Last spring I released my Rock It Tee pattern and it became my best selling pattern by a landslide! I love this Tee and am thrilled that you all seem to like it too. I knit 3 last summer and I can’t fight this feeling that I’ll be casting on for another one soon. Because I’m optimistic that summer knit season will soon be upon us I’ve put together a Rock It Tee Kit Pre-Order that will go live tomorrow morning at 9am ET and remain open for as long as we can manage, hopefully through the end of the week.
I’ve put together a few new colours for this update - that Plumtastic in the bottom left corner of this collage is calling my name! I hope to continue to have Rock It Tee kits available (maybe in a different assortment of colours) in the coming months. Rock It Tee kits for everyone!
I started off this blog post by boldly stating that my Rock It Tee pattern was my #1 selling pattern of all time. Which is a big statement considering it’s not even 1 year old and I have some patterns that have been slowly and steadily collecting sales for over a decade. My 3 top selling patterns are Rock It Tee, Camaro and Sproutlette Dress - and Rock It Tee has sold more than Camaro and Sproutlette combined. I had to go and check my Ravelry stats in order to confirm that, it’s not something that I keep track of. I design and knit what I want, not what I think will sell, that feels like a recipe for an unhappy life (but also a luxury seeing as how designing isn’t my full time gig). The success of this pattern came as quite a shock to me and prompted me to think about what made it stand out. I have not designed many summer knits and I was living under the impression that there wasn’t that big of a market for them. I thought that most of us knitters like warm wooly cozies and summer knits were more “niche”. I still think that winter wear is more prolific in the knitting industry, but because of that maybe there is a lack of summer knitting patterns? Maybe I was filling a need I didn’t even know existed.
I also think that the use of mohair in this pattern - though highly controversial to some! - played a big roll in its success because mohair is HOT right now for sure, it adds interest to a simple shape, not to mention contrast and texture. And it just looks so damn dreamy! It adds an ethereal quality to a simple tee that elevates it and what’s not to love about that?
Another thing I think this design has going for it is the fact that it is a simple, universally flattering shape with just the right amount of detailing to keep it interesting (eyelet increases and neat i-cord edgings). This tee looks good on every single body and I love that about it.
Being sleeveless and knit in fingering weight yarn it also requires a very low yarn investment compared to most garments. The 4 smallest sizes can be knit with a single skein of fingering paired with a single skein of mohair. The remaining sizes require 2 of each base. Because of the stripes it’s perfect for stash diving. Who doesn’t have 2 single skeins that pair well together just waiting for the perfect tee pattern to come along?
And the last thing that I have to mention that maybe had the largest impact of the success of this pattern is the LYS support it received. I was completely unprepared for the impact that LYS hosted KALs and LYS’s and other indie dyers putting together kits would have. This pattern is so “kit-able”, and as a dyer/designer it’s something that I’m super aware of because every single time I release a pattern I am bombarded with requests for kits. Not every pattern is well suited to kits. Sized garments in particular are a bit of a nightmare since every size requires a different amount of yardage and that makes inventory management a total shit show. The Rock It Tee only needs to be available in 2 sizes, you need 1 skein of each base or 2 skeins of each base. Since I used the same colour in both fingering and mohair for my sample it makes choosing colours even easier. You don’t have to be an expert in colour theory to put together a set that will work. It’s basically foolproof!
I absolutely loved seeing LYS’s and other hand dyers putting together kits for my pattern. You might think that because I sell kits myself and because I’m a hand dyer I could be weird about that? No? That didn’t occur to you? Well, good! Because it’s not weird at all! In fact it’s absolutely amazing. Seeing other dyers support me and my business by promoting my pattern and promoting their yarn at the same time was new to me and such a thrill! I want more of that. It felt really good to be supported in that way.
So, there you have it, so many thoughts about my Rock It Tee pattern and I didn’t even get into how lovely it is knit in linen! More on that next time I guess. I hope it’s sunny wherever you’re reading and that you’re as excited for summer knit season as I am. And if you’re in the mood for a Rock It Tee kit, I’ll see you tomorrow!