Monday, October 14

Samuel’s Waistcoat – a smart but snug top for kids of all ages

Exclusive knitshop.co.uk pattern to download


Samuel’sWaistcoat is a fast-to-knit chunky top that’s perfect for autumn and looks great on boys and girls of all ages. It’s made using our popular Thick & Easy Yarn and will fit kids aged four to 11.

knitshop.co.uk owner Julieta originally designed the pattern for her daughter when she was four years old and has recently made her another version now she’s nine.

The pattern mainly uses rib stitch (alternating knit and purl stitches), with some easy shaping. It’s a one-piece knit that only needs to be sewn at the sides. You knit the front of the waistcoat first and then continue knitting the fronts without casting off. This makes for a smooth shoulder line. Since you can’t knit the left front and right front at once, you simply slip the stitches from one side of the neck on to a stitch holder until you’re ready to use them. You can even slip the spare stitches on to the cord of a circular needle – they’ll be kept safe by needles on either end.

Samuel's Waistcoat knitted in Black Thick & Easy Yarn
using 9mm needles


The waistcoat has a cord to secure it at the waist. We clearly explain how to make the cord and whenever you should knit two stitches together to make holes to thread the cord through.

To make Samuel’s Waistcoat you need just three 100g balls of knitshop.co.uk Thick & Easy Yarn, costing just £17.70. There’s a choice of eight solid shades including burgundy, light blue, forest green, a soft grey, beige, white, bright green and orange.

For an alternative look, you could also knit Samuel’sWaistcoat in our Handspun Wool Yarn, which we used in the multi-coloured version of the pattern. This yarn is currently available in either variegated Burgundy or Mango shades. Handspun Wool Yarn is usually used with slightly smaller needles, but can also be used with the 9mm needles we recommend for this pattern. 
 

If you’re using an alternative yarn to the one in the pattern we suggest you knit a tension square first (see this wiki link for details of how to make one). A tension square is used to check that the needle size you select takes a certain number of stitches and rows to knit a standard size 10cm x 10cm square when knitting in stocking stitch.

Thick & Easy Yarn knits to a tension of 10 stitches over 19 rows on 9mm needles. Change to a larger or smaller needle if your tension square needs more or less stitches than this. Since Samuel’sWaistcoat is a loose-fitting garment (and kids grow so fast), don’t worry too much if your tension is a stitch or two different from ours.

scan me for a 15% discount on Thick & Easy Wool Yarn!

scan me for an exclusive 15% discount
when you purchase the Thick & Easy Wool Yarn from knitshop.co.uk


Links to this blog:





Instructions for how to knit a tension square: http://www.wikihow.com/Understand-Tension-in-Knitting



Friday, October 4

Product of the Month October

Product of the Month - Simply Striped Waistcoat and Beanie Hat Pattern

This cosy matching set was designed by Julieta Brandao, here is the previous blog about the pattern.

It retails at GBP 4.00 and is available to download from the www.knitshop.co.uk website. The best news, since it is our Product of the Month for October it is available for free till the end of October. Don't miss this fantastic opportunity, download your copy now by visiting: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/126-simply-wool-yarn

Simply Striped Waistcoat and Beanie Hat

This pattern also includes a 15% discount voucher for your purchase of Simply Wool Yarn at www.knitshop.co.uk. Visit me to see all available colours in the Simply Wool Yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/126-simply-wool-yarn

Simply Striped Waistcoat and Beanie Hat Pattern
Using Simply Wool Yarn in Dark Turquoise, Yellow and Robin-Egg-Blue

Simply Wool Yarn In Yellow, Turquoise and Purple


The Simply Wool Yarn has been one of our most popular yarns, it is one of the first yarns we stocked back in 2004. Here is a previous blog about the Simply Wool Yarn. Other projects in Simply Wool Yarn are:

Beautiful Felted Rabbit using Cream Yellow
and Rust Red Simply Wool Yarn
Crochet-Felted Bags by Susie Johns
using Turquoise and Dark Lilac Simply Wool Yarn
Fair Isle Knitted Wrist Warmer by Julieta Brandao
FREE Download of the Month October - visit www.knitshop.co.uk for more details


scan me to download the pattern


or click here to download the pattern Simply Striped Waistcoat and Beanie Hat



Links to this blog:

Simply Striped Waistcoat and Beanie Hat Pattern Set: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitshop-pattern/2757-simply-waistcoat.html

Blog about Simply Waistcoat and Beanie Hat: http://knitshopcouk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/simply-waistcoat.html

Blog about Simply Wool Yarn: http://knitshopcouk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/simply-wool-yarn.html

Simply Wool Yarn by knitshop yarns: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/126-simply-wool-yarn