Charm Swap

This is an international rainbow charm square swap and you can find out all about it here!

(The sign up form is at the bottom of this page.)

How does this work?
This isn't like your usual swap where you send something to one or more partners. In this swap you send everything to me. I then create swap packs out of what everyone has sent and mail it back to you. I am based in the UK so if you are also in the UK you only need to pay postage for it to get to me and then include a self-addressed-envelope for me to send your mixed pack back to you. If you are outside the UK you will need to pay the postage to get your fabric to me and I'll then send you a PayPal invoice for the postage to send it back to you. You can see the UK postage rates here (PDF file). How do you know you can trust me? Well...there is an element of faith. However, I am littlelixie on Ravelry, I've been blogging here for almost seven years and I run an annual knitting holiday here. I'm easy to track down.

What are we swapping?
We are swapping 5" squares of fabric. You can cut 56 of these charm squares from 1 yard (92cm) of 44" wide fabric. So you buy 1 yard/metre of fabric (or maybe you have it in your stash) and cut it into 56 5" charm squares. You then send all 56 squares to me. I distribute your charm squares among the other swappers and you get some of each of theirs. I send you back a mixture of what everyone else sent me. As this is a rainbow swap you will be allocated a colour (one of red, pink, orange, yellow, green, blue or purple) and you have to use a fabric where the main colour is the colour you have been allocated.

A note about fabric - fabric needs to be 100% cotton and no more than 5 years old. It needs to be new and unwashed and to have been ironed and cut into 56 five inch charm squares. Novelty prints (such as smiling cats, flip flops, seasonal prints) are not suitable for this swap.

What will I receive back?
You send in 56 charm squares and you will get 56 charm squares back again. This swap is for 28 people and 4 will send me red fabric, 4 will send pink, 4 will send orange etc. Then everyone gets two squares of what everyone else sent in. So you should end up with a rainbow of 28 different fabrics with 2 of each one to sew with.

What is the total cost?
You pay the postage to get your squares to me and the cost of the return postage. You also need to buy your fabric unless you have some in your stash. But I've timed it so you can take advantage of any sales that are going on around christmas and new year.

What are the dates?
I will open swap sign-ups at the start of November. Since I'm trying again to get enough people swap sign ups are open until 12th Feb. Once enough people have signed up you will be given your colour. You've then got until 15th March to get your fabric to me in the UK. Postage times vary so this may mean posting in the last week of Feb if you are in some far distant country. I will then aim to have everything posted back out again by the end of March. .

Do I need a blog/paypal/flickr account?
You do need a Flickr account. This seemed to be putting people off so I'm making this optional. There is a Flickr Group here if you want to post photos. Flickr is free and you can sign up here. You do not need a blog or a paypal account. If you are an international participant I will invoice you for your return postage through PayPal but you can pay this invoice without having an account by simply using a credit or debit card.

A note on paypal invoices - PayPal charges a percentage transaction fee so I will have to add this percentage to your invoice to compensate. Fees are currently 3.9% plus 20p.