knitshop.co.uk: October 2014

Tuesday, October 7

Why Wool?

Wool Week promotions from knitshop.co.uk
Wool Week is back 5 - 12 October!

Why Wool? This question and many others are answered on the website The Campaign For Wool. At knitshop.co.uk we are all about wool and natural fibres. Wool week is now running in its 5th year and hosts a number of activities to showcase the best wool has to offer.

One of the most spectacular events is the Wool Ride. More than 300 wool-clad cyclists will take a ride around historical parts of London as well as wool famous areas such as Jermyn Street. Celebrate wool interiors is running for one week and one day at Southwark Cathedral in London for you to visit and admire this year's most beautiful wool moment.

Wool Week 2014 - 5 - 12 October.

with a host of activities planned to showcase the best wool has to offer - See more at: http://www.campaignforwool.org/news-item/wool-week-is-back/#sthash.PQP4nahv.dpuf

Wool Week is a week dedicated to natural yarn that exactly chimes with the knitshop.co.uk ethos. If you didn’t already know, we sell nothing but natural fibre yarns. To celebrate Campaign For Wool’s annual championing of natural fibres, we’ve got some fantastic promotions for you.

First off, we’re giving away a fantastic free pattern specially written for our Thick And Easy pure wool yarn. The Samuel Waistcoat is just the thing to keep boys or girls snug and the pattern is straightforward enough for anyone to knit. The pattern includes instructions for knitting the Samuel Waistcoat in sizes to fit kids from four to 11 years old. You’ll need no more than three balls of knitshop.co.uk Thick And Easy Yarn. Choose from 16 different solid shades including Blue Denim, Aubergine, Dark Red and Dusky Rose. This chunky yarn knits up on 7mm or 8mm needles and comes in 100g balls of roughly 100m.

Samuel Waistcoat Pattern using 100% pure wool yarn.
Free to download this week only!

We’re also giving away the pattern for our Silk Merino Yarn vest. An ideal cover-up for teens and adults, it looks fantastic knitted in contrasting colours. We designed the pattern for our Mulberry Silk Merino Yarn which contains 50% of each fibre, making it strong but warm. This comes in vibrant shades such as Peacock, Bright Purple and Antique Gold, as well as more muted options such as Silver-Grey and Lavender. Each 100g skein contains 300m of this wonderful yarn. You’ll need two of the main colour and one of the contrast colour in order to knit your Silk Merino Yarn vest.

If you prefer an all wool yarn, try our Simply Wool Yarn. It’s slightly chunkier than the mulberry and merino yarn but is ideal for use with the 3.75mm needles that the vest pattern recommends. Simply Wool Yarn comes in 200m balls, so you’ll need three for the main colour and one for the contrast trim to knit your cosy vest.

All about wool. Simply Striped Waistcoat and Beanie Hat
is knitted in 100% pure wool, the pattern is available to download from the website.

Both patterns use the knitting in the round technique for a seam-free finish. If you’ve yet to master knitting this way, why not sign up for our Knitting In The Round workshop on Saturday 18 October – for this month only, our Saturday workshops cost just £7.00 each.

ALL ABOUT WOOL! - knitshop.co.uk is offering a wide range of
natural, quality designer yarns.

Links to this blog:

knitshop.co.uk: http://www.knitshop.co.uk

Campaign For Wool: http://www.campaignforwool.org/news-item/wool-week-is-back

Knitting In The Round workshop: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/3103-knitting-in-the-round.html

Mulberry Silk Merino Yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/29-silk-wool-blend

October workshops list: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/250-october

Samuel’s Waistcoat pattern: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitshop-pattern/2838-samuels-waistcoat.html

Simply Wool Yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/126-simply-wool-yarn

Silk Merino Vest pattern: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitshop-pattern/2745-silk-merino-vest.html

Thick And Easy Yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/106-thick-easy-yarn

Monday, October 6

Workshops & Activities October

Knitshop.co.uk October workshops

knitshop.co.uk has some brilliant workshops coming up this month. Some of them will help build your confidence with knitting and crochet if you’re a beginner; others help you take your craft to the next level with creative projects that might just turn into very popular gifts. We’re talking cute amigurumi creatures, knitting in the round and that perennial favourite, the granny square.

Amigurumi is the Japanese term for a quirky stuffed toy, usually crocheted, but sometimes knitted. Amigurumi make great gifts and are really fun to make and can easily be customised to make them unique. knitshop.co.uk’s Amigurumi Crochet Workshop on 24 October introduces the basic crochet techniques needed to create amigurumi figures and gives you a choice of objects to make, from bears, frogs and monkeys to mice and zebras. Be warned, amigurumi is not the sort of creation you make just one of. Our workshop could be the start of a whole collection.

choose one one pattern from these cute Amigurumi
to work during these crochet class.

The two-hour amigurumi class is ideal if you’re already a crocheter. If you’ve not yet mastered hooking with yarn, our Crochet For Beginners workshop on 10 October is an obvious introduction. We’ll supply everything you need to know and get you started with your first project. We’ll show you how to make a coaster or crochet a flower and give you the pattern to take home to complete it.

However, we’re sure you’ll soon be hooked and keen to make your first granny square. That’s where our Crochet A Granny Square class on 17 October comes in. These charming squares are a crochet classic and the foundation for many a crocheted garment, bag or blanket.

our kids workshops are back this autumn half term!

We’ve got some great knitting workshops this month too. We’re running both a Beginner’s Knitting class for adults and our Swing The Needles kids’ class on Saturday 25 October. These start with first principles but are also suitable to attend if you’ve tried to learn to knit and need some expert pointers. If you’re midway through a project, meanwhile, and have got into a pickle, book yourself in to our free end of month Knitting SOS class and let us help you unravel your mistakes and get back on track.

If you can confidently knit and purl, it’s time to expand your repertoire of techniques with our Knitting In The Round class. Here, you’ll learn how to use a circular needle and how to make seam-free garments such as a pair of wristwarmers. Knitting and not having to sew up seams afterwards will be a revelation!

learn to make beautiful wrist warmers,
a hat or even socks this autumn at knitshop.co.uk

All knitshop.co.uk classes run from 11am to 1pm in our boutique outlet shop on Lee High Road, midway between Lewisham and Blackheath. Adult classes are £15 each, while kids’ classes are £10. Under 16s must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Our tutors are fully qualified and are experienced knitters, crocheters and designers and are happy to provide advice on projects you may wish to work on during your class. Patterns and refreshments are provided. Post-workshop support is provided by phone or email.

To book a workshop, please follow the relevant web link and choose ‘self-pickup’ at the online checkout.

Special Promotion - book our Saturday workshops in October now until 10th October for only £7 per class.


learn to make quick & easy gifts for your loved ones.

Links to this blog:

October workshops: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/250-october

Amigurumi Crochet workshop: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/2333-amigurumi-crochet.html

Beginners’ Knitting workshop: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/3104-beginners-knitting-workshop.html

Crochet For Beginners workshop: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/2150-10-october-crochet.html

Crochet Granny Squares workshop: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/3092-12-jan-granny-squares-crochet.html

Crochet Patterns and Charts workshop: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/3094-12-jan-granny-squares-crochet.html

Children’s Crochet workshop: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/3099-free-sos-clinic.html

Children’s Knitting workshop: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/3107-swing-the-needles.html

Knitting In The Round workshop: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/3103-knitting-in-the-round.html

Knitting SOS workshop: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/3099-free-sos-clinic.html

Lacet Wrist Warmers pattern: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitshop-pattern/2701-lacet.html

Wednesday, October 1

Product of the Month October

A birdie told us knitshop.co.uk’s Silk Lace Yarn is now on special

Variegated yarn fans will instantly fall in love with the latest knitshop.co.uk yarn. We’ve got a limited run of wonderful silk lace yarn for you to try with a stunning range of colours running through it. We’ve even slashed the price by 20 percent to tempt you to try it.

Blue Tit Silk Yarn.

Our Blue Tit Silk Lace Yarn takes its name from the pretty garden bird. The laceweight yarn has flashes of blue interspersed with lime green, turquoise, purple and black. You can just imagine how fantastic a shawl or top knitted in these incredible colours will look!

What’s brilliant about variegated yarns is that you can make amazing looking items using simple patterns. In fact, simple stitches are better because they let the yarn colours shine.

The yarn is made from pure silk and comes in 50g skeins of approximately 250 metres. Blue Tit Silk Lace Yarn knits on 2-3mm needles or slightly larger crochet hooks and is the perfect yarn weight for making garments for the late summer-early autumn period.

Blue Tit - lime green, turquoise, blues, purple and black.

A 50g skein is ample for making a pair of gloves or wrist warmers (such as the pretty Bromley Mitts or Lace Fingerless Mitts) or a pretty neck warmer that tucks into a jacket. Using one or two skeins of Blue Tit Silk Lace Yarn you could make a lacy scarf or shrug. The impressively simple One Row Lace Scarf pattern is a great example. Use larger needles (6mm needles are recommended) to get the lacy effect.

For a more challenging knit take a look at the Arrow Lace Scarf and the Fishtail Lace Scarf. Both are available as free downloads from the Ravelry online pattern library and need two skeins of Blue Tit Silk Lace Yarn.

Another great option is to use two or three skeins of Blue Tit Silk Lace Yarn and make a wonderful shawl. Choose a simple, open work pattern and wear your shawl over a plain top or dress to show off the yarn’s stunning colours to best effect. If you’ve never knitted a shawl before, try our Ladder Stitch Linen Light Pattern or the Garter Stitch Shawl from September’s Let’s Knit magazine. If you don’t have the magazine, you can download the pattern from http://www.letsknit.co.uk/free-knitting-patterns/garter-stitch-shawl.

Linen Light Shawl Pattern, a perfect pattern for your first lace project!

Scarves and shawls are great lace projects because the tension isn’t important – they wrap around you rather than fitting exactly. So if you find a pattern you like, it’s worth experimenting, even if the yarn or needle size don’t exactly match yours.

If you prefer to knit a garment, you can make the Silk Merino Vest Pattern by using two strands held together. Download the pattern for free in October!

Merino Silk Vest knitted in Mulberry Silk / Merino Wool Yarn
ideal for the Blue Tit Silk Yarn.

You’ll need to act fast if you want to snap up knitshop.co.uk’s Blue Tit Silk Lace Yarn though: not only is it a limited edition yarn, it’s also our featured yarn, which means we’re currently offering 20% off each 50g skein.

Links to this blog:

knitshop.co.uk Blue Tit silk lace yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitting-yarn/2997-blue-tit-silk-yarn.html

knitshop.co.uk Cassie Camisole pattern: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitshop-pattern/3081-cassie-camisol.html

Knitshop.co.uk Tropicana women’s vest top pattern: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitshop-pattern/3081-cassie-camisol.html

3mm single-pointed needles: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitting-accessories/1604-bamboo-knitting-needles-3mm.html

3.5mm single-pointed needles: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitting-accessories/1694-bamboo-knitting-needles-35mm.html

3.25mm double pointed needles: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitting-accessories/1460-325mm-dp-20cm.html

3.5mm double-pointed needles: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitting-accessories/1713-35mm-dp-20cm.html

3.25mm crochet hook: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitting-accessories/1460-325mm-dp-20cm.html

4mm metal crochet hook: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/bamboo-crochet/1636-4mm-metal-hook.html

6mm bamboo needles: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitting-accessories/1349-6mm-23cm-sp-bamboo.html

Arrow Lace Scarf pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/elainas-small-arrow-lace-scarf