Stockinette Market: November 2014

Hello, knitters! It's that time of year--I can feel the heat rising off everyone's furiously clacking needles as C-Day draws closer.  For a little bit of a break, let's take a look back at what November had to offer by way of numbers!

 There was only one change in the content of the average percentage this month, with toys taking the place of ponchos.  Other than that, the categories remained the same, as did their rankings for the most part.  There were some percentage shifts from October: neck accessories dropped from 24% to 22%, cowls rose from 13% to 19%, hats rose from 12% to 16%, and cardigans and pullovers dropped from 12% each to 9% and 7%, respectively.  This ties in to the trends we've been seeing previously, as well as with the general shift in the winter months towards cozy and necessary accessories.  I am definitely looking forward to seeing what happens in the spring--whether cowls are here to stay, or whether they are indeed seasonal and will dip down again during the warmer months.


 There were very few publications in November that made an impact on the HRN standings; most trends were organically based or through the efforts of individual designers.  We did see the publication of three different collections: Kate Davies' Yokes at the beginning of the month, whose one-pattern-a-day release schedule caused a continual buzz in cardigans and pullovers for about a week in a row at the beginning of the month.  The 20th saw the release of Brooklyn Tweed's Wool People 8, which caused similar attention in garments, but showed as a spike rather than a continual line.  Finally, Twist Collective's latest issue debuted on the list on the 25th.  Each of these publications was garment heavy, and padded pullovers' and cardigans' stats up for the month.  However, despite these, both categories fell over the month, as did neck accessories after a promising start.  Cowls and hats both rose organically, with a promo from crochet cowl designer Deborah Currier-Hornyak boosting figures for that item near the end of the month.  All other garment types remained relatively steady, with little to no movement at the bottom of the spectrum.





Though solid and semi-solid yarns usually trade for dominance over the month, in November they saw nearly identical drops in prominence as the month went on.  Though each saw several spikes throughout the month, in the end the organic rise of variegated and self-striping yarns and the boost of tweeds with Wool People 8 brought their average down.  Projects with two colors rose in November as well, following a general trend towards stripes and colorwork this winter.  However, 3+ colors fell, suggesting people are going for the simpler, perhaps quicker versions of these trends.

 Modeled garments are still maintaining the majority, with a plateau corresponding to the daily release of the Yokes collection (as the previous days' patterns often remained on the first page as new ones were released) and a spike corresponding to Wool People 8.  We did see some organic spikes in both flat items and mystery knits throughout the month, and one spike in dressforms correspondent with Deborah Currier-Hornyak's promo.

 Fabric type kept texture as a clear winner this month, with occasional dips to accommodate the spikes in stockinette that came with Yokes and Wool People 8.  Colorwork also saw a spike in the second half of the month, as did lace almost immediately after Wool People.  Despite these spikes, texture was the only fabric type that rose over the month; the rest dropped or remained steady.


 Grey, white, and blue continued to hold the top spots in the month, with the former climbing the most as the month went on.  Blue had a very sharp organic spike around the 19th which caused it to trend upward as the month went on, but was otherwise relatively mellow in comparison to its usual volatile showing.  White fell over the month after several strong spikes in the first two weeks.  Red also saw a spike along with blue on the 19th, but fell overall.  There were slight gains in orange and brown, typically pretty underrepresented colors, and losses in purple, green, and black.  Yellow remained a minimal, but steady presence.

That's it for November--not a whole lot of violent action, but some interesting things to watch on trendlines as the winter progresses.  Hope everyone is staying warm and having a wonderful holiday season!

p.s. if you're interested in actually *listening* to me talk about stats, I had the pleasure of being a guest on Hannah Fettig's Knit.Fm podcast a few weeks ago to talk about overall trends in knitting.  Have a listen and please do weigh in in the Knit.Fm Ravelry forums!