Julia jumper – pretty lily-patterned design

Spring is on its way and with it thoughts of slightly lighter knits. You no longer need to be swaddled in several layers of warmth. A light jacket and long-sleeved top will suffice as you venture outside and breathe in the welcome springtime air.

The change of season provides the perfect excuse to indulge in some springtime knitting too. Chunky jumpers can be replaced with flattering fitted designs. With this in mind, we’re incredibly proud to bring you our Julia jumper.

This beautiful jumper starred on the cover of Yarnwise magazine, August 2012 – something we were very proud of, since it’s knitted with knitshop.co.uk Cotton Plied Wool. Designed for knitshop.co.uk by Meg Crowther, the Julia jumper features a lily motif. Meg chose the lily in memory of Meg’s cousin, who loved these flowers. It’s knitted in DK weight yarn which is both lightweight and offers good stitch definition – all the better to show off the lovely lilies.

We’re delighted to be able to offer the Julia jumper pattern for download from our website for just £1.

You will need between five and seven 100g hanks of knitshop.co.uk Cotton Plied Wool, plus single-pointed and double-pointed 4mm needles. The yarn is spun from a mix of 60 percent cotton and 40 percent wool, resulting in a combination of light weight, durability and warmth.

The yarn comes in 100g skeins of around 225m, meaning you only need a few balls to make a complete garment. The Julia jumper therefore costs a very reasonable £35 to make – and delivery is free.

knitshop.co.uk Cotton Plied Wool comes in a fantastic selection of colours. Choose the cornflower blue shown in the pattern or a sunny yellow. Cotton Plied Wool also comes in cheerful reds and orange shades or a more subtle pale blue or light green.

These solid shades will give the Julia jumper a vintage look and ensure the lily pattern stands out on the shoulder and sleeves. For a more contemporary look choose the variegated blue-pink, green-blue or earthy brown-green combination. Browse the colour options for Cotton Plied Wool here.

For more knitting and crochet patterns see the knitshop.co.uk patterns page.

Links to this blog:

Julia jumper pattern: http://knitshop.co.uk/knitshop-pattern/2726-julia.html

Cotton Plied Wool: http://knitshop.co.uk/167-cotton-wool-yarn

4mm bamboo needles: http://knitshop.co.uk/knitting-accessories/1696-bamboo-knitting-needles-4mm.html

4mm double-pointed needles: http://knitshop.co.uk/knitting-accessories/1714-4mm-dp-20cm.html

Knitshop.co.uk patterns: http://knitshop.co.uk/161-knitshop-pattern

Meg Crowther Ravelry page: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/julia-jumper

Yarnwise magazine: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/yarnwise-magazine-51-august-2012

Product of the Month May

knitshop.co.uk Product of the Month May: Cotton Plied Wool Yarn

At knitshop.co.uk we’re looking forward to some sunshine and long balmy summer evenings, but we’re not quite ready to risk sleeveless cotton vests or camisole tops just yet. Instead, we’re hedging our bets with lightweight cover-ups and lighter yarns that provide warmth without bulk.

knitshop.co.uk Cotton Plied Wool Yarn is our Product of the Month for May and is the perfect yarn for late Spring.  The yarn is a blend of 60% cotton and 40% wool. It’s soft and light as well as being warm. It comes in some lovely variegated colours such as Orange-Apricot and Blue-Green and well as single shade yarns such as Yellow and Blue.

Cotton Plied Wool Yarn in Blue and Green blended shades

Cotton Plied Wool Yarn comes in 100g skeins of approximately 225m and knits up on 3-4mm needles and has a tension of around 26 stitches per 10cm. It’s ideal for projects that call for a thicker 4ply or DK yarn and, because of its strength, it’s equally good for knitting or crochet.

A Stitch In Time Vol 2 featured the Cotton Plied Wool Yarn in Apricot
in this vintage knitting pattern. Pattern: Ribbon Threaded Jumper.

One of our favourite patterns is Meg Crowther’s Julia jumper. This lovely pattern features a Lily Of The Valley motif on the sleeves and is knitted using Cotton Plied Wool Yarn in Blue. Julia Lily Of The Valley jumper uses between 5 and 7 skeins of yarn and knits up on 4mm single-pointed needles.

Julia - Lily of the Valley Jumper in Blue Cotton Plied Wool Yarn

knitshop.co.uk newsletter subscribers can download the pattern for free throughout May. Combined with the Product Of The Month 14% discount on Cotton Plied Wool Yarn, this makes Julia jumper a great project choice for intermediate knitters.

Beautiful summer colours are available
in the Cotton Plied Wool Yarn

If you’re after a more straightforward project, our Sugar And Spice Ginger Silk Top is a great quick knit that flatters all shapes. Cotton Plied Wool Yarn has a very similar tension to the Mulberry Silk Twist Yarn used in the original pattern and comes in similar length skeins, so you can simply substitute yarns here.
Another of our patterns that will work well with Cotton Plied Wool Yarn is the Jasper Pullover Tank Top. This lovely slipover top is ideal for this time of the year and will fit kids from two to seven-years-old. You need two skeins of yarn for the main colour and one skein of the contrast yarn. . You’ll also need a pair each of 3mm and 3.5mm circular needles.

Jasper Pull-over originally knitted in 100% alpaca yarn.
For a more summery version use Cotton Plied Wool Yarn.

If there’s a pattern you’d like to knit or crochet using Cotton Plied Wool Yarn or another knitshop.co.uk yarn, please contact us for needle conversion and yarn substitution advice. We’re always happy to help!

Cotton Plied Wool Yarn is also available at
the knitshop.co.uk Boutique Outlet in Lee Green

Links to this blog:
Click here to see the latest newsletter sent by knitshop.co.uk
http://fairs.knitshop.co.uk/index.php?option=com_acajoom&Itemid=99&act=mailing&task=archive&listid=1&listype=1

knitshop.co.uk Knitting and Crochet Yarns: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/81-knitting-yarn

Blue Cotton Plied Yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/cotton-wool-yarn/1309-blue-cotton-wool.html

Blue-Green Cotton Plied Wool Yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/cotton-wool-yarn/1314-blue-green-cotton-wool.html

Cotton Plied Wool Yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/167-cotton-wool-yarn

Jasper Pullover Tank Top pattern: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitshop-pattern/2931-tank-top-fino.html

Julia Lily Of The Valley jumper pattern: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitshop-pattern/2726-julia.html

Mulberry Silk Twist Yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/31-mulberry-silk-twist

Orange-Apricot Cotton Plied Wool Yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/cotton-wool-yarn/1305-orange-apricot-cotton-wool.html

Product Of The Month: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/content/17-product-of-the-month

Sugar and Spice Ginger Silk Top pattern: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitshop-pattern/2725-sugar-spice-ginger.html

Tropicana Camisole pattern: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitshop-pattern/2778-tropicana.html

Yellow Cotton Plied Yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/cotton-wool-yarn/1310-yellow-cotton-wool.html

3mm circular needles: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitting-accessories/2518-3mm-60cm-bamboo-circulars.html

3.5mm circular needles: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitting-accessories/2967-35mm-80cm-bamboo-circulars.html

4mm Bamboo Knitting Needles: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitting-accessories/1696-bamboo-knitting-needles-4mm.html

knitshop.co.uk May workshops

The warmer months are on their way and it’s a great time to acquire some new needlecraft skills so you can make some suitably summery attire. Crochet is the perfect option – its lacy structure covers you up without weighing you down. Crocheted designs can also be fast to knit.

On Friday 9 May we’re running a Summer Lace Crochet class showing you everything you need to know to make your first lacy crochet items. This is an improvers’ class, so you’ll need to know how to turn chains and create double and treble crochet stitches. We’ll help you build on these basics, building up your repertoire of crochet stitches and introducing you to new techniques. We’ll show you how to read a lace crochet pattern and discuss the challenges involved in working with fine cotton yarn and very slim crochet hooks.

Crochet Cotton in different thicknesses

We are also running a slightly more general Improve Your Crochet class on Friday 2 May in which we’ll explain how to read crochet patterns and introduce several new crochet stitches. Both classes are intended to give you the confidence to tackle your first crochet accessories. A bolero, headband, scarf or cowl are all great first projects.

If you get into a pickle, you can always book yourself into our free Knitting And Crochet SOS class on Saturday 30 May. We’ll help you unravel (excuse the pun) any mistakes and help you get your project back on track.

Lily Jacket is knitted in Coquette Cotton.
It is a great pattern to start colour work.

Knitters have a great choice of techniques-based workshops to choose from too, including Intarsia and Fair Isle colour knitting classes. We’ll be showing you how to knit your first pair of socks in our class on Saturday 24 May using circular or double-pointed needles and knitting in the round from the toe up. There’s a lovely selection of knitshop.co.uk Sock Yarn shades to choose from and we’ll give you the pattern to take home so you can complete both socks.

All knitshop.co.uk workshops take place at our boutique outlet at 326 Lee High Road, London SE23 (nearest stations Blackheath, Lee or Lewisham) from 11am to 1pm and cost £15 per adult. Refreshments, tuition materials, patterns and follow-up advice are all included. To book a class just follow the link below and choose ‘self-pickup’ at the checkout.

Links to this blog:

May workshops list: www.knitshop.co.uk/245-may

Improve Your Crochet workshop, 2 May: www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/3014-2-may-crochet-improvers-charts-reading-stitches.html

Summer Lace Crochet workshop, 9 May: www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/3018-lace-crochet.html

Fair Isle Knitting workshop, 10 May: www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/3019-10-may-fairisle-knitting-crochet.html

Tunisian Crochet workshop, 16 May: www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/3021-16-may-tunisian-afghan-crochet.html

Intarsia Knitting workshop, 17 May: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/3022-17-may-intarsia-colour-knitting-workshop.html

Finishing Techniques: Crochet, 23 May: www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/3023-crochet.html

Sock Knitting workshop, 24 May: www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/3024-sock-knitting.html

Kids’ Crochet workshop, 30 May: www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/3025-lets-get-hooked.html

Crocheting in Colour workshop, 30 May: www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/3026-crochet-workshop-colour-motifs.html

Knitshop.co.uk Crochet Cotton Thread: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/237-crochet-cotton-thread

Knitshop.co.uk Sock Yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/165-socks-yarn

Steel Crochet Hooks: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/322-steel-crochet-hook