is that the model was even lent to them. As far as knitting up sweaters from books in their own yarns, I don’t really see a problem with it. Why not? They were ambitious enough to get it done, and I can’t see that the publisher and author would mind either, since their book is getting heavy promotion. It’s up to their audience how attractive (or not in some cases) the sweater looks in their yarn. My 2 cents.
Hmm, I wonder if KSH would dye up unevenly because of the fiber content — if the silk and mohair would absorb the color differently? I’m a sucker for the sunspot pattern. Can’t wait to see what you do with the dress!
I bet Knit Picks gets permission to do that, though I’m not sure they need to. They’re not shy about suing (remember knitpixie?) so I’d think they have their bases covered. It’s different than me asking people not to give away or sell patterns in their stores. If someone had an Irish Hiking Scarf knit in Cascade 220 hanging in their store next to the Cascade 220, and pointed people to my site for the pattern- that would be not only okay, but lovely.
What bugs me about the garments in the Knit Picks catalog, and I confess I haven’t looked at one in a while, is that they are so FLACCID. It’s like they have a completely different idea about what knitted fabric should be like that I do. They’ll have this limp Aran sweater hanging off the model or a wool sweater with fabric I can see right through. Doesn’t make me want to knit it!
whoo hoo! i can’t wait to see the progress of your project! it’s so very lovely…
if you don’t have the BW 3rd treasury book, you can find the sunspot stitch pattern here:
http://www.elann.com/ShowFreePattern.asp?Id=206024
its a cool idea. I look forward to seeing what you make of it!
Holy cow, that sunspots stitch is amazing. And in a puff-sleeve keyhole neckline dress? To die for. I can’t wait to see the end result.
I agree with you about Knit Picks…but that’s all I’m going to say about it 🙂
That dress is quite ambitious! You will totally be my knitting hero when you finish it!
First off your dress is going to be stunning! I can’t wait to see what you do with it! It’s such a lovely idea!
Secondly I think KP is so weird. Yes I have bought (and I’m sure will again) their yarns but… their photos NEVER look as good as the book photos so it never makes me want to buy their yarn. Something about the photos of their models in their yarn just looks weird & home done.
End rant! 😉
surely part of the problem with over-dying KSH would be the need to keep to such cool water?
I’m thinking of trying it though, having had a bit of a end of a dyelot disaster…
i think your dress idea is a great one and the sunspots stich pattern is a personal favorite.
i would be careful when dyeing the ksh. if it evn felted just slightly you’d have a fuzzy nightmare on your hands. i guess i’m also against it be cause that color is just so freaking gorgeous the way it is. just sayin’.
Hi Cirilia,
I had to write and say how much I like your ddress idea and that I too am currently at work on a dress design…..also using good old BW’s treasury to help me along….my design is a variation on the ‘Little Black Dress’….there should be more knitted dresses out there what with all the wonderful yarn choices at our fingetips (i’m using Hempathy-Elizabeth Lavold- my current favourite yarn). Look forward to seeing how your’s comes out.
Gudrun
Good point on coming up with their own designs. I must say that I *love* to find a new Webs catalog in my mailbox. The last one with all of the proprietary patterns was fantastic! I can honestly say that there were more things I wanted to knit in that catalog than I find in the average issue of IK. And it would certainly make sense to order the yarn from Webs if I’m going to order the pattern, unless I already have just the thing in my stash, of course. From KP’s viewpoint, though, that would take significantly more time than simply working up a pattern hashed out by someone else. In addition, they seem to be more ambitious about selling the books that Webs. I’ve wondered why Webs doesn’t discount their books much? Especially the ones that are available everywhere.