The Rowan bag

I love Rowan, I have to admit that of the masses of wool I keep stashed away in my room a really big amount of it is Rowan. There isn't a yarn and knitting company to compare in the UK, and even though they are now part of the massive Coates family they still, in many ways, feel like the small Yorkshire company they once were, who surprise with their modern and beautiful, patterns and yarns.

So it was a bit of a shock when as a subscriber to the magazine I got this years subscribers gift and it was - well a hessian bag like the ones you get for a couple of quid in the supermarket. I felt kind of deflated and let down - not feelings I associate with my favourite yarn company. The bag had a horrid plasticy sort of sticker with the design on and most of all it wasn't yarn. For a company all about yarn why were they sending anything else?

I looked on Ravelery and realised quickly that many other people were not best pleased - Rowan did too and contacted everyone to say a free copy of an upcoming pattern book for kids would be sent. Nice but, why not send a pattern book with men's and women's patterns in it? Not everyone has kids to knit for in their lives, and more to the point, still why no yarn?

The bag

I am growing a bit fonder of my Rowan bag since being told if you peal off the horrid plastic sticker thing there is the pattern printed direct on the hessian below (suggestion on a post card as to why they covered it up and how much that must have cost - see below for why cost is an issue). Here it is in my room - what do you think?

My bag in craft corner

Give a boy a ball of yarn and he'll buy a load more...

So it seems cost was a factor, fair enough in the current financial climate you may say, but me and quite a few others think Rowan are missing a trick.


A few years ago I got a couple of balls of hand knit cotton as my gift - one of their cheapest and most basic yarns. But it was in a colour I had chosen and loved (deep red) so I kept it safe in my stash.

When I came to make a baby blanked for a friend recently I chose to use it and as a consequence brought around six more balls of handknit cotton and kinda fell for it as a yarn - I plan to buy more for a up coming project. Without the free gift I wouldn't have brought the subsequent yarn and wouldn't have decided to add it to my list of favourites.

I do hope Rowan hasn't fallen in to the easy retail trap of forgetting how long term customers work, and the life-time value of a bit of generosity to people who are loyal and at times a bit obsessive (did I say most of my stash is Rowan) about them and their product.

If you have no idea what I am talking about/why I have several crates of Rowan wool have a look at www.knitrowan.com

Rowan you are forgiven, I have to admit I do like my bag now it's plastic sticker free, and I will enjoy the pattern book. But if you are listening why not go back to sending out some yarn next year - you know it makes sense.