In this kit you will receive 1 mini of each of these 5 colors. Strait of Messina, Misunderstood, Terrifying Eddy, Charybdis, and Fig Tree. 

Charybdis was a sea monster that the Greeks believed lived beneath a “fig tree”growing from a rock. This rock was located in an ocean strait, and another monster, Scylla, lived on a larger rock opposite. She was described as a giant serpent-like creature with a massive, gaping maw that she used to swallow the water and create a “terrifying eddy” or a whirlpool.

Charybdis would swallow huge amounts of water three times a day and then belch it back up. This process created gigantic whirlpools that would drag in and destroy any nearby ships. Scylla, on the other side, would reach out and grab passing sailors for dinner

Charybdis was the daughter of the Greek ocean god Poseidon and the old goddess, Gaia, who was technically his grandmother. Charybdis is a great example of the classical Greek monster. Part of her function is to serve as an explanation for very real phenomena: whirlpools. Of course, to the ancient Greeks, who did not have the scientific knowledge to explain whirlpools, something so terrifying had to be the creation of a monster.

There are conflicting accounts as to Charybdis’ origin. The most common origin comes from a brotherly spat between her father Poseidon and Zeus. Charybdis, the dutiful daughter, took her father’s side, and helped Poseidon drown lands and islands in seawater. This angered Zeus, who believed the land to be his domain and saw the flooding as theft. In retaliation, he captured Charybdis and chained her to the seabed.

Zeus then cursed Charybdis, turning her into a monster. The curse made her uncontrollably thirsty, and this is what caused her to swallow the ocean three times a day, in a desperate attempt to quench her thirst. 

The two rocks where Charybdis and Scylla lived were said to have been within bow-shot of one another, making the strait incredibly perilous for ships. Wherever a ship sailed in the strait, they were within range of one of the beasts. Early writers, like Homer, never gave the strait a location, imagining it was in some far-off, barely explored region of the sea. By the classical period, this had changed, and it was thought that the two lived in the “Strait of Messina” off the coast of Sicily. A whirlpool does exist there, although it is only dangerous to small boats in extreme conditions.

The Charybdis myth is also typical of a Greek monster due to her depiction. Many Greek monsters were not naturally evil. Charybdis did not want to sink ships and drown sailors; it was just an unfortunate consequence of her curse. It was Zeus who was responsible for the deaths, as they resulted from his curse. As usual, mortals were the victims of the gods and their petty squabbles.

One story tells about when Odysseus who was returning home from Troy and was forced to sail through the perilous strait. He had been warned by the sorceress Circe of the danger Charybdis posed, and so Odysseus sailed close to the other side, where Scylla grabbed and ate six of his men. Later on in the tale, Odysseus lost his ship and his men after they angered Helios. Odysseus found himself stranded on a raft, floating back down the strait towards Charybdis. This time he was caught in her whirlpool, and his raft was dragged down.

Luckily, Odysseus managed to grab hold of the fig tree growing from Charybdis’ rock. He waited for her to regurgitate the water and landed back on his raft, ready to continue his voyage home.

Although Charybdis was one of the most dangerous Greek monsters, in reality, she was just “misunderstood”. She was truly a tragic figure.  It was also common for monsters to be female, and represent a character trait that the Greeks found undesirable or dangerous in women. In the case of Charybdis, the trait was voracity.

Available in 

Luxe Sock Mini
75% Superwash Merino/25% Nylon
92 yds/20 g
Fingering Weight
A 4-ply supersoft merino with nylon for strength making this the perfect yarn for socks.
Hand Wash Cold/Lay flat to dry 

Luxe DK Mini
75% Superwash Merino, 25% Nylon
49yds/20g 
DK weight/4 ply
A DK 4-ply supersoft merino with nylon for strength making this the perfect yarn for socks that knits up quickly. 
Hand wash cold/ Lay flat to dry

Classic DK Mini
100% Superwash Merino
54yds/20 g
Light DK weight
A cabled yarn of 4 doubled plies, creating a springy 8 ply merino.
One of best sellers.
Hand Wash Cold/Lay flat to dry 

Monster Bulky Mini
100% Superwash Merino
21yds/20g
Bulky weight/3 ply
A springy 3ply that is perfect for heavy sweaters, hats and chunky shawls. Perfect weight for patterns calling for chunky or bulky yarn.  
Hand wash cold/Lay Flat to dry

Care of your hand knit garments  
Please hand wash cold or lukewarm water and lay flat to dry. Even though this yarn does contain super wash merino, I do always recommend that you hand wash your knitwear. We use colorfast acid dyes for dying our yarn, and rinse until water runs clear. There may be a chance that some dye may bleed slightly in the first wash of your finished item. This does sometimes happen for speckled yarn and stubborn colors that are prone to bleed. For the first couple of washes, hand wash separately to be sure that no further bleeding. 

There are no dye lots. We always try to sell from same dye lots but if not sure, we recommend blending the skeins as you work. Color saturation can differ from different dyelots.