The Stock(inette Market): May 6th-19th

Hello all! An interesting couple of weeks in the knitting world! We had some major industry publications: the continued presence of the Interweave Knits Summer 2013 preview I mentioned in the last edition; the 5th collection of Wool People, Brooklyn Tweed's guest designer series; Hannah Fettig and Quince & Co.'s collaboration on a Sparrow collection, Knitbot Linen; the debut of Melissa Wehrle's new book, Metropolitan Knits; and the preview for Knitscene's annual Accessories issue.  In addition, there were several notable trends caused by independent designers or searches.  Colorwork mittens had a continued presence through the first week due to Drunk Girl Design's subversive patterns (warning: strong language behind the link); Marisa Hernandez's shawls had a spike midway through the fortnight due to a Mother's Day promotion; and a variety of pineapple crochet patterns made an unexpected appearance on the morning of May 14th. Let's see what effect all of this activity had!

 

One clear trend from all of the above publications was the presence of many, many neck accessories.  Of the 16 items in Wool People 5, 9 were shawls or scarves, and Knitscene Accessories had 10 out of the 33 patterns in its pages.  Add to that a continued organic interest in them and the well-timed promotion from Marisa Hernandez, and neck accessories dominated with 55% of the market.  Cardigans also did well, as they were well represented in Interweave Knits and Knitbot Linen, and pullovers had a strong showing in Interweave.  Vests also made a comeback this fortnight, due to both organic presence and some popular examples from Interweave and Knitbot Linen.  Of note is the fact that hats, kids' garments, and toys fell off the list this week; the former was present in Knitbot Linen and Knitscene, but otherwise didn't make a huge impact, and the latter two were present in self-publications but not in great numbers.

 

Though neck accessories were present in large numbers, there wasn't a huge spike or uptick in their numbers over the weeks.  There was a small spike on May 7th when Wool People 5 debuted, then a larger one on May 9th that combined organic results and the continued presence of Wool People 5, and again another over Mother's Day weekend during Marisa Hernandez's promotion, but they remained otherwise fairly steady.  Pullovers started the session strong due to their heavy presence in Interweave, and cardigans rose in the end due to Knitbot Linen and Melissa Wehrle's Metropolitan Knits.  All others remained relatively steady, with a slight organic peak in cowls over the Mother's Day weekend and a combination organic and Interweave-based spike in vests around the 15th.

This is the first time we've seen a third figure really come into play on the yarn front to rival solids and semi-solids.  It's no surprise that tweed yarns would spike strongly with the release of Wool People 5, but what's also interesting is that other patterns featuring tweed or heathered yarns gained prominence around that same time as well, such as Jon, the Market Shawl, and the Salt and Pepper Cowl.  However, after about a week, things settled back down to normal, with solids and semi-solids again trading for prominence.  Both had strong presences in Interweave and Knitscene, with semi-solids leading slightly.  Solids rose a bit more in the first half of the second week due to Knitbot Linen, as well.  There were also some interesting spikes in 2-color projects throughout the weeks, both organically and due to industry publications.

Modeled garments started off the session strong, with the highest number on record (39/48) coming on May 9th, due to Wool People 5 and Interweave Knits.  However, this dropped off sharply as the period went on, with only a small spike for Knitbot Linen and Interweave.  Pictures with the item shown flat spiked organically over the 14th and 15th, and there was a small dressform spike on the 12th that matches Marisa Hernandez's promotion, as she shoots most of her shawls on a dressform.

Fabric type continues relatively steady, with almost no change in the continued dominance of lace.  There was an organic spike in stockinette on May 10th, and various small spikes of stockinette, texture, and colorwork throughout the remainder.  Cables started strong with a few garments in Wool People 5 utilizing them, but then dropped off throughout the rest of the weeks.  

 Color was again incredibly variable; blue started the weeks strong with a large presence in Interweave and a few popular garments in Wool People 5, and then spiked at the end of the session both organically and with Knitbot Linen.  Red climbed throughout, with a sharp organic spike between the 14th and 16th.  Grey spiked with Marisa Hernandez's promotion, as many of her shawls present were knit in that color, and green, orange, and white also climbed throughout the weeks.  Black, purple, yellow, and brown fell slightly. 

A very interesting couple of weeks, in all; industry publications brought many neck accessories and sweaters to the table, but these were also shored up by organic results.  We saw a continued dominance of lace, modeled garments, and blue and grey, with red rising again.  What do you think the next couple weeks will bring?