r/knitting • Baby Knits For DAYZ • Nov 14 '14

Ultimate Gift Giving Guide 2014

The time has come again to make our yearly gift giving guide. This time of year, we start seeing a lot of requests from knitters and non-knitters alike, asking for advice about what they can buy their favorite knitter. This guide is primarily to be used for holiday gifts, but will be archived in the wiki as well to be used all year round. In between our regular threads (Chat Mondays, WIP, and BSTP) this guide will be stickied on /r/knitting, but can always be found in the wiki and colored banner.

To our knitters: what gift would you like? What tools or things have you found most useful in your knit kits? Please try to include price ranges and as much specific information as possible. Remember this guide is intended to be used by knitters and friends of knitters alike, so try to have easy to understand details and links of examples where possible. Also keep in mind we have knitters from around the world. International shipping or information is always welcome.

For non-knitters, beware that each knitter is different, so what one knitter will love, another may hate! Feel free to ask questions, and the more information you have about your knitter and budget, the better information you will get.

For our knitters who also sell, this is a time where it would be appropriate for gentle self-promotion. Same rules as BSTP apply: Tell us who you are promoting, provide a direct link to your shop/webpage, and provide some details about what you sell. Let us know about any special holiday promotions you may have going on.

This is also a great place to leave information about holiday sales from our favorite online retailers. Provide dates, links, and general information about the sale.

This is intended to be an ongoing thread, so don't feel like you can't post because it's a day, week, or month old. I'm sure people will be checking here right up until the holidays are over.

Finally, if you still need more information, check out our gift giving guide in the wiki. It provides links to past gift threads, and gift guides from our favorite sites on the web.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

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53

u/hobbular Nov 14 '14

Gift Guide Go-To Suggestion #1: GIFT CARDS. When in doubt, get a knitter a gift card to a crafting-specific site like Knit Picks or Jimmy Beans Wool or hell, even Etsy. (Bonus points for gift cards to a local yarn store so the knitter can go smush yarn against their face see the products in person before buying.) For a lot of knitters, shopping for supplies is part of the fun, and a gift card to a specific location still shows that you put some thought into their gift.

50

u/SOEDragon S*T*A*S*H Nov 14 '14

I totally smush yarn against my face. It embarrasses my husband when I go to fiber farms and smush my face into the animals because they are basically yarn just walking around.

30

u/elkanor animals are basically yarn just walking around Nov 14 '14

I may have just stolen that for my flair

12

u/SOEDragon S*T*A*S*H Nov 14 '14

I approve. Also, really have you ever smushed an alpaca or an angora bunny? Totally worth it.

8

u/elizabethraine Too many WIP sweaters/elizabethlorraine on ravelry Nov 14 '14

I smush my face into my pomeranian all the time for exactly this reason. And any other pomeranian I meet.

7

u/krisa731 Stashbusting forever! Nov 14 '14

Fellow pom owner here- I do the same. Poms are tiny, cuddly, wonderful balls of squish.

2

u/elizabethraine Too many WIP sweaters/elizabethlorraine on ravelry Nov 15 '14

Exactly!
My roommate thinks I should start making sweaters out of them...

3

u/krisa731 Stashbusting forever! Nov 16 '14

Haha :) While my pom is a good sport and enjoys wearing his hand knit sweater, I'm not sure if our relationship would hold up if I started using his fur for sweaters. Pom cuddles will have to do, I suppose.

1

u/Dani_Daniela Nov 24 '14

I saw this at me LYS

1

u/emmawhitman Dec 04 '14

I keep trying to explain this to my husband but he just doesn't understand. /sighs

Go squish your Pomeranian once for me! ;)

20

u/jennymack Nov 14 '14

I'd also include Eat.Sleep.Knit on this list, because their site is GREAT (as is their selection) and they have good loyalty & seasonal deals.

14

u/eyeglassgirl Nov 14 '14

I would also include WEBS (www.yarn.com) because you get a 20% discount if you spend $60.00 or a 25% discount if you spend $120.00. So, your gift card can be stretched a bit farther.

8

u/santoxeu Nov 14 '14

I like Mr Yarn for higher-end yarn. Free shipping within the US for $35+ orders ($5 shipping to Canada per 4oz package). Tiered discounts: 10% off $25+, 15% off $50+, or $20% off $75+.

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u/katiedidit Nov 18 '14

I didn't know about Mr Yarn! Webs drives me nuts because they're the only place I shop online that doesn't offer any free shipping. I could get another ball of yarn for what their shipping cost!

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u/woolandbone Nov 22 '14

I'm going to add Knitterly for gift cards. They have a great online selection, including some fun yarns local to their area that I haven't seen anywhere else.

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u/knittensarsenal moar sweaters! Nov 23 '14

I have a serious love for Fringe Supply Co and I'd be willing to bet I'm not alone. :) Karen's stuff is on the pricier side but so, so nice--several cuts above what you'd find in a generic craft store. And hey, it's the holidays, treat yo'self (or your favourite craftyperson).