The Stock(inette) Market: October 7th-November 3rd

We are well and truly into the knitter's favorite time of year here in the Northern Hemisphere (I write this currently swathed in cardigan and scarf, and am seriously contemplating fingerless mitts), with tons of activity in the pattern world over the last few weeks.  Let's take a look!

  

There was a good bit of a reshuffling in the average percentages this month, with neck accessories gaining back two percentage points, sweaters dropping a few points, and cowls and hats gaining a larger share of the market, up six and four percentage points from last month respectively.  Toys have dropped off the list entirely for the month, but other categories remain relatively steady.  I would have suspected from previous analysis that we'd be seeing more garments at this time of year, but the popularity of accessories is continuing strong.

In addition, while many patterns were published in October, there were few spikes due to major publications, instead coming organically or as the result of promotions or sales.  After starting strong at the beginning of the month, the major spike in neck accessories on October 22nd came from a promo by Rose Beck, whose work is predominantly accessories.   However, despite this and a few further organic spikes later on, neck accessories fell over the month, with all other categories remaining relatively steady.  Other spikes include organic ones in cowls throughout the month, and a spike in sweaters due to a Ravelry spotlight on yoked colorwork sweaters. 

Rose Beck's influence is also felt in yarn type, as most of her samples were produced in hand-dyed semi-solids.  These yarns rose slightly over the month, with organic spikes throughout the second half of the month.  There were also organic spikes in solids at the beginning of the month and the very end, and spikes in 2 and 3-color projects near the end due both to the Ravelry spotlight and the release of Hannah Fettig and Quince & Co.'s KnitBot Yoked, which featured several colorwork projects.  All other categories remained steady.

Modeled garments remained the clear winner this month, with an organic spike on the 17th and one corresponding to the release of KnitBot Yoked, the tail end of the Ravelry spotlight on colorwork yoked sweaters, and the start of a Ravelry spotlight on mittens, gloves, and mitts. There was a small spike in flat garments correspondent with Rose Beck's promo and an organic spike at the end of the month. Dressforms fell slightly, and mystery knits remained steady. 

Colorwork and stockinette both rose over the month, with strong presences in KnitBot Yoked, the Ravelry spotlights, and organically.  Texture also had multiple organic spikes throughout the month, and lace saw a major spike with Rose Beck's promo, though it fell throughout the month.  Cables remained steady.

The major spikes in color this month were blues, greys, greens, and whites, all relatively organically and not tied to any promos or publications. Despite these, both blue and grey fell, along with orange (which had a strong showing at the beginning of the month) and purple.  Green, yellow, white, and black all rose, the latter two due to their frequent use in the colorwork projects on showcase.  Red and brown also rose slightly and organically.

So while September was a month jam-packed full of major publications, October was just as full of ups and downs organically.  Semi-solids and colorwork were highlighted, as were neck accessories, cowls, and sweaters.  Modeled garments remained prominent, and cool tones predominated.  Can't wait to see what next month brings!

(Also, hello 100th blog post!)