The Dress

Who is the designer of the most famous wedding dress? Here are just a few names which have been appearing in the recent media....

Phillipa Lepley - Top Couture Bridal Wear Designer, Sarah Burton creative Director of the Alexander McQueen label, Daniella Helayel a Brazilian designer who created created Issa London when she couldn’t find a dress to wear,will she be a Temperley bride......
"...the Guardian can today exclusively reveal that Kate Middleton will be wearing a vintage-inspired, bias-cut ivory Libélula gown designed by Sophie Cranston when she marries Prince William" The Guardian, 28th April 2011, 09.05am

Designers around the world will spring into action tonight in a rush to replicate Kate Middleton's wedding dress. Herald Sun, 29th April, 12am

The bridesmaids will wear gowns by Alice Temperley of Temperley London. She is one of Catherine's favourite designers according to the digital media.

A stunning crochet wedding dress

Rachel Matthews and Cast Off, The Knitted Wedding, 2005

Here are the links to this blog:
Phillipa Lepley Bridal Wear Designer
Daniella Helayel
Sarah Burton
Sophie Cranston
Alice Temperley
Herald Sun, 29th April 2011, 12am
The Guardian, 28th April 2011, 09.05am

The Royal Wedding

Tomorrow at 11am Prince William & Kate Middleton are to tie the knot for the rest of their lives. The press and digital media not just in the UK, also abroad has been full of news, information and speculative details about the big day. Believe it or not, also the Knitting World has been taken over by the big event taking place on 29th April 2011. I have been putting together a collection of patterns and articles from the knitting magazines and the web for you.

Deborah from Simply Knitting says "the best bit is that you dont have to have blue blood, or even be getting married, to want to knit something.." Simply Knitting Spring 2011. There are some great patterns for your to try in this month spring issue, one of them being the Silken Cream p61. Not to forget the Gloves for a Spring Wedding by Just Call Me Ruby aka Susan Crawford, the co-author of A Stitch In Time and author Vintage Gifts To Knit, in which the pattern for those gorgeous gloves is published. So if you are getting married this year or one of your loved ones, these are an ideal accessory to finish the outfit of your dreams and feel like a real princess.

Simply Knitting also has a Royal Wedding Celebration supplement with 6 fantastic patterns to knit for perfect gifts and keepsakes. Your very own Union Jack cushion, a very royal Crown tea cosy or the very best bunting to decorate your garden or street party and much more.

Knit Today Magazine featuring 6 quick knits in honour of the royal wedding by Dorothy Wood. Lace gloves, Corsage Barrette, beaded tiara, patriotic bunting, flower gift bag and of course the Union Jack cushion. My favourite definitely being the Corsage barrette, which reminds a little of the fascinator - becoming more of the fashion for official events instead of large Ascot type headgear. Perhaps you remember, Knitonthenet the on-line knitting magazine featured a great pattern for fascinators knitted in knitshop.co.uk Mulberry Silk yarn.

Knit Your Own Royal Wedding this is a book that's just recently being published, in my opinion, of all this is the most hilarious thing I have seen this year. The book features pattern for Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince Harry, the Queen, the bride and the groom and many more. The knitted dolls are made with astonishing definition of detail and most precise knitting. I have seen the book as well as the real knitted characters at one of the knitting shows back in March this year. Fiona Goble, the author of the book had a talk at the show, it was amusing and entertaining at the same time to listen to her incredible story of how she came up with the ideas and designed the most elaborate knitted dolls. The book Knit Your Own Royal Wedding is published by Ivy Press and costs £9.99.

The dress - the most speculation has been around the dress, what will Kate's dress look like?
Has the dress indeed been designed by Sarah Burton, the creative director of the Alexander McQueen label.... "Catherine Middleton, the making of a modern princess" by Vogue.co.uk

What ever you do tomorrow on Will's & Kate's big day..... Enjoy your bank holiday with some great knitting and hopefully lots of sunshine.
Julieta @knitshop.co.uk

Here is a list of the products, patterns and magazines mentioned above:
Mulberry silk yarn, knitshop.co.uk
Simply Knitting, Knit Today
Knitonthenet
Susan Crawford Vintage Knitting, Just call me ruby blog
A Stitch In Time & Vintage Gifts To Knit
Fascinator Notorious
Sarah Burton, Alexander McQueen
Vogue.co.uk
Knit Your Own Royal Wedding
Simply Knitting and Knit Today to buy online
Gloves for a Spring Wedding

Needle Felting Kit review by Knit Today

The knitting magazine Knit Today featured one of knitshop.co.uk's products in issue 50, p50.

Buyer’s Guide - Pattern review: Featuring Knitshop’s Needle Felting Kit with Silk by Julieta:
"This flower makes a nice brooch (it’s easy - you just need to sew a pin onto the back), and is also good to sew onto a coat, or you can even use it to hide an annoying hole or snag in your favourite top! It’s made using needle felting techniques, and the kit is comes in contains everything you need to get started with this hobby: a felting needle, felting pad, merino wool tops, silk tops and fleece, and instructions. Each kit contains wool tops in four colours and there are six different colour schemes for you to choose from. You don’t need a great deal of patience for needle felting - this kit in particular won’t take long to complete. It’s also the sort of project that you can make a start on and then set aside and come back to later on. Once your flower is complete, consider decorating it with beads or Swarovski crystals to add an extra touch of sparkle."

Knit Today Magazine, issue 50, p73, Elizabeth Leight

This needle felting kit is also used in the beginners needle felting workshop at the knitshop.co.uk outlet in Lee Green.

The pattern is a free download from the knitshop.co.uk website, click here to purchase the free pattern.

Needle felting is a great and very versatile hobby. A flower, butterfly or motive of your choice is quick and easy to felt, it can be used as brooch or embellished to pep up your accessories.

The kit contains all necessary equipment and wool for you to start needle felting immediately. The needle felting kit is available from £4.98 without silk fibers and from £11.80 with silk fibers from knitshop.co.uk.

Silk Heaven

Silk Heaven -
This is a quick gift pattern, ideal for last minute gifts!

I made this shawl as a Mother's Day present for my mum.
My mum loves white, therefore it was an obvious choice for her... I love the pattern and the way it knits up. I think this shawl would look good in any colour!!

I'm nearly half way through the pattern and only spent one evening knitting. Seems to be a very quick and fairly easy lace pattern if you keep track of your rows.

It definitely needs blocking once its done, but the lace turns out really nice in this beautiful Chinese silk yarn.

02.04.2011
Finished the shawl last night!! It looks gorgeous. - Pictures will follow! All in all it took me 4 evenings to finish the pattern, I think thats fairly good considering my little boy still thinks his mum is his bed....

The pattern is easy to follow, the instruction consists of written instruction and charts for the body and the lace border. Both are fairly clear, just remember to keep track of your rows when knitting lace! Using the stitch markers made knitting the shawl a lot easier and you can easily recognise in case you have missed a stitch or yarn over somewhere.

I definitely would knit the pattern again but would consider working the lace border in stocking stitch as an experiment to make it look a bit different to the first shawl knitted.

I used 5.5mm circular needles and Knitshop.co.uk Chinese silk yarn in white. I swatched the pattern on 5mm before starting the project and found the yarn needed a larger needle than suggested in the pattern.

I presented the gift when I went to visit my mum last week. She loved it!!!
The pattern is called 198 yds. of Heaven and you can find it on ravelry.com.

Happy Knitting
Julieta

Crochet for beginners Workshop

knitshop.co.uk is offering many different workshops and classes at the High Street outlet in Lee Green. Tomorrow, Saturday 23rd April 11am is another 2 hour crochet session for those who want to refresh their skills or learn to crochet from scratch.

Our classes are small groups, maximum 8 people, include a FREE pattern for you to take home and continue practising your crochet after the class. All materials for the workshop are included and available for you throughout the course. After the course has finished you will be given the chance to purchase necessary materials you may need to continue crocheting at home.

The workshops are run by trained specialists and experts in their field. With lots of tips and trick and step by step guidance. All courses are starting from beginners to intermediate and advances levels, additional sessions like working lace, amigurumi or constructing socks are offered.


Crochet classes are £18.00 for a 2 hours session, a cheaper rate of £15.00 is available if you book online at knitshop.co.uk Workshops or for advanced bookings. All workshops can be booked in person in the shop at 326 Lee High Raod, Lee Green, London, SE13 5PJ, via telephone 020 8144 4523 or online - click here to browse the workshop schedule or book the next crochet class online. 

You will learn in this course:
crochet stitches
crochet techniques
pattern reading

Included in this course:
free pattern
refreshments
step by step expert guidance
lots of tips and tricks

All materials are provided for you to use during the crochet course.
Please contact us or visit the shop should you have any questions about the crochet, knitting or felting workshops run by knitshop.co.uk.

Pure Cotton DK

knitshop.co.uk's brand new Cotton DK yarn is a great alternative to the fine 4ply cotton, it knits up evenly and drapes well in garments and accessories. We have used this yarn for a bolero knitshop pattern and for children's knitwear such as hats and pullovers.

Here are the details and specifications:

100% cotton, DK
100g balls
170m / 100g
twisted, 3 plies
recommended hand wash 60c (machine washable on wool wash)
recommended needle size: 3.5 – 4.5 mm
currently available in 42 colours
Tension: 19sts x 28r stocking stitch on 3.75mm needles

For most of our yarns we also offer FREE samples and shade cards which you can purchase for free or a small fee online at knitshop.co.uk.