Thursday, January 23

Twist And Shout cowl pattern


We all love a quick knit that can be whipped up in seemingly no time but which immediately becomes a wardrobe staple. We think our brand-new Twist And Shout cowl pattern is destined to become just such a much-loved knit. The pattern gets its name from being a cowl with a twist. The ‘shout’ part of its name is because it’s knitted in superchunky yarn that you just can’t ignore. 

Twist And Shout by Marcia Hamilton.

Twist And Shout was designed for knitshop.co.uk by our very own Marcia Hamilton in super chunky Merino Wool Yarn/Roving. This all-natural yarn comes in a choice of 10 shades and knits best on 12mm needles. For this pattern we recommend using 100cm circular needles

large enough to wear it over your head!

knitshop.co.uk’s Merino Wool Roving Yarn comes in 200g hanks – you’ll need two for this cowl. If you prefer, you can make a two-tone Twist And Shout cowl using contrasting colours of yarn. The pattern includes instructions for when to switch colours. We’ve used White Merino Wool Roving Yarn for our version, while the two-colour version shown in the pattern uses Merino Wool Roving Yarn in Sky Blue for the contrast colour. The yarn also comes in striking shades such as Hot Pink and Yellow

Twist And Shout Version 2 in White and Sky Blue.

The cowl can either be knitted with a half twist to make a Mobius cowl, or with a full twist. Once you’ve joined your round and started knitting, you’ll find this rib stitch project grows ever so quickly. That’s the beauty of superchunky knitting projects. Because Twist And Shout is knitted in the round, there’s no sewing up to be done either.
What’s more, we’ve also got a perfect pattern to knit as an accompaniment to this fab cowl pattern. Our Roving Wrist Warmers were also designed to be knitted in Merino Wool Roving Yarn. These easy-to-make mitts can be knitted in a single colour or in two contrasting shades. We kept them super-simple and used stocking stitch for the Roving Wrist Warmers, but you could easily knit them in rib to match your Twist And Shout cowl. 

Roving Wrist Warmer Pattern.

The patterns cost £3 apiece and are available for instant download once you check out. As with all our patterns, full after-sales support advice is provided.


Links to this blog:
knitshop.co.uk: http://www.knitshop.co.uk








Tuesday, January 21

Jasper Pull-Over


Jasper Pull-Over is a great little knit for two- to seven-year-olds. The ribbed edges and contrasting colours add interest to this smart top design. Jasper is made from knitshop.co.uk’s Alpaca Fino Yarn, which is naturally hypoallergenic and soft enough for sensitive skin. The yarn also comes in a great range of shades – 20 in all – including Burnt Orange, Peacock, Dark Blue, Red, Green and Dark Berry.

Jasper Pull-Over a sweet tank top to keep children warm and cosy!

To make Jasper you’ll need three 100g hanks of knitshop.co.uk Alpaca Fino Yarn – two of the main colour plus one hank of the contrast colour. In our pattern we’ve used Alpaca Fino Yarn in Dark Blue for the main colour and Light Grey for the contrast colour around the armholes, around the waist and round the v-neck. You’ll also need a pair each of 3mm and 3.5mm circular needles. Both 60cm or 80cm circular needles are suitable. You might find it handy to use a stitch marker and a stitch holder too.

Jasper Pull-Over knitted in Alpaca Fino Blue and Light Grey

Jasper is knitted in the round using stocking stitch and a simple but effective rib stitch. It’s easy to knit, even if you’re new to knitting in the round. To create the stocking stitch body you just need to knit every stitch. Knitting this way is usually faster as you aren’t knitting alternate knit and purl rows (as you do with flat knitting). Another advantage of knitting in the round is that there are no side seams to sew up or to make the garment bulky. 

Jasper Pull-Over in the size 3-4 years.

Alpaca Fino Yarn is made from 100 percent alpaca yarn and knits to a tension of 23 stitches and 32 rows over 10cm on 3.5mm needles. Each 100g hank contains around 200m of yarn. Our Alpaca Fino Yarn usually costs £7.98 per hank, but because it’s our Yarn of the Month, you can currently get 15 percent discount – making each hank just £6.78 and the total cost just £23 including the Jasper Tank Top pattern.


Jasper Pull-Over in Dark Green and Yellow Alpaca Fino
Now the kids have gone back to school, why not make them a Jasper Tank Top in their school colours to slip over their uniform and keep cosy in the playground or to and from school?


Links to this blog:
knitshop.co.uk: http://www.knitshop.co.uk
Jasper Tank Top pattern:






Friday, January 17

Product of the Month January

Save 15 percent on knitshop Alpaca Fino Yarn in January
knitshop.co.uk has declared Alpaca Fino Yarn the Product of the Month. This means that as well as patterns designed especially for the yarn, you’ll be able to buy Alpaca Fino Yarn at the promotional price of £6.78 for a 100g ball, rather than the usual price of £7.90. Each ball contains approximately 200m of yarn. 

Alpaca Fino Yarn in Dark Green, Burnt Orange
and Light Grey.

Alpaca Fino is an exceptionally soft sports weight yarn that comes in lots of distinctive shades. It’s made from 100 percent alpaca wool and can be knitted or crocheted on 3 or 4mm needles. Alpaca Fino Yarn knits to a tension of 22 stitches and 32 rows on 3.5mm needles. 

colours: Dark Green, Red, Burnt Orange,
Anthracite and Light Grey

If you’re looking for ideas of what to knit using Alpaca Fino Yarn, why not try our new Jasper Tank Top pattern for boys? Jasper was designed by knitshop.co.uk founder Julieta Brandao and includes instructions for knitting sizes to fit 2 to 7-year-olds. Watch our for the next blog about our brand new pattern Jasper Pull-Over coming very soon.
There’s also a fantastic project to knit using Alpaca Fino Yarn in the latest issue of Knitting magazine (February 2014). The stunning Lacy Cabled Sweater pattern was designed by Natalie Smart knitted using knitshop.co.uk Alpaca Fino Yarn in Peacock. Better yet, Knitting magazine includes a competition to win the Alpaca Fino Yarn to make your own Lacy Cabled Sweater. 

Lacy Cabled Sweater in Alpaca Fino Yarn, shade Peacock
image courtesy of Knitting Magazine

The Lacy Cabled Sweater is knitted on 3.75mm straight needles and a 3.25mm circular needle and includes lots of beautiful cable detail on the lower half and the arms. The top half of the pattern, meanwhile, is knitted in stocking stitch with a flattering soft v-neck shape. The sweater has pretty scalloped edges and sits neatly on the hips. You’ll need between six and nine 100g balls of Alpaca Fino Yarn to make your own Lacy Cabled Sweater. Instructions are given for knitting the sweater in six different sizes. You can get copies of Knitting magazine from the knitshop.co.uk magazines store as well as many newsagents.

pattern featured in the Knitting Magazine issue 125
image courtesy of Knitting Magazine


Natalie used the Alpaca Fino Yarn in Peacock for the sample garment in the Knitting Magazine. Julieta also recommends to knit The Lacy Cabled Sweater in Dark Berry-Pink or Moss-Green. To see all colours in stock and make use of the Product of the Month discount visit the knitshop.co.uk website.

Links to this blog:
Knitshop.co.uk Alpaca Fino Yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/180-alpaca-fino
Knitshop.co.uk magazines: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/163-magazines
Natalie Smart Ravelry pattern page: http://www.ravelry.com/designers/natalie-smart




Saturday, January 11

January Workshops continued


knitshop.co.uk lines up even more knitting and crochet classes
knitshop.co.uk has started the year as it means to go on – with a host of new workshops to get your teeth into, and several new patterns to try out.
If you can’t wait to start a new knitting project, there’s the Eve Skater Girl Hat and Wristwarmers Set, the cosy Chicago Vest Top and the Fino Tank Top to choose from.

We’ve also got lots more workshops lined up, so you can master new knitting and crochet techniques and finish your projects to perfection.
If your New Year’s resolution was to finally master crochet, we’ve got two great workshops for you to try. Our Crochet A Granny Square workshop on 17 January focuses on how to make and combine different crochet stitches in order to create a classic Granny square. If you’ve already mastered the basics of crochet, you’ll soon be able to crochet squares. If crochet is completely new to you, we’ll show you how to hold the needle and create a foundation chain before moving on to doubles, trebles and working on a simple pattern.
Crochet Granny Square

We’re also introducing our first ever Tunisian Crochet class, a needlecraft that has similarities with both knitting and standard crochet. Held on 24 January, Tunisian Crochet For Beginners will introduce you to the fascinating needlework technique in which each row is a bit like casting on and then casting off again in knitting. The result is a neat, firm stitchwork that is perfect for making bags, table runners and mats. As with knitting and crochet, you can knit flat or in the round and add cables and other patterns to your work. No prior knowledge of knitting or crochet is needed in order to attend this class. 
If you’re keen to take your knitting to the next level, we have several handy classes on making your projects look their best. One of the most commonly requested workshops is how to join pieces of knitting together so the seams don’t show. We’ll be looking at this in detail in our Finishing Techniques class on 25 January . You can also learn how to match your pattern up properly, how to sew a flat seam in our Kitchener Stitch grafting workshop on 18 January and which type of stitch to use when sewing up different shaped pieces of knitwork.

workshop at The Boutique Outlet

There’s a complete list of our January workshops here: http://knitshop.co.uk/241-january-workshops, plus a link to sign up to any of them. All workshops take place from 11am to 1pm on Fridays and Saturdays and cost £15 per head. Materials, patterns and a choice of yarns are provided, along with light refreshments. Workshops are held at knitshop.co.uk’s boutique outlet at 326 Lee High Road, SE13 5PJ.



Links to this blog:
Finishing Techniques for Knitting: Kitchener Stitch, 18 January: http://knitshop.co.uk/workshops/2917-finishing-techniques.html
Finishing Techniques for Knitting: Seams, 25 January: http://knitshop.co.uk/workshops/2926-finishing-techniques.html

Sunday, January 5

Eve Skater Girl Hat and Wrist Warmer Set

What young girl doesn’t imagine herself as an ice princess gliding across the rink? We’ve come up with a gorgeous skater girl set that will make her look the part too. Eve is a pretty hat and wrist warmer set trimmed with flowers. We think the flowers give the matching accessories set a chic vintage feel. 

Eve Skater Girl Hat and Wrist Warmer Set.
A matching set for fashionable girls!


Eve is knitted in three complimentary shades of knitshop.co.uk’s Thick And Easy yarn. We chose Aubergine, Dusky Pink and Beige, but there are plenty of shades to choose from in this popular chunky yarn range. Alternative colours recommended by Julieta would be Denim Blue, Light Blue and White
Julieta's daughter Alina is modeling this gorgeous set
and is clearly enjoying wearing it!


The hat is knitted in the round in moss and stocking stitch on an 8mm needles. The hat fits 10-to-15-year-olds and has a circumference of 50 to 53cm (19.5 to 21in), so an 40cm circular needle is ideal. The instructions are clearly written, but when knitting in the round, we always recommend using a stitch marker to indicate the start and end of each round.
The hat is finished off with two crochet flowers.
Alternatively you could use a large wooden button or a knitted flower.

For the wrist warmer, you work a moss stitch cuff to create a snug effect and continue with a simple lace pattern. It's stretchiness means the wrist warmers should fit anyone from the age of 10 to a small size adult hand. 


The hat and wrist warmer are finished off with a flower on each wrist and a larger matching one on the hat. These are made using a 5mm or 6mm crochet hook. You’ll need three medium to large buttons in contrasting colours to form the centre of the flowers and attach them to your knitted accessories. 
We’ve included instructions for two sizes of crocheted flower, but you could just as easily knit a flower. There’s a free Knitted Rose pattern you can download from knitshop.co.uk’s Patterns section. For something different, you could even make felted flowers using the designs in Just Pansies, one of the printed pattern featured in the knitshop.co.uk Pattern section. 

A matching set for a stylish girl!

Eve was designed by knitshop.co.uk founder Julieta Brandao and is suitable for both beginner and intermediate knitters. As with all of our patterns, we provide email and phone pattern support. 
If you’re new to knitting in the round, Eve is an excellent first project. We’re running a workshop on Knitting In The Round at our Lee Green Boutique Outlet on Saturday 11 January, should you need a hand getting started. 

Links to this blog:


Friday, January 3

Knitshop January workshops part 1


Happy New Year!

Made any new year’s resolutions? How about learning a new skill or knitting technique? knitshop.co.uk has a full programme of workshops to choose from, all of which take place on Friday and Saturday mornings at our Boutique Outlet in Lee Green, near to Lewisham and Blackheath

Because it’s still the school holidays, our first two workshops are for kids. On Friday 3 January our Let’s Get Hooked class introduces basic knitting or crochet skills. We focus on how to hold the crochet hook and build a foundation chain. At the end of the two-hour class, attendees will know how to work their first crochet stitches and will have a crochet project to take home with them. Under fives are welcome to attend too, but we usually teach them finger knitting. Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
 
kids as little as 3 years have joined our crafting fun
at the Boutique Outlet in Lee Green.


On Saturday 4 January, our Swing The Needles class covers everything beginners need to know about learning to knit. As well as learning how to cast on and knit your first stitches, you’ll find out how to choose suitable yarn and match needle size and yarn type so your projects come out the right size. You’ll have a choice of yarn and colour for your first knitting project, which you’ll be encouraged to complete at home. 

Swing The Needles - Kids Knitting Workshop

Granny squares are a classic crochet design and can be combined to make some fantastic homewares and accessories. Crochet A Granny Square is a great first class for anyone who wants to learn to crochet. It’s also ideal if you know how to make crochet chains but want to move on to a creative crochet project. The class is on Friday 10 January and includes all the instructions and materials you need. A second class, on Friday 17 January, also covers crocheting a granny square, but also looks at how to combine several granny squares to make a larger crochet project. 

one of the projects that you could make in the
Knitting in the Round workshop at the Boutique Outlet
 
If you can knit and want to move on to making hats, gloves, toys and garments you’ll find many projects easier to complete if you knit them ‘in the round’. Using this technique you knit in circles, so there are no bulky seams to sew up at the end. During our Knitting In The Round class on Saturday 11 January we’ll be knitting an elegant wrist warmer using four knitting needles. We’ll explain everything you need to know to complete them at home and give you the pattern to refer to.

January is packed with great new workshops so watch out for another blog about our end of January workshops coming very soon!
Meanwhile you can browse the Products of the Months and get your FREE download of the Month and keep knitting!

Links to this blog:
Crochet A Granny Square workshop, Friday 10 January: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/2913-crochet-a-square.html
Knitting In The Round workshop, Saturday 11 January: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/2914-9-july-knitting.html
Crochet Finishing and Combining Techniques, Friday 17 January: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/2915-crochet-a-square-finishing-techniques.html