knitshop.co.uk: Product of the Month June

Get set for summer with this Tropicana vest pattern.

The sun is shining steadily and shows no sign of leaving, so it’s hardly a surprise that at knitshop.co.uk our thoughts have turned to summery knits. With a brand-new yarn to experiment with, we can’t wait to get our needles out and give Susan Crawford’s Tropicana vest a try.

Tropicana by Susan Crawford

We’ve recently launched our own vintage cotton yarn range, known as Coquette. The 4ply all-cotton yarn, developed in partnership with respected knitwear author and designer Susan Crawford, is perfect for lightweight spring and summer knits. It’s also bang up to date thanks to the vogue for all things vintage and the popularity of Downton Abbey and the new Great Gatsby film.

Tropicana knitted in Yellow Mulberry Silk Twist Yarn

Tropicana is a fantastically-detailed pear-and-trellis pattern top that offers a figure-hugging ribbed fit and falls flatteringly beneath the bust. Team it with linen trousers or a pair of shorts for a casual holiday look. Previously available as a recommended pattern for our Mulberry Silk Twist Yarn, we’ve updated Tropicana to knit using Coquette.

Coquette Vintage Cotton Yarn

This brand-new yarn knits up into garments with beautiful drape while also showing off the finest detail in your patterns. In other words, Coquette rewards you for the extra effort involved in knitting more complex designs. We think the more eye-catching shades in the 12-strong Coquette yarn range work especially well for Tropicana. If Canary yellow isn’t your colour, Aquamarine or Pumpkin will look every bit as good.

Canary Coquette Vintage Cotton

You’ll need six skeins of Coquette and a pair of 3.25mm needles. Choose a contrasting shade of ribbon to complete the look. As if the pattern and the challenge of a new yarn weren’t enough to tempt you to get the needles clicking, we are also running an introductory offer on Coquette Vintage Cotton Yarn. A 50g (125m) ball usually costs £4.95, but for a limited period we’ve discounted them to £4.45 each.

Mulberry Silk Twist Yarn

The Tropicana Vest pattern is available as an instant PDF download in versions for either Coquette Vintage Cotton Yarn or Mulberry Silk Twist Yarn. Grab a copy now and make a start on your summer holiday wardrobe. Just imagine how good you’ll look in Tropicana once you’ve a tan to show off!