In October, yarn company Knit Picks soft-launched a sister site at crochet.com, WeCrochet, dedicated solely to crochet.
Established in 2002, Knit Picks is both yarn manufacturer and retailer, selling online and through print catalogs. Over the years the company has expanded both its yarn lines and the selection of related products it carries, including tools, notions, books and patterns. They have included crochet products in their catalog for several years, and earlier in 2019 began to work on the new crochet-specific brand.
Heather Mann, Marketing Coordinator for WeCrochet, explains that crochet and knitting “have been lumped together for far too long, with most of the attention going to knitters. We believe crocheters are hungry for their own community, content tailored to their needs, and it’s time for crochet to have its own space.”
Mountain Meadows cowl and mitts pattern.
Photo courtesy of WeCrochet.
Gansey Sweater pattern.
Photo courtesy of WeCrochet.
Boothbay Harbor Shawlette pattern.
Photo courtesy of WeCrochet.
WeCrochet includes the full yarn catalog and crochet-related selection that has been available on the Knit Picks website, and Knit Picks will continue to include a crochet section and to carry crochet-related products.
The focus of the dedicated crochet site is to reach out specifically to crocheters, with a “special emphasis on all the crocheters who are out there and feel alone or like they haven’t found their people. We want to create a community where crocheters can feel seen, understood, and served,” says Mann.
To that end, the company will launch a WeCrochet magazine in December, and they have plans to launch a podcast and to introduce more video content in 2020, as well as crochet pattern collections both as e-books and print books.
Colorblock Cushion pattern.
Photo courtesy of WeCrochet.
Baby Bandanarama pattern.
Photo courtesy of WeCrochet.
WeCrochet is working with brand ambassadors, including Toni Lipsey, an independent crochet designer who has worked with Knit Picks in the past. She was delighted when she learned that the company was focusing more purposefully on crochet. “One of my other favorite companies recently merged their crochet and knit websites into one big crafts site,” she said, “which makes sense. But I did feel a bit of loss when the crochet-centric site went away. Knowing that WeCrochet was around the corner was encouraging.”
As an ambassador, Lipsey releases a crochet pattern using Knit Picks yarn each month. She says her audience has been very receptive to the new site, and that this reaction is supported by metrics of her affiliate links. She suspects that part of this reaction amongst consumers is related to WeCrochet being tied to a brand, in Knit Picks, that crocheters already trust.
As for the URL, crochet.com, Mann reports that the company purchased it from a domain-name broker who had owned it for “several years.” The URL had originally belonged to the Crochet Guild of America, but that organization eventually moved to the .org domain of the same name. “I’m so happy that crochet.com is back in the hands of people who love crochet,” Mann says.
Kim Werker
contributor
Kim Werker is a Vancouver-based writer who is building a community of creative adventurers.
I’m excited to see the new website!
Gotta wonder how much they paid for the dot com. Crazy money, no question.
I am one of those folks who cannot knit at all, but crochet like mad. I am thrilled to see a site that will be dedicated to that particular art. I have done many blankets, and quite a few baby clothing pieces, but have always been a bit leery of adult clothing. This might give me the opportunity to branch into some sweaters without accompanying anxiety attacks.