DTOs vs Special Orders: What's The Difference?

Hello Kids!

We receive a lot of questions about our DTOs and Special Orders, so much so that we are making a blog post to outline the differences! 

What is a DTO?

A DTO is a dyed-to-order event. This is when we dye new colors, seasonal palettes, and heavily requested yarn bases and colors as an event! Having a DTO allows us to get a sense of consumer interest and therefore order volume before we dye. It leads to more accurate inventory levels for us as a small, hand-dyed business!

Check out our DTO page for more information, including shipping dates: Hand-Dyed Yarn Dyed-to-Order Event | Limited Release – The Lamb & Kid

We currently open DTOs on select Fridays at 9am Pacific Time. Check your Newsletter and The Lamb & Kid Instagram for updates on our next DTO!

Shipping for a DTO does have a longer lead time than ordering things currently in stock and available online.

What is a Special Order? 

This spring, we’ve received numerous special orders outside of our DTOs while dyeing our Spring Color Palette! This said, our team has decided to make a few changes to special orders. Starting May 1st 2026, we will be introducing a 4-skein minimum to our Special Orders for each unique color and base. This will allow the dye lab to quickly turn around your dyed-to-order skeins and continually restock our shop floor with the yarn you want and need, so it’s at the shop waiting for you! 
Special orders requested that do not meet our minimum order quantity will have an additional fee of $15 per unique color and base. 
For example:  
Order #1 - $15 Total Special Order Fee 
4 skeins of Birdie in the color Air Mail — meets the skein minimum so no extra fee! 
2 skeins of Trio in the color Frayed Jeans — $15 special order fee 
Order #2 - $45 Total Special Order Fee 
1 skein of Birdie in the color Sleepover — $15 special order fee  
1 skein of Birdie in the color Kiki — $15 special order fee  
1 skein of Birdie in the color Jammy— $15 special order fee 
Order #3 – no additional order fee! 
4 skeins of Big Birdie in the color Lapis — meets the skein minimum so no extra fee! 
5 skeins of Big Birdie in the color What the Duckling — meets the skein minimum so no extra fee! 
As always, your yarn dreams will continue to be our top priority - by changing our special order process, we're confident we'll be able to put additional capacity behind getting our top-selling colors dyed and down to the store! 

Lots of Love, 

The Lamb & Kid

Shop the full Lamb & Kid Yarns Catalog and Color Catalog online, or as always, if you don't see your dream color currently available, call us (206.201.3563) or email us (heykid@thelambandkid.com) and we'd be happy to help you with a special order!

The Lamb & Kid is a local yarn shop located on Bainbridge Island, WA dedicated to offering an exquisite selection of artisan yarn. Our work is centered around our passion for yarn and our beloved knitting community. We hand‑dye our skeins locally in small batches and are proud to share them with knitters and makers around the world.

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