Hello Designers! We are looking for original, never before published, designs for Spring 2016 to showcase four of our favorite Valley Yarns.

For April, we’ll be showcasing two great machine-washable Valley Yarns: Longmeadow, and the brand-new Haydenville!

Think you don’t like knitting with cotton? Let Longmeadow show you cotton in a whole new light. Microfiber blended with cotton gives this yarn some wool-like forgiveness while being soft enough for even the pickiest recipient. A true DK weight, recommended at 5.5 sts per inch, and available in a sunny, colorful palette, Longmeadow is fantastic for baby items and multi-season garments and accessories.

Looking for great softness in a worsted weight, machine-washable and dryable wool? Look no further than our brand new Valley Yarns Haydenville. Mostly merino and blended with microfiber, these 100g/220 yard skeins are perfect for blankets of all sizes and for all recipients who need to machine wash and dry. Large projects, baby sets, stuffed animals, hoodies and other often-washed articles are great for this yarn.

Deadline: Submissions will be due Sunday December 27, 2015 by 11:59pm EST
Designers will be notified if their submission has been accepted, with yarn shipping out, by January 8th. Samples are due in-house by Friday March 4th.

For May we’re highlighting two great warm-weather yarns: Valley Yarns Goshen and Southwick!

Featuring Peruvian cotton, modal, and silk, Valley Yarns Goshen is a luxurious treat with loads of shine. Our heaviest cotton blend, we recommend knitting Goshen at 4.5 sts to the inch for structured women’s garments or dazzling accessories that make use of its weight and drape.

Soft and drapey Valley Yarns Southwick, slightly lighter at 5 sts to the inch, is a perfect choice for flowing, airy garments, accessories and blankets. The combination of cotton and bamboo is smooth and cool on the skin, while the warm and sunny colors can’t help but make you smile.

Deadline: Submissions will be due Sunday December 27, 2015 by 11:59pm EST
Designers will be notified if their submission has been accepted, with yarn shipping out, by January 8th. Samples are due in-house by Friday April 1st.

All accepted submissions will receive yarn support, assigned by our in-house team. Valley Yarns will pay for the finished sample of the pattern on a sliding scale ($50–$200 depending on size and complexity). Payment will be made within 2 weeks of on-time receipt of finished sample. Valley Yarns and the designer will benefit from a 50/50 revenue share of all patterns sales during the exclusivity period, with quarterly payments made to the designer during the exclusivity period, preferably via Paypal.

If your proposal is accepted, Valley Yarns requires a six month period of exclusivity after which rights will be shared and the designer may republish. Valley Yarns will retain their version of the pattern until such a time as they decide to discontinue the pattern or the featured yarn. The Valley Yarns version of the design will be sold only through yarn.com, and may be used in social media and print media advertising, and may be featured in one or more of our catalogs. After the six month period of exclusivity has ended the designer will have full control of the Ravelry page and may use our photography as long as Valley Yarns is credited for the images.

All proposals should be submitted in a one-page PDF format and include:
• your contact information, including your full name, email, mailing address, website and/or Ravelry designer page, and phone number. A short bio is encouraged if we haven’t worked with you before (tell us why you’re great!).
• sketches of your proposed design
• photographs of a generous-sized swatch, it’s not necessary to use a Valley Yarns yarn in your swatch but try to use a yarn with a similar fiber content and stitch gauge
• schematic measurements
• the Valley Yarns yarn you wish to work with
• a short description of the design, including construction, shaping, ease and fit, special techniques and stitch designs
Special reminder, please put everything you want us to see/read into the actual submission PDF, not into the body of your email. Also make sure that all parts of your submission are part of a single pdf.

Please email PDF submissions to:
ValleyYarnsDesigns (at) yarn (dot) com with the subject line: April/May Submissions

If you have questions please contact us at the same e-mail but use the subject line: April/May Questions

You can see past Valley Yarns designs here, and on Ravelry.

FAQ
• Decisions are made and designers with accepted submissions will be contacted approximately one week after the submission deadline. Submissions that are not accepted will be contacted 2-3 weeks after the deadline.
• If your proposal is accepted, Valley Yarns requires a 6 month period of exclusivity, after which shared rights begin.
• You will need to grade/size your patterns, and format with our style guide (will be provided once a pattern is accepted) but they will be tech edited by our excellent team.
• We are primarily looking for knit designs but will never turn away a stellar crochet submission
• You may submit more than one design. Each submission must be in an individual PDF, multiple PDFs may be sent with your submission e-mail
• If you have any questions about sizing and schematic please see the Craft Yarn Council’s Guidelines.

Brief Description:
Valley Yarns is the in-house brand of yarn at WEBS – America’s Yarn Store and at yarn.com, with each yarn named after one of the towns in our beautiful Pioneer Valley. These carefully selected, affordable yarns are perfect for knitters and crocheters.