A few years ago, I was lucky enough to attend a workshop on upcoming trends in yarn and I realized I had no idea how involved the process was for large yarn companies to come up with lines of yarn for wholesaling.

Surrender Now

I also realized, I hadn’t a chance in hell of trying to master the art of being on top of industry trends…the industry is just way to vast and moves way to fast for me to keep up.

Fortunately, there are some amazing yarn companies, that donate yarns to the Men’s Knitting Retreat each year, and their donations give me a good sense about what they’d like to specifically market to men who knit.

Here are some examples:

Trendsetter Yarns
Margaux – Aran weight, 94% Micro Cotton, 6% Nylon
– VERY soft, braided yarn in fresh and bright colors – love this yarn

Cin Cin – 50% Rayon, 25% Cotton, 20% Acrylic, 5% Nylon
– Light worsted weight, textured yarn in fantastic trendy colorways – FLASHY!

Lana Grossa Yarn
Magico II – Fingering weight, 75% Wool, 25% Nylon
– Single ply, soft and slightly fuzzy in brilliant colorways of self-striping color lengths

Ragazza – Bulky weight, 100% Virgin Wool
– Thick single-ply/twisted roving yarn, in soft, broody colors – would be perfect for quick hats or cowls

Meilenweit Men – Fingering weight, 80% Wool, 20% Nylon
– Self-Striping/Patterning sock yarns in deep, rich colorways that I would LOVE wearing as socks

Kelbourne Woolens Yarns
Acadia – DK weight, 60% Merino, 20% Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk
– Soft, and warm with rich, deeply saturated colors

Knightsbridge – DK weight, 65 Baby Llama, 25% Merino, 10% Silk
– Lofty and cushy with a slight halo and a color palette that is sophisticated and beautiful

Road to China Light – Sport weight, 65% Baby Alpaca, 10% Cashmere, 10% Camel, 15% Silk
– The camel and silk make this ultra soft and beautiful and the color palette is more traditional and beautiful

Terra – Aran weight, 40% Alpaca, 40% Wool, 20% Silk
– Sturdy single-ply, soft and rustic, with sophisticated colors – QueerJoe’s favorite!

I make it a point that I never take any of the donated yarn for myself, no matter how much I love it, but it does often inspire me to find some of my own and buy it!  I will definitely be doing that with at least a couple of these yarns.

Current Knitting

Two more hats finished toward the ultimate goal of 18-20 hats (depending on how much yarn I have to work with).

Once I’ve finished as many hats as I can, I’m planning on washing, blocking and putting a tag on each hat, with fiber content, washing instructions and a place for a sales price.