#dyersupplier

[tryslora]

Into the Blues. #chiarascurodyeingchallenge #dyersupplier #yarndyeing #dyeingyarn #triscolora https://www.instagram.com/p/CHjc5IGp2oL/?igshid=1kn5igevp0ovi

[knitcrate]

May 2020 Early Preview

Inspired by the coziness of our homes and the desire to learn new things, we’re turning lemons into lemonade - almost literally! This month, we’re giving you a blank canvas to create your own adventure and make a splash in the time we’re spending at home. 

We’ll guide you along the way, taking you as close as we can to the process of sheep to shawl in your own home for your most personalized project of 2020.

Like every other month this year, this crate was curated with a little help from our friends! This month, we've partnered with Rebecca Brown also known as ChemKnits Tutorials on Youtube. She has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology and specializes in applying her scientific training to the fiber arts. We love getting together as a team to watch her fun tutorials and get a behind-the-scenes look at the fiber magic she creates. Subscribe to her channel today to watch them with us while you wait for your next crate! 

When we found out our mill closed down for quarantine a few weeks ago and couldn't deliver the yarn we originally had planned out for May since last year, we knew we had to make some changes. With some help from Rebecca and our sister store Dyer Supplier, we put together something special for this month's crates. For the first time ever, we are bringing you a DIY Crate, where you'll learn to dye your own yarn with us! Just wait until you tell your friends that you not only stitched up your project but hand-dyed it too!

During our Early Preview, we only show you the yarn that is coming in the next crate, and not the patterns or extras, so that you can make decisions about changing your color vibe or adding a crate for the new month! If you need help changing your vibe, you can watch the video below for more details or contact us by clicking here.

Remember: The option to swap your color vibe is only open between April 15-28 for these crates.

Now let’s squish the yarn!

KnitCrate Membership

This month, we partnered with our sister company, DyerSupplier to bring a variety of industry standard bare yarns to your crates! Your crate will contain 2 skeins of undyed yarn to act as a blank canvas for you to make your own unique creation. Your crate will come with 2 identical skeins of any of the following bases.

2-Ply Superwash Merino

A classic 2-ply yarn with a bit of air within the spin. Perfect for a wide range of gauges and projects, this fingering weight 100% Superwash Merino yarn measures at approx. 399 yards/ 100g.

75/25 Superwash Merino Nylon

A 75% Superwash Merino 25% Nylon fingering weight blend, durable for any project and soft to the touch. Each skein measures at 415 yards/ 100g.

Nice & Round

This base looks and feels just like the name- nice and round. Ideal for crisp speckles and textured stitch definition, this tightly plied 100% Superwash Merino measures 415 yards/ 100g and is fingering weight.

Merino Singles

Wispy and soft, this singles base is an indie dyer essential and best seller! It is a fingering weight made up of 100% Superwash Merino with 415 yards/ 100g.

Energize Me: Ember

Like a warm campfire or fireworks in the sky, this color combination brings a burst of life to any stash. Each Energize Me Crate will come with 1 orange and 1 cherry packet to create 2 skeins of any of the pictured combinations!

Chill Out: Spritzer

This tart combination can be toned up or down depending on how much dye you use! Each Chill Out Crate will come with 1 grape and 1 cherry packet to create 2 skeins of any of the pictured combinations!

All Natural: Husk

Reminiscent of purple corn and pumpkins, 1 packet of grape and 1 packet of orange come together to create strikingly different colorways! Mix both packets for an unexpectedly natural colorway surprise!

Not a member yet? Join today!

Sock Crate Membership

DyerSupplier has filled our Sock Crates with every sock maker’s staple. A soft 80% Superwash Merino Wool, 20% Nylon fingering weight yarn, plied and ready to support those heels and toes! This base is 400 yards/ 100g.

Energize Me: Daiquiri

Blended with bits of undyed, this cherry flavor feels like a refreshing frozen drink by the pool. Each Energize Me Crate will come with 1 cherry packet to create 1 skein of a tonal or speckled sock yarn!

Chill Out: Fairy Floss

Like soft cotton candy, this yarn gives grape a chance to show its different colors! Each Chill Out Crate will come with 1 grape packet to create 1 skein of a tonal or speckled sock yarn!

All Natural: Creamsicle 

Orange and cream- a familiar, nostalgic, and delicious combination. Each All Natural Sock Crate will come with 1 orange packet to create 1 skein of a tonal or speckled sock yarn!

Not a member yet? Want to join Sock Crate Membership? You can do it here!

Malabrigo Quarterly Crate (UPDATED!)

April has been quite a month! We appreciate your patience while we completely redesigned this crate with Malabrigo. 

Now...who's ready for a quick peek at what will be inside our May 2020 Malabrigo Partner Crate?

Inspired by our May theme of Blank Canvas, we've partnered with Malabrigo to bring members luscious hand-dyed skeins of Washted, the superwash version of their Worsted Merino base. It features 210 yards (192 meters) per 100 gram skein.

Here's a quick look of a few colorways we've selected:

Colorways will vary from crate to crate. Each crate will include 2 identical skeins with matched lots of Washted for your next masterpiece PLUS 2 knit patterns, 1 crochet pattern, and an exciting extra (these will still be a surprise).

INTRODUCING:

Asylum Fibers x KnitCrate: Limited Edition Mother’s Day Crate

We are so excited to announce a very special collaboration with some incredible independent makers! From the yarn, patterns, to the extra, each element of this crate has been handpicked and exclusively made to celebrate Mother’s Day.

Stephanie Jones of Asylum Fibers has treated us to Alstromeria- a bouquet inspired exclusive colorway on DyerSupplier’s base, Elegance. This bulky weight base is a 45% Superwash Merino, 45% Kid Mohair, and 10% Silk blend at 167 yards/ 100g. These skeins would normally retail for $30 each. Every Limited Edition Mother’s Day Crate will include 3 skeins, 1 knit pattern, 1 crochet pattern, and 1 handmade extra by Anita Wentz of Walnut Farm Designs. 

Click here to get yours today for $69.99 while supplies last! 

[dyersupplier]

When (and why!) it’s a good idea to hire a business coach for your indie dyeing business

Stuck in a rut or in an uncomfortable growth phase? Overwhelm at the sight of your to do list, no joy anymore at the dye pots and terror when thinking about posting on Instagram? Hanna Lisa Haferkamp shares when and why it might be a good idea to find yourself a business coach.

You’re stuck, and you don’t know what to do.

I firmly believe that a business doesn’t have an “end point”. Every business changes and evolves and we need to change with it. Often, though, these change periods are hard and messy and scary and we’re deeply uncomfortable, heck, even unhappy, when we’re in the midst of them. Sometimes, these periods come by themselves. Other times we realize that we’re stuck in processes that no longer serve us, in a structure that is too rigid for our current life or with a product line we no longer love and we are the ones who need to kickstart a change.

Dealing with these changes is scary, but necessary part of building your own company. But: It’s really hard to do on your own. Why? Because it’s almost impossible for us to have the distance to our own businesses that’s necessary to figure out what needs to change about them.

When we’re stuck in our day to day business, it’s hard to have the headspace to think about change. Photo Credit: David Schreiber

Having a coach by your side who can gently guide you through these hard phases and provide a much-needed outside perspective (as cliché as that might sound) can work wonders! They’ll help you figure out where exactly you need to go for you to find joy again in your business and how to get there - and if they’re really good, they’ll also build up systems and structures with you that help you deal with these growth phases on your own the next time around.

You’re overwhelmed, and you don’t know how to fix it.

The beautiful and at the same time terrifying thing about a lot of the small creative companies we’re building is that we’re creating our jobs ourselves. What we do didn’t exist in this form 20 or 10 and not even 5 years ago. It can (and does) often feel overwhelming to figure out all the bits and pieces of running a business on our own, and sometimes there are things we’re just not very good at.

A business coach helps you deal with this overwhelm in a few very practical ways: They can help you prioritize which bits and pieces are really important for you right now. They can challenge you to look at outsourcing the things that need to get done, but that you simply don’t have time for. They can help you find someone who can do the things you’re not very good at for you - and tell you if you really need to do them.

A good business coach helps you set up structures to deal with overwhelm early on - like a whiteboard to keep track of goals and to dos. Photo Credit: Hanna Lisa Haferkamp

You’re lonely.

Hear me out - I’m not saying you should pay someone just to listen to you for an hour. But the reality is that running your own creative business is hard, not only because the day-to-day work can be exhausting, but also because we very rarely have people directly in our life who really get what we’re doing. If we’re lucky, we have a partner or a friend or a local business owner group who can relate to our struggles and ideas, but more often than not I’ve found that that’s not the case.

So having a coach who functions as a sounding board for your ideas, someone who you can ask if the inkling to extend your product line is crazy or whether selling wholesale makes sense for you, can work wonders! A regular check in with a coach also helps you stay accountable to your goals and plans - and takes out a bit of the loneliness of creative business owner life.

Photo Credit: Jill de Dieuleveult

Hanna Lisa Haferkamp owns and runs two creative companies and coaches business owners in the fiber world. You can read more about her coaching work, her passion for women-owned companies and how to build a business based on your values on her website, Instagram and Patreon.

[fandomlifeyarns-blog]

Keeping busy while I wait for my order of DK bare yarn to come from #dyersupplier. Can't wait to start dyeing more #yarn. Got lots of ideas. Decided to call the lines "Fandom DK", "Fandom Sport" and "Fandom Lite" for fingering weight. #fandomlifeyarns #indiedyersofinstagram #yarnlove #nerdygirl

[makeitcajun]

The Beaded Collar Peplum is now available at a 10% discount using the code: BEADSBEADSBEADS This code is good throughout the weekend at all of @by.stephanieerin shops: on her website, Ravelry, and Etsy. This is the perfect pattern for starting your beaded crochet journey. If you have never worked with beads before, don’t worry…. There are video tutorials to help you every step of the way. You start the pattern with the very easy crochet bead stitch, then once you’ve finished with a few rounds of beads, the rest of the pattern is regular half double crochets. The pattern is size inclusive and is very flattering on every body type. Plus, there are specific directions on how to adjust the pattern to fit your unique body type. I’m modeling the size 5 for my 45 “ bust. Want to see how this top would look on you? Check the #BeadedCollarPeplum hashtag to see how it looks on testers of every size👍 *Pattern: Beaded Collar Peplum *Designer: @by.stephanie.erin *Yarn: Undyed sock yarn from @dyersupplier *Beads: @beadfx Toho Seed beads 6/0 in the color : Roselined Crystal *Im wearing the size 5 for a 45” bust https://www.instagram.com/p/CYwec53LGX4/?utm_medium=tumblr

[tryslora]

Received a supply of my Empath base from #dyersupplier and am getting started by laying down a base dye for Into the Blues. It’s always an adventure wondering if a colorway will look the way I imagined when it’s done. Plus today everything will smell like hot KoolAid! #dyeingyarn #yarndyeing #triscolora https://www.instagram.com/p/CHfbSJ4pxL3/?igshid=1cutltsb7987q

[knitcrate]

May 2020 Reveals

Inspired by the coziness of our homes and the desire to learn new things, we’re turning lemons into lemonade - almost literally! This month, we’re giving you a blank canvas to create your own adventure and make a splash in the time we’re spending at home.

We’ll guide you along the way, taking you as close as we can to the process of sheep to shawl in your own home for your most personalized project of 2020.

Like every other month this year, this crate was curated with a little help from our friends! This month, we’ve partnered with Rebecca Brown also known as ChemKnits Tutorials on Youtube. She has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology and specializes in applying her scientific training to the fiber arts. We love getting together as a team to watch her fun tutorials and get a behind-the-scenes look at the fiber magic she creates. Subscribe to her channel today to watch them with us while you wait for your next crate!

When we found out our mill closed down for quarantine a few weeks ago and couldn’t deliver the yarn we originally had planned out for May since last year, we knew we had to make some changes. With some help from Rebecca and our sister store Dyer Supplier, we put together something special for this month’s crates. For the first time ever, we are bringing you a DIY Crate, where you’ll learn to dye your own yarn with us! Just wait until you tell your friends that you not only stitched up your project but hand-dyed it too!

KnitCrate Membership

This month, we partnered with our sister company, DyerSupplier to bring a variety of industry standard bare yarns to your crates! Your crate will contain 2 skeins of undyed yarn to act as a blank canvas for you to make your own unique creation. Your crate will come with 2 identical skeins of any of the following bases.

2-Ply Superwash Merino

A classic 2-ply yarn with a bit of air within the spin. Perfect for a wide range of gauges and projects, this fingering weight 100% Superwash Merino yarn measures at approx. 399 yards/ 100g.

75/25 Superwash Merino Nylon

A 75% Superwash Merino 25% Nylon fingering weight blend, durable for any project and soft to the touch. Each skein measures at 415 yards/ 100g.

Nice & Round

This base looks and feels just like the name- nice and round. Ideal for crisp speckles and textured stitch definition, this tightly plied 100% Superwash Merino measures 415 yards/ 100g and is fingering weight.

Merino Singles

Wispy and soft, this singles base is an indie dyer essential and best seller! It is a fingering weight made up of 100% Superwash Merino with 415 yards/ 100g.

Energize Me: Ember

Like a warm campfire or fireworks in the sky, this color combination brings a burst of life to any stash. Each Energize Me Crate will come with 1 orange and 1 cherry packet to create 2 skeins of any of the pictured combinations!

Chill Out: Spritzer

This tart combination can be toned up or down depending on how much dye you use! Each Chill Out Crate will come with 1 grape and 1 cherry packet to create 2 skeins of any of the pictured combinations!

All Natural: Husk

Reminiscent of purple corn and pumpkins, 1 packet of grape and 1 packet of orange come together to create strikingly different colorways! Mix both packets for an unexpectedly natural colorway surprise!

Sock Crate Membership

DyerSupplier has filled our Sock Crates with every sock maker’s staple. A soft 80% Superwash Merino Wool, 20% Nylon fingering weight yarn, plied and ready to support those heels and toes! This base is 400 yards/ 100g.

Energize Me: Daiquiri

Blended with bits of undyed, this cherry flavor feels like a refreshing frozen drink by the pool. Each Energize Me Crate will come with 1 cherry packet to create 1 skein of a tonal or speckled sock yarn!

Chill Out: Fairy Floss

Like soft cotton candy, this yarn gives grape a chance to show its different colors! Each Chill Out Crate will come with 1 grape packet to create 1 skein of a tonal or speckled sock yarn!

All Natural: Creamsicle

Orange and cream- a familiar, nostalgic, and delicious combination. Each All Natural Sock Crate will come with 1 orange packet to create 1 skein of a tonal or speckled sock yarn!

Patterns: 

Because we were unable to come up with new patterns for all crates in time, we reached out to some designers that we admire to provide free and discounted patterns from their Ravelry Shops! 

Laura Fahlin/lfahlin: Knit Socks 40% off in Ravelry Shop

Liz Salazar/lsalazar: 80/20 Crochet Sock pattern- free to subscribers

Rohn Strong/rohnstrong: Any pattern in Ravelry shop - free

Renate Kamm/oberpfalzerin: Select patterns - free

Stephanie Erin/ByStephanieErin: Any pattern in Ravelry shop - free

Bonus: 

Kate Atherly/kateatherly: Any pattern in Ravelry shop - 50% off

Hortense Maskens/knittingwithchopsticks: Any pattern in Ravelry shop - 30% off

Lauren Gates/seraphymfibres: Holly Socks - 30% off

Corrado Lark/corradolark: Kingdrape Shawl- 25% off

Katrina Walser/oliphantkat: Any pattern in Ravelry shop - 20% off

Malabrigo Quarterly Crate

April has been quite a month! We appreciate your patience while we completely redesigned this crate with Malabrigo.

Now…who’s ready for a quick peek at what will be inside our May 2020 Malabrigo Partner Crate?

Inspired by our May theme of Blank Canvas, we’ve partnered with Malabrigo to bring members luscious hand-dyed skeins of Washted, the superwash version of their Worsted Merino base. It features 210 yards (192 meters) per 100 gram skein.

Here’s a quick look of the colorways we’ve selected:

Colorways will vary from crate to crate. Each crate will include 2 identical skeins with matched lots of Washted for your next masterpiece PLUS 2 knit patterns, 1 crochet pattern, and an exciting extra (these will still be a surprise).

INTRODUCING:

Asylum Fibers x KnitCrate: Limited Edition Mother’s Day Crate

We are so excited to announce a very special collaboration with some incredible independent makers! From the yarn, patterns, to the extra, each element of this crate has been handpicked and exclusively made to celebrate Mother’s Day.

Stephanie Jones of Asylum Fibers has treated us to Alstromeria- a bouquet inspired exclusive colorway on DyerSupplier’s base, Elegance. This bulky weight base is a 45% Superwash Merino, 45% Kid Mohair, and 10% Silk blend at 167 yards/ 100g. These skeins would normally retail for $30 each. Every Limited Edition Mother’s Day Crate will include 3 skeins, 1 knit pattern, 1 crochet pattern, and 1 handmade extra by Anita Wentz of Walnut Farm Designs.

Click here to get yours today for $69.99 while supplies last!

Patterns

The featured knit pattern in the Mother’s Day Kit is Motherly by Nathalie Francis / clemandhercat. It is a simple-in-stitch top down cardigan with intricate shaping. 

The featured crochet pattern in the Mother’s Day Kit is Abbraccio by Aimée Hansen/aheemai. This shrug is meant to feel like the coziest hug. 

[dyersupplier]

How to Host a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign, Part Two

Continuing our series on crowdfunding success from this post, today we’re diving into the aspects behind getting the word out--one of the biggest challenges for most Kickstarter campaigns! 

Strategize authentic cross-platform engagement in the primary places your community gathers.

We live in the age of lean entrepreneurship, and marketing is not exempt from this trend. What are the top three ways you can reach your customers? One of these ways will always be a website. You can grab a $12 domain and a free Tumblr theme and have a simple one-page informative website in a day, or you can go bigger with a Squarespace or Shopify eCommerce site if you plan to scale. Make sure your website complements your Kickstarter campaign and redirects them to your funding page at every available opportunity, without being spammy.

This leaves two more avenues through which to reach your customers. While I am partial to email, I know that not every business model incorporates an email list. What’s most important is that you are reaching the majority of your community with the fewest variable touchpoints. If your market lives on Twitter and Snapchat, focus only on those. If your community loves email newsletters and gathers on Instagram, focus only on those.

The content for these platforms will come primarily from your campaign, so engineer your media and content to be re-purposed thoughtfully across platforms.

When strategizing for cross-platform marketing, you’re establishing pathways to your story, which ultimately leads to your rewards. Each platform should work together, meaning they lead to one another, sharing complimentary stories on complimentary days and times, and all maintain the same brand-image.

Generate buzz with ambassadors, articles, and word-of-mouth marketing.

Just like a brick-and-mortar business, you want a line at the door on opening day. By pre-planning everything above, you’ve set the stage for a successful launch. What will bring your launch to life are the voices who already believe in your project sharing their passion with their personal networks.

Three things to look for as you create your list of word-of-mouth community ambassadors:

Do you and your target ambassador have complimentary or similar markets? And, does their market contain potential customer segments you’d like as part of your brand’s community? 

Does your project benefit the ambassador and their market?

Do you the resources and time to capitalize on the ambassador’s promotion?

Rather than going the promotional road entirely on your own, bringing 10 - 15 ‘ambassadors,’ which can be brands, individuals, or platforms into your marketing mix will amplify your message indefinitely. Diversify your ambassador pool with blogs, social media influencers, friends and family, and brand-faced platforms who can speak plainly, knowledgeably, and personally about your project to their audience. This may include sending product or a sample to individuals, leveraging connections for interviews and videos, and taking a leap of faith into someone’s inbox.

When you believe in your project, and others feel your passion through your communication, they will surprise you with their generosity and support.

Review this plan with your team and with a trusted advisor.

Measure twice, cut once. Once you have your business plan, operating budget, reward pool, compelling media, curated project page, cross-platform marketing strategy, and a confirmed list of campaign ambassadors, you are ready to take the plunge.

During your campaign, you’ll act on all the plans you created, solve the problems that inevitably arise, and continue to promote your campaign as much as possible. You’ll be chopping through your goal with a sharp axe, and your plan will create mental and functional space for your team to work on what matters during your campaign:

Updates.

The updates section inside of Kickstarter is beneficial in so many ways - mainly, it’s your first touchpoint for new marketing before you distribute the messaging across your platforms and ambassadors. By creating your updates for Kickstarter, you’re communicating with your supporters and showcasing your continued commitment to an evolving project page. Then, syndicate that message to your website, your social channels, and your direct audience communication as fitting.

Updates are a place not just for logistics and specifics, but a place of celebration and gratitude.

Kickstarter is first-and-foremost a place of community support.

Thank your community. Praise your community. And celebrate with them the success of each project milestone! Good luck on your crowdfunding adventures.

Amelia Bartlett is a new knitter, long-time crocheter, and enthusiastic writer, entrepreneur, and photographer. You can follow her through her website, Instagram, and on Steemit, where she shares a variety of content on everything from woman-run business practices to hand-blended teas!

[dyersupplier]

How to Grow an IG Stories Following, Part 2

This two-part series on Instagram Story fundamentals helps you to foster community, reach new viewers, and cultivate your story style.

Part One examines how to consistently create engaging Instagram Stories using brainstorming, story-boarding, and the in-app effects you can add to your finished video. In part two, we’re diving deeper into the impact Instagram Stories can have on your community and your following. In essence, these are one in the same.

Think about the hashtags you’re using on your Instagram photos. Inside the feed each tag is a group of creators sharing photos and videos along the same theme. That theme may be craft, a special event, virtual gathering or celebration, and even a self-created community. Stories have found their way into everyone’s Instagram experience, so take these tips and create stories that encourage your viewers, customers, and circle to connect with your daily experience.

Connect to various communities with Instagram Story’s tagging features

Instagram has recently streamlined more ways to connect with viewers and other profiles from inside of Stories. There are four main ways to foster interaction with your content, so try each one and see how they can amplify your storytelling.

Geotag

You might be in your hometown, at a cool local coffee shop, or on a trip across the country - geotagging is a direct connection to Instagrammers wherever you are. By geotagging your story, you may be featured in the Story for the exact location, the city, or the state you’re in.

@ Mention

There’s this warm and fuzzy feeling that happens when we shout-out a maker whose product we’re enjoying or a collaborator on a recent project. Connecting one-on-one with fellow makers, vendors, businesses, and friends deepens the viewer’s Story experience and invites the tagged user to come enjoy your Story.

Hashtag

Stories utilize hashtags similarly to the Instagram grid, though you’re only allowed one and it’s based on the algorithm whether your tagged story populates the overall Tag Story. Check out your favorite’s hashtags’ Stories to see what others are sharing and how many viewers are tuning in.

Poll

Use an Instagram Poll to start conversation with your followers: consider asking their opinion on a color or product with which you’re working, or inquiring if anyone is experiencing the same thing you are, like a crazy hectic day or peaceful Sunday evening. Polls are also a fun way to incorporate humor into your stories, asking funny questions or inviting people to choose from funny answers.

You can view the results from your poll inside the Story Archive section of your Instagram Business profile dashboard.

Experiment with and incorporate different story techniques

In part one, we took a quick look at the in-app design elements you can add to your stories, focusing on the Static and Interactive options. When considering Story techniques, go beyond the available stickers and tags and get to know each of the media recording and sharing elements at your fingertips.

In-app filming options: Photos, Boomerang, Superzoom, Rewind, Stop-Motion and Live

By creating different “scenes” to your story, from close-ups to a panoramic spin, you’re inviting viewers to enter your world. Have fun with each of the different filming options as you try them out in different environments - on your next supplies run, when your dog is doing something hilarious, while you’re cooking dinner, showing off your weekend read, taking your viewers through your home brewed coffee practice.

Over time, you’ll get to know which of these elements works for your style and which are reserved for specific occasions.

When you develop a consistent story style, one that is smooth and complete, your followers will watch not just to catch up with your life but for the pure enjoyment of great entertainment. Instagram Stories have a Discover function of their own, so your thoughtful storytelling has the potential to capture new followers every time you publish.

Create a selection of Story Highlights with graphical thumbnails

You’ve probably seen examples of graphically-illustrated Story highlights on some of the accounts you already follow. Showcasing a clean, matching set of graphics that are relevant to your brand or your personal style elevate the professionalism of your Instagram profile. Here are the steps to creating Highlights:

Instagram shows your first five highlights whenever someone enters your profile. You can certainly add more, as the highlight reel will scroll, but let’s stick with a top five to keep it simple.

1. Start by outlining what you publish most in your Stories. Not every story is worth highlighting, but considering the ideas you’ve brainstormed and the subjects that are most popular with your following, choose the top five. A few examples are: Process, Design, Inspiration, Travel, Projects, Home, Family, Resources. 

2. Choose the colors and style of your graphics. By style, think: rustic, modern, linework, cartoon, feminine, geometric, etc. Consider the colors you work with most frequently or go with your already established brand colors. If you don’t feel confident drawing your own graphics, consider resources like Creative Market or Graphic River. You can find image packs of transparent-background PNG files that you can use as your highlight illustrations.

Important Note: The first story of each Highlight (which becomes a story collection as you aggregate Stories in it) must be your graphic to ensure the graphic is the cover of your highlight, also known as the thumbnail. Position your graphic over a complimentary and on-brand full-color background sized: 1080 pixels Wide x 1920 pixels tall, or 9:16 aspect ratio. Save each graphical image to your camera roll and share it on your Instagram Story. If you feel odd posting seemingly random graphics in your story, do a quick shout out before and in-between to let your followers know what you’re doing.

3. Once your Story has posted (and sometimes they take up to 15 minutes to appear) go into your Story Archive and select your first graphic you’d like to appear as a Highlight thumbnail.

4. At the bottom-right corner of your screen, press the circle-heart Highlight icon to “Add to Highlights.” Select + New and name your highlight, ideally a one word title.

Repeat this process with the remaining four graphics, establishing your top five Highlights.

Once all five highlights are established, go back through your Story Archive and organize your previous Stories into their respective Highlight Collections.  

Learn from and engage with the stories you watch

The number one, hands-down, undeniably best way to cultivate a following is to connect. Connect with the Instagrammers in your network and the ones you discover. You can reply to their Stories, participate in their polls, and share their Stories with your own network.

One popular way to connect via Stories is #FollowFriday. On Fridays, millions of people share screenshots of some of their favorite Instagram profile grids, @ Mentioning the user and sharing a bit of kind praise for their style, aesthetic, or craft. Being featured in a Follow Friday by accounts of all sizes can certainly grow your network, but featuring users in your own Follow Friday deepens the connections you already have.

Brainstorm ways beyond Follow Friday that you can employ to connect with users sharing their journey on Instagram Stories.

Beyond sharing your journey, direct your followers to your latest content

Keeping in mind that Instagram Stories are seen not only by your followers but by potentially unlimited users in the Discover tab, incorporate your latest Instagram posts, blog posts, and shared links into your Stories (in a tasteful way).

In order to share a link in your Story that swipes up to open the webpage, you must have 10,000 followers. If you’re not quite there, here’s a workaround available to iPhone users to share a link in an engaging way:

1. Add Screen Recording to Control Center. Go to Settings > Control Center > Customize Controls, then tap the green plus circle next to Screen Recording.

2. Open Control Center. 

3. Tap the gray circle in a circle symbol, then wait for the three-second countdown. To capture sound while you record, press deeply on that same button, and tap Microphone Audio.

4. To stop recording, open Control Center and tap the red circle in a circle. Or tap the red status bar at the top of your screen and tap Stop.

You can find your screen recording in the Photos app.

Directions from Apple. (For Android users, try Googling: How to record screen on [Your Phone Name].)

You can recording your latest blog post, a scroll of an article in which you are featured, a snippet from a YouTube video, and so much more. Get creative with your screen recording shares and be sure to direct viewers to your link in bio to view the full source.

What are some of your favorite Instagram Stories to enjoy? How can you craft your story to be your follower’s favorite?

If you missed Part 1 of this series, click here to catch up! 

Amelia Bartlett is a new knitter, long-time crocheter, and enthusiastic writer and photographer. You can follow her through her website, Instagram, and on Steemit, where she shares a variety of content on everything from woman-run business practices to hand-blended teas!

[dyersupplier]

Product Spotlight: Marled Sock

Have you seen one of our new Spring additions? This sock yarn is a non-superwash Sock base with two plies each of Merino wool and Peruvian Highland wool. Soft to the touch, this springy light fingering weight makes a beautiful base for your color artistry. Add speckles, rich, all-over color, or hand-paint on top for a variety of interesting effects you won’t see from the competition. Click here to find this yarn now! 

[dyersupplier]

Where to get FREE Lightroom Presets

Post-processing is a key way to make your photos look more professional and give your brand an overall, consistent visual style. If you use Lightroom, a preset is a quick shortcut to editing photos when you don’t have a lot of time. While you can always create your own presets and use them for everything, when you aren’t a fully trained expert on a program, that can be a daunting task. That’s where preset packages, like the ones listed below, come in -- they’re free, easy to download and use, and instantly upgrade your photos. We’ve picked out some of the best ones with yarn and product photography in mind. 

Photonify has quite a few presets, but here are some of our favorites with yarn dyers in mind: 

Photo from Photonify

Fireworks increases contrast between dark colors and bright ones, making it a great choice for dyers who have wild, vivid colorways. You can see the difference in the image above - the left is unedited, the right side is with the preset. 

Photo from Photonify

Do you love that food-photography, slightly matte look? Yarn feels dreamy and delicious when the Food Photography preset is applied. The left side of the image above is unedited, the right side is in the preset. 

Another great site for presets is called, unsurprisingly, Free Lightroom Presets. They offer some great ones that should enhance knit photography beautifully: 

Let’s Get Lost is a brilliant color preset, perfect for those shooting on a white background or in natural light:

photo from Free Lightroom Presets

While Cosmic Dancer’s name makes it sound otherworldly, the down-home feel of this preset is perfect for skeins that need to be intense against natural settings. 

photo from Free Lightroom Presets 

These last few presets are from a bunch of different companies, but are great choices for yarn photos that need to pop! First up, the Color Love preset from Exposure School (a great resource for any photographer): 

photo from Exposure School

And another from Exposure School, the Bold Color Preset: 

photo from Exposure School

Preset Kingdom offers a huge pack of Color Quest presets for $59 -- but you can get a sample out of their color pack with this free preset, Sharp Pop. This preset intensifies light areas, dark areas, and colors for a really strong look:

photo by Preset Kingdom

Photography Planet is full of great resources and products, including their Color Pop Lightroom Presets. If you’re a fan of the glowy, bright, and light look - with a strong does of color - the free preset might be perfect for you. 

photo from Photography Plan.Net

Of course, you’ll need help if you’ve never used presets before on how to install them into Lightroom. You can find the full rundown (along with another list of presets) here! 

[makeitcajun]

You waited for it ….TA DAAAAAA…...my version of the Beaded Collar Peplum @by.stephanie.erin I teased you yesterday, but today you get the whole look. I hope you like it as much as I do. 🤞🏼 The very first time I laid eyes 👀 on this beaded design, l knew this was the look I wanted. 🤔 It was so much fun to bring my vision to life. That really is the EXCITING part of being a TESTER …. I get to take a pattern (which is basically a blank slate) and imagine how I want the finished product to look. I chose the pink beads to bring a lil softness(and sass) to the party. 😉 The #BeadedCollarPeplum will be available on Friday….. however…… if you sign up for Stephanie Erin’s newsletter (before tomorrow afternoon), you will receive a discount code and early access to the pattern.. Remember, the discount is only available to newsletter subscribers, so head on over to @by.stephanie.erin bio and follow the link to subscribe today. *Pattern: Beaded Collar Peplum *Designer: @by.stephanie.erin *Yarn: Undyed sock yarn from @dyersupplier *Beads: @beadfx Toho Seed beads 6/0 in the color : Roselined Crystal *Im wearing the size 5 for a 45” bust (at Maurice, Louisiana) https://www.instagram.com/p/CYpHHzvO_v6/?utm_medium=tumblr

[makeitcajun]

You waited for it ….TA DAAAAAA…...my version of the Beaded Collar Peplum @by.stephanie.erin I teased you yesterday, but today you get the whole look. I hope you like it as much as I do. 🤞🏼 The very first time I laid eyes 👀 on this beaded design, l knew this was the look I wanted. 🤔 It was so much fun to bring my vision to life. That really is the EXCITING part of being a TESTER …. I get to take a pattern (which is basically a blank slate) and imagine how I want the finished product to look. I chose the pink beads to bring a lil softness(and sass) to the party. 😉 The #BeadedCollarPeplum will be available on Friday….. however…… if you sign up for Stephanie Erin’s newsletter (before tomorrow afternoon), you will receive a discount code and early access to the pattern.. Remember, the discount is only available to newsletter subscribers, so head on over to @by.stephanie.erin bio and follow the link to subscribe today. *Pattern: Beaded Collar Peplum *Designer: @by.stephanie.erin *Yarn: Undyed sock yarn from @dyersupplier *Beads: @beadfx Toho Seed beads 6/0 in the color : Roselined Crystal *Im wearing the size 5 for a 45” bust (at Maurice, Louisiana) https://www.instagram.com/p/CYpHHzvO_v6/?utm_medium=tumblr

[dyersupplier]

Our Company Values & Mission

Yesterday afternoon, I sent the following email to the KnitCrate & Dyer Supplier team.  We are at a point in the our company’s life that it will serve us and you, our customers and extended community, well to define what KnitCrate and Dyer Supplier’s mission and values are. Who we are as a company... what we stand for... and what we were put on this good Earth to do.  We did a lot of soul searching as a team.  I was going to put up a separate post separately listing our Mission Statement and Values but figured “Hey, why not just copy and paste the entire email I sent to the team internally and let everyone know what we are up to?”  Below is the unedited copy and paste of that email.  I hope you enjoy and can continue to help us improve and be the kind of company you deserve.

All the best,

Rob

From: Rob Colon Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2018 3:52 PM To: Team Subject: Our Mission Statement and Values

Hi team,

It’s been almost 2 years since we took over KnitCrate, and what a ride it has been! After working as a team for some time now, growing as much as we have, and getting to know our customers and the industry a little better, I feel that KnitCrate is at an inflection point.  It is time that we define, not just who we have been and who we are today, but who we want to be as a company.  

What will we stand for?  We all have a pretty good sense of that in the office… you can sense it in the air, in how we talk with each other, how we make business decisions, and how we treat our customers… but I feel it is important to put this into concrete words… and then share those words with our community: customers, vendors, social media communities, our newsletter readers, service providers, families and friends and of course each other.  Everyone should know who KnitCrate is. More importantly, once we have publicly stated what we stand for, everyone can hold us accountable to that.

As we continue to grow as a company, it has become more and more important that we define our Mission Statement and Core Values.  These will define everything about us: what businesses we get into or don’t get into, our business tactics and strategies, branding, and company culture.

The Mission Statement

A mission statement should answer the question: How do we plan to win at this game in the long run? It shouldn’t be some vague, nice-sounding platitude that you read once and ignore.  It should be the driving force behind everything we do. And it should be enduring: inspirational and aspirational, yet grounded and achievable.  

We must also define what the word “win” means for us.  It is not just about our profits, although profits are extremely important (otherwise we cannot continue improving and growing).  To take a page out of Tony Hsieh’s (Zappos CEO) book, Delivering Happiness, I think if we can balance Profits, Purpose and Passion, then we are truly winning.  Do we feel that there is a larger purpose to what we are doing at KnitCrate beyond making money? Are we passionate about our work? Can we do what we do profitably? If we can answer "yes" to all these questions, then we are winning.

Reflecting on our past two years, the many conversations we have had with customers, and the internal conversations we have had as a team, I think it has become clear that there is only one way for us to really win: And this is by Delivering the Most Extraordinary Customer Service. Customers should experience a level of service from KnitCrate (and our sister companies Dyer Supplier and Destashio) that they have yet to experience anywhere else, and most likely will not experience anywhere else.  We need to be THAT good at providing the best customer experience.  If a customer is not smiling and deep down inside screaming “wow” every time they interact with KnitCrate, we are failing. Great Customer Service and KnitCrate should be synonymous in customers’ minds.

Plus, this is the one thing our competitors cannot take from us.  They can copy the color of our boxes and website (two of them already have), they can imitate our newsletters and promotions strategies, they can copy almost everything, but they will not be able to replicate the level of customer service we aim to achieve nor the relationships we will be developing with our customers because of it.

Now, I think we do offer great customer service, and we pride ourselves in this.  But there is much room for improvement.  It is important we take the next month or two to really go over our customer’s journey with KnitCrate and see where we can improve to make it the absolute best customer experience.  They must be able to say “wow” at every point of that journey, and we must change whatever does not lead to a “wow.”

Values

Our values are the specific behaviors that will help us achieve our mission. If Delivering the Most Extraorindary Customer Service is the end game, then our values/behaviors are the means to that end.  These behaviors are also what we should value in one another as co-workers. More than being nice-sounding, they have to be real… so real, in fact, that living by these values (or not) determines who gets rewarded and promoted (or let go) at KnitCrate. These values should also be universal, meaning that they improve our lives in KnitCrate and in our personal lives, as well.

I asked each of you to separately send me what you thought our company values were.  I wanted the team’s input in this exercise because at the end of the day you are the embodiment of our values.  It made me super happy to see so many of you hit upon the same core values over and over again.  This means that we have a true understanding of what our mission at KnitCrate is.  I have summarized our core value into 9 categories:

KnitCrate’s Core Values

Be Transparent and Honest through Candid Communication

Be Passionate and Enthusiastic

Be Selfless

Treat Customers and Partners the Way We Would Like to Be Treated

Build a Community

Continually Innovate, Problem-solve and Drive Change

Be Impactful

Be Humble

Be Creative and Have Fun

Values are embodied in very specific behaviors.  Otherwise, they are difficult to put into practice.  Below are the major categories with supporting behaviors that make up that category.  The list is by no means exhaustive, but it goes a long way in bringing to life each of our Core Values.  If you think of others you want to add, please send them to me so I can add them.

Be Transparent and Honest through Candid Communication

Be candid with each other and our customers.  Tell the truth, especially when it is difficult to     do so.

Be honest with ourselves and our customers about what they can expect from us.

When we make mistakes or there are issues, own up to them quickly and be up-front with our customers about the issues, what has caused them, and how we plan to solve them.

Provide clear communication to team members to minimize errors and mistakes.

Be open and honest with team members and customers about changes KnitCrate is undertaking, both good and bad.

When in doubt, err on the side of transparency with our customers.  While there is some sensitive company information that should not be out there, we should make sure we remain as transparent as possible with our customers and community.

Listen well, instead of reacting quickly, so you can understand what is being communicated to     you.  

Treat your team members and customers with respect, independent of status or disagreement with you.

Only say things about fellow team members you are willing to say to their face.

Be Passionate and Enthusiastic

Inspire team members and customers with your own excitement.

Care intensely about KnitCrate’s customers and work hard to provide them a great experience.

Seek to fully understand our customers, suppliers, strategy, products and market.

Continuously be learning.  Don’t let your curiosity stifle.

Celebrate wins!

Embody a sense of urgency in everything you do.

Be optimistic and positive.

Be Selfless

Seek what is best for KnitCrate (and therefore our customer), rather than simply what is best for yourself or your group.

Create an environment that is friendly and inviting.

Strive to eliminate cynicism and negative interactions.

Be a team player. Never use the words, “That’s not my job” or “That’s not my responsibility.” Our main obligations are to our customers, so any issues in any area of KnitCrate, are everyone’s responsibilities because they ultimately affect our customers. Everyone’s job is your responsibility.

Make time to help your team members.

If you are a manager, lead by example.  You are here to serve those that you lead and make sure they have the tools and means to succeed at their daily jobs.  After all, it is your team members who are closest to the customers and daily issues.

Take the initiative.  If you see something can be done better, start doing it better or bring it to the team’s attention.

Take ownership of issues that arise and work with your team members to solve them so that the team and company can succeed.

Show the same level of respect and courtesy that you expect in return: to your team members, customers, vendors, etc.

Help one another be great.

Treat Customers and Partners the Way We Would Like to Be Treated

Don’t forget to say, “Thank you.”

Give customers/partners a good, fair deal. Building great customer relationships take time.

Look for ways to make it easier to do business with us.

Never let profit conflicts get in the way of doing what is right for our customers and partners (dyers, designers, etc.).

Don’t try to maximize short-term profits at the expense of building long-term relationships with our customers and partners.

Keep a positive and friendly attitude when dealing with our customers.  Keep an attitude of gratitude when dealing with our customers and partners.  They are the ONLY reason we are able to do what we do every day.

Be accessible to our customers and partners. Answer all their inquiries in a timely manner, whether by phone, email or messages.

Go the extra mile for our customers. If you need to do extra research to properly answer their questions or concerns, invest the time and do the extra work for our customers.

Be comfortable, casual, relaxed and friendly when speaking with our customers and partners. We are people dealing with people.

If we make a mistake, let’s own up to it and more importantly, find a way to make it right by our customers and partners.

If a customer or partner calls in because they are upset about something, hear them out fully and try to understand what happened. Then try your best to make it right.  Pretend it is your very best friend calling to let you know that something you said or did made them upset.  You would immediately try to make it right or explain what happened.  Have that same urgency with our customers and partners.

Build a Community

We are building more than just a great company here at KnitCrate.  We are building a community.

Take customer and community member feedback and advice into account when building our company, launching new products, and improving systems.

Launch new programs or products that continue to build our community of knitters, crocheters, dyers and designers. For example, we recently launched Destashio so community members could interact directly with one another.

Make our online presence on Ravelry, Facebook and Instagram as welcoming and inviting as possible so members feel safe expressing themselves.

Take the time to let our customers and partners know how important they are to us.

Make customers and partners feel that they are as much a part of KnitCrate as anyone who works in KnitCrate.

Continually Innovate, Problem-solve and Drive Change

We are a fast-growing company in which change is constant: embrace that change.

Be prepared for constant change, and even better, be the force driving that change.

Stay ahead of our competition by continually changing, evolving and keeping them guessing.  They will not be able to evolve as fast as us, as long as we are driving the change.  In the last year alone we have launched Destashio (a peer to peer marketplace), Dyer Supplier (wholesale line of undyed yarns), KnitCrate Marketplace (a marketplace where dyers and designers can post products for sale on our website), and our in-line brands of yarn.  What’s next?

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. They are bound to happen when we are growing and innovating as much as we are. You will never be reprimanded by me or anyone in management for making a mistake because you tried something new. We will own up to our mistakes and course correct as quickly as possible.

Be Impactful

Always look for ways to improve yourself and KnitCrate and be more efficient.

Realize there is always room for improvement.

Learn and grow from your own mistakes.

Innovation is not enough.  We need to continually make incremental improvements to the way we operate, always looking for ways to do something better.  If we make 1 improvement per day, that’s 365 improvements in a year.  Every small improvement matters!

Never settle for “good enough.”

Set and exceed our own high standards.

Focus on great results, rather than the process.

Do great work so team members know they can rely on you.

Think strategically.

Separate what must be done well right now from what can be improved later on.

Get to the root of the problem.  Don’t just treat symptoms.

Make tough decisions even when you don’t have all the information in front of you.

Be Humble

We don’t tolerate “brilliant jerks,” those who are technically good at their job but behave like jerks and aren’t team players. This hurts our teamwork-oriented environment and will cost us in the long run.

Be respectful and kind to everyone.

As we continue to grow and be successful, don’t let it get to your head. Remember that we surmounted a lot of obstacles to get here, and there are more challenges ahead.

Carry yourself with a quiet confidence and let our results speak for themselves.

Be Creative and Have Fun

Instill originality and creativity in everything we do: from our monthly themes to our Instagram posts to our marketing strategies

Keep it fresh and inspiring for our customers.

Have fun, otherwise you will end up not enjoying coming to work, and our customers will be able to note the difference.

Be different and don’t settle for being average.  You are here to be extraordinary.

Have an open mind when confronted with challenges; it will let you find creative solutions.

Take risks and get out of your comfort zone.

Be original.  Be the best version of YOU.

So there you have it team: Our company Mission Statement and our Core Values. This will inform every decision we make going forward… from who we hire to what products we launch to how we brand ourselves.  I hope that this helps us continue growing as a team and also helps each of us live better lives personally.

All the best,

Rob

[dyersupplier]

Hashtag How To

Do you know how Instagram’s hashtags work? Can you explain why you choose the ones you do--and identify your most effective hashtags? What about creating your own hashtags, piggybacking on popular hashtags, or following hashtags? Today, we’re discussing some hashtag basics to help you up your Instagram game. 

What is a hashtag? 

A hashtag is a word combined (preceded by) the pound sign: #. When combined on Instagram (and some other media platforms, like Twitter), hashtags provide a way for those following you to find related, similar content. For instance, the hashtag #naturaldyes turns up lots of photos on Instagram of naturally dyed everything: 

#naturaldyes hashtag search

How are hashtags organized? 

Within Instagram, Hashtags are organized into two sections: Most Popular, which is at the very top of the screen when you search for the tag, and Most Recent, which is everything else. These are put in the order in which they where posted (unlike most of Instagram, which follows an algorithm). The ones at the top--Most Popular--should be your goal position. These photos often stay in their position for some length of time, until something more popular or viral takes their place. This means a LOT of people will see them if they click on this hashtag. Let’s talk about how to get your posts up at the top. 

Hashtag Efficacy

As an indie dyer, it’s tempting to use indie dyer related tags. Let’s look at how some of these are divided up by reading the post count on each of these three: 

#indieyarndyer: 10,455 posts 

#indiedyer: 260,733 posts

#indiedyedyarn: 82,931 posts

So, these hashtags all say that you’re an independent dye studio, but some are going to be more effective than others. #indiedyer has almost 300k posts--you’re likely to get lost in the mix here, while going with a smaller hashtag that is more specific: #indiedyedyarn or #indieyarndyer will help you find a more specific audience that will be actively seeking your product. 

#indieyarndyer hashtag sample

Custom Hashtags

Creating a hashtag for your brand is important and should be as simple as possible, but also not something everyone else is going to start using. Usually, your brand name is best, since it’s likely to be the hashtag others will use on their own photos, too. Don’t be discouraged by a lack of control over content in your custom hashtag’s feed--you want people to post using your tag, but only on yarn and projects that have to do with your brand. If you’re seeing a lot of overlap, it might be time to pick a different hashtag, or even different brand name--it’s likely that what you’ve gone with is too generic. If you’re seeing nothing at all (and you’re getting lots of sales), try advertising your hashtags on your labels, website, and media so people know what to use. 

Following Hashtags

This is a new Instagram feature that makes it easy to track hashtags you want to watch! If you have a brand hashtag, this is a great place to find content for reposts and comments. It will make your customers feel extra-special if the dyer they love takes the time to comment on their photos (and encourages them to post again when they buy from you in the future)! You can follow a hashtag by searching for it on Instagram and then hitting that blue follow button (just like you would for a personal account)! Note--as of right now, this feature is ONLY available on your phone app, not through the browser/computer version.

Piggybacking

It might be tempting to look at a big brand’s beautiful following and hope that some of their followers might notice you by using the other brand’s hashtag. This practice is called ‘piggybacking’, and it’s not only a bit tacky and rude, but also has the opposite intended effect. Let’s say one of your beautiful photos shows up among the other brand’s photos, and the customer clicks through, believing that the yarn they’ve seen is that brand--only to discover that it’s a different brand, masquerading under their favorite brands’ custom hashtag. They’re going to feel deceived, and associate that feeling with your brand. That’s not what you want! Be original and be okay with slow, meaningful growth. Look for hashtags that will help with that growth! 

Hashtag Best Practices

When using hashtags, don’t overwhelm your readers by putting them into the main caption (or even beneath it). Let’s get real--hashtag clouds aren’t attractive. It’s okay to use one or two in the description if they fit into the sentence naturally, but move the rest of your desired hashtags into the first comment on your post. It cleans your account up and doesn’t make you look hashtag-desperate. 

Also, don’t use the same hashtags every time! Tag speckled yarn with speckle-relevant tags like #specklesaresohotrightnow (a Steven West tag that has blown up the speckle scene), or tag naturally dyed yarns with #knitnatural or #naturallydyedyarn . Search for terms as hashtags that describe your brand and mix those in to your relevant posts. 

#specklesaresohotrightnow sample

All in all, use hashtags to identify your audience, streamline their search, and help people find YOU! They are a good tool, not just an addition on the end of every post.