Classic Lily Jacket as seen in Knit Magazine

Spring is finally here and the days are getting warmer. The perfect layering for the already beautiful but still cold spring evenings. Ideal for the first garden parties or smart for work, it will work with jeans, skirts and dresses.

If you’re looking for a striking jacket to keep out the cold without compromising on style, our Lily Jacket is just the ticket. This beautifully detailed garment was designed by Meg Crowther and has just the right amount of colour contrast detail. It’s knitted with knitshop.co.uk’s Coquette Vintage Cotton Yarn, which has a luxurious sheen and fabulous stitch definition.

Lily Jacket knitted in Coquette Vintage Cotton Yarn
colours: Wine, Carnation and Oyster

Most of the jacket is knitted in stocking stitch, which means it grows quickly, while the collars, cuffs and edging are knitted in contrasting shades using moss stitch. The combination of colours creates a jewel-like effect and references classic boxy jacket shapes from the 1950s.

To knit Lily Jacket you’ll need between eight and 13 balls of Coquette Vintage 4ply Mercerised Cotton Yarn in the main colour (depending on the size you’re knitting), plus two balls of the second colour and one or two 50g balls of the third colour. The pattern includes instructions for knitting Lily in sizes that fit 30in to 50in chests. Lily Jacket is a fantastic knit if you want the challenge of shape, grafting on borders and using multiple yarns at once, but don’t want to knit a complex lace pattern. As you can see from our photos, the end results is stunning.

Lily Jacket sleeve.

For our version, we used Coquette Vintage 4ply Mercerised Cotton Yarn in Burgundy as the main colour, with Oyster and Pastel Pink as our contrast yarns.

We’re still stocking some shades of our Coquette Cotton Yarn 4ply Mercerised, but won’t be restocking this yarn once it’s sold out. If you can’t find the colour you want, check out our Coquette Vintage yarns instead as this range replaces our 4ply Mercerised Yarn.

Lily Jacket in style classic for work!

For example, you could substitute the oyster shade for the Coquette Oyster yarn and use Coquette Vintage Yarn in Carnation instead of the Pastel Pink 4ply yarn. For the main colour use either Coquette Wine or Flame. The yarns knit to the same tension on 3.75mm needles. Coquette has a noticeable sheen and wonderful drape, just like our 4ply Mercerised Yarns.

Meg’s Lily Jacket pattern appeared in Knit magazine issue 38 in July 2011, where it was knitted in lighter colours to give a more summery, casual look. This version used 4ply Mercerised Cotton Yarn in Silver, Light Lilac and Purple. To recreate this version we recommend using http://www.knitshop.co.uk/coquette-vintage-cotton/2803-carnation-coquette.html

Back neck of Lily Jacket.

Links to this blog:

Lily Jacket pattern: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitshop-pattern/3050-lily-jacket.html

Knitshop.co.uk 4pl Mercerised Cotton Yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/129-4ply-cotton-mercerised

Knitshop.co.uk Coquette Vintage Cotton Yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/323-coquette-vintage-cotton

3.75mm bamboo needles: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitting-accessories/1709-bamboo-knitting-needles-375mm.html

3mm bamboo needles: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitting-accessories/1547-bamboo-knitting-needles-375mm.html

Meg Crowther Ravelry page: http://www.ravelry.com/designers/meg-crowther

Lily Jacket in summery colours: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lily-jacket

knitshop.co.uk June workshops

knitshop.co.uk has some brilliant workshops coming up in June that will build your knitting and crochet confidence and expand your repertoire of techniques.

We start with our Continental Knitting workshop on 6 June. In this type of knitting the yarn is held to the left of the needles and the yarn is passed over the needles nearer the top, making knitting faster and tighter. You also have better control over the tension – something that’s really important if you’re knitting an item that needs to fit properly.

Bonneterie Socks by Sarah Wilson as seen in The Knitter issue 29,
using knitshop.co.uk Socks Yarn in mustard.

Crochet is becoming increasingly popular, so we’ve added several new classes to our line-up. Our first ever Sock Crochet class is on Saturday 7 June and is a great, achievable project for intermediate crocheters to tackle. You’ll use standard crochet stitches to make a pair of baby socks.

If you prefer to make something decorative, try our new Double-Layer Flower Corsage workshop or our Crocheted Mandala class on 14 June. This brightly-coloured circular design is originally symbolic of the universe and tranquility. It can also be adapted to make a geometric pattern of your own design. The beautiful eye-catching colours are sure to be a talking point.

For a real statement piece, sign up to our Lacy Summer Shawl crochet project. You’ll be crocheting on very fine Cotton Crochet Thread and will have your pick of 14 bright and pastel shades.

Crochet Cotton Thread by knitshop.co.uk

Because this is a complex project, we’re running it in two parts on Friday 20 and 27 June. There’s also an option to learn all the skills needed in a single class on Saturday 28 June. You’ll need to be a confident crocheter, but we’re sure you’ll find the results well worth the effort.

If you’re having problems with your knitting, we have a free monthly Knitting SOS class where you can bring along your troublesome projects and get advice on how to rescue and complete them. Several customers who visited our boutique outlet on the recent Yarn Shop Day shared their tales of unfinished projects, so we’ve got an additional free workshop on Friday 13 June devoted to Fixing Knitting Mistakes to help you get stalled projects back on track. Just follow the link for either clinic to book your free space.

Workshop at the Boutique Outlet in Lee Green,
326 Lee High Road, London

knitshop.co.uk workshops cost £15 per session and are held at our boutique outlet at 326 Lee High Road, SE13 5PJ. The two-hour classes start at 11am and all materials and refreshments are provided.

To book, please follow the workshop link and choose ‘self-pick-up’ at checkout.

Links to this blog:

June workshops: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/246-june

Continental Knitting workshop, 6 June: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/june/2106-6-june-continental-knitting-workshop.html

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

Crochet A Double-Layered Flower, 21 June: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/3045-21-june-crochet-flower-double-layer-advanced.html

Crochet A Pair of Socks, 7 June: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/2149-7-june-crochet-a-sock.html

Crochet A Mandala, 14 June: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/2108-13-june-crochet-mandala.html

Crochet A Lacy Summer Shawl, pt I, 20 June: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/3018-lace-crochet-shawl-part1-.html

Crochet A Lacy Summer Shawl, pt II 27 June: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/3048-lace-crochet-shawl.html

Crochet A Lacy Summer Shawl, 28 June: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/3049-summer-lace-crochet-shawl.html

Fixing Knitting Mistakes, 13 June: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/2479-free-sos-clinic.html

Knitting SOS, 27 June: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/3046-free-sos-clinic.html

What is continental knitting?: Continental knitting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_knitting

What is a mandala?: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandala