The NEW Thick & Easy Wool Yarn

We are pleased to have it back in stock after such a long wait, the new Thick & Easy Wool Yarn has finally arrived. Anxiously we have been waiting to see the new colours and knit up a few samples. We would like to present to you, the new:

Thick & Easy Wool Yarn
100% pure wool yarn
Supplied in 100g hanks
Length approx. 110m / 100g
Recommended needle size: 6 - 7mm
Tension: 14 sts x 20 sts

Here are our first 11 colour choices for you:
Papaya Whip, Eggshell Beige, Olive Drab Green, Seal Brown, Cherry Red, Chilli Red, Cashmere Rose, Aubergine Purple, Teal Blue, Blue Black and Panther Black.

Colours from left top: Seal Brown, Eggshell Beige, Olive Drab Green, Papaya Whip,
Teal Blue and Blue Black

Patterns available for the Thick & Easy Wool Yarn:

Eve Hat and Wrist Warmer, a beautiful set for girls, enhanced with flowers and embellished with heart buttons. Girls love special gifts and the new colour range of the Thick & Easy offers you a lovely choice. Watch out for a new version in the new Thick & Easy Wool Yarn. Pictures and pattern description are available on our past blog post about Eve.

Eve Hat and Wrist Warmer knitted in Thick & Easy Wool Yarn
Aubergine Purple, Papaya Whip and Cashmere Rose.

Samuel's Waistcoat, this sleeveless waistcoat with V-neck finish and a cord to tie is perfect to keep the little heart warm. Very quick and easy to knit, pattern ranges from 4 - 11 years. Read more about Samuel's Waistcoat here

Samuel's Waistcoat knitted in Panther Black Thick & Easy Wool Yarn.

 

World Cup Scarf, using White Natural Wool Yarn and Black Thick & Easy. You could go for a colour combination of Eggshell Beige for the main scarf and make the Black stripes in Cashmere Rose, Cherry Red, Teal Blue and Aubergine Purple. Want to find out more about the pattern, click here to read the previous blog about it.

Purple Velvet Wrist Warmer, originally using the Kolibri Wool Yarn. Our new yarn alternative is the Thick & Easy Wool Yarn. Two years ago in November we had a blog about this pattern, click here to read it.

Giant Christmas Mitten, originally knitted in our super chunky Merino Wool Yarn, as alternative for a smaller version it can be knitted in the Thick & Easy. We also had a past blog about the Giant Christmas Mitten

Giant Christmas Mitten knitted in Thick & Easy Wool Yarn
Cherry Red and Papaya Whip.

Cable Nation, originally designed in the Kolibri Wool yarn, however also perfect to be knitted in the new colours of the Thick & Easy for a more settled version. You can read our previous blog about the Cable Nation here.

Triology Scarf, another one of our favourites! Choose 3 colours of Thick & Easy, for example: Olive Drab Green, Papaya Whip and Blue Teal. The scarf is knitted in 3 panels, which are joined on one side and left loose on the other.

Twist and Shout Cowl, this was designed to be thick and warm. Here you could make a more elegant version in the Thick & Easy Wool Yarn, just keep going a little longer to get the same length. For pictures of Twist and Shout click here.

The new Thick & Easy is our Product of the Month for December and this month we are offering you a 100g hank for only £5.92. That's 25% off the original price!

And if that is not enough, today until the end of December we will give you one of the patterns above for free with every purchase of Thick & Easy Wool Yarn.
Simply add the yarns to your basket check out your order and let us know which pattern you have chosen to receive.

With a beautiful stitch definition, it is very easy and quick to knit up. Currently only available in a limited stock range until the new dye lot is ready to arrive in the shop. Shop now with 25% off the Thick & Easy and a FREE pattern on top!

Seal Brown, Cashmere Rose, Cherry Red, Aubergine Purple,
Olive Drab Green, Eggshell Beige, Blue Black, Teal Blue and Papaya Whip

Links to this blog:

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

Patterns available from knitshop.co.uk: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/161-knitshop-pattern

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

Christmas Gifts from knitshop.co.uk

It is the Christmas spirit that we carry in our hearts that lights up the Christmas magic around us. It's been a while since knitshop.co.uk's last blog post, however we do want to keep the tradition of posting a blog about Christmas Gifts available from knitshop.co.uk.

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. By Norman Vincent Peale

Our number one Gift this year and every year is something given with love. Something you made for someone you love..... choose from a selection of patterns at knitshop.co.uk, here is some that you can still tackle until the big day:


Purple Velvet Wrist Warmer, using an aran weight yarn, a more experienced pattern as it combines lace and cable stitches at the same time.

Purple Velvet Wrist Warmer designed by Julieta Brandao
using Kolibri Wool Yarn.

Linen Light Ladder Stitch Scarf, this was originally designed for the Cotton Linen Yarn from knitshop.co.uk, however it looks gorgeous in absolutely any yarn, is easy and quick to knit up. Choose your loved ones favourite colour and give it a go!

Linen Light Ladder Stitch Scarf designed by Julieta Brandao
using Cotton Linen Yarn.

To name just two patterns, find more on our website, some of them to download for free. And do not forget to check out our FREE DOWNLOAD of the month.

We can also offer you a selection of books and magazines that are an easy stocking filler and always a joy for crafter's. Or choose from our great selection of knitting and crochet yarns.

As said by Julieta Brandao, the owner and founder of knitshop.co.uk and knitshop yarns:

"For a Knitter I believe it is true to say that Yarn weighs more than Gold!"

And last but not least you can always get a Gift Voucher from knitshop.co.uk.
What ever you choose to give to the special people around you this Christmas, be sure it is something special for them!

Merry Christmas!
Your knitshop.co.uk Team. 



Links to this blog:

Purple Velvet Wrist Warmer: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitshop-pattern/2896-purple-velvet.html

Linen Light Ladder Stitch Scarf: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitshop-pattern/2702-ladder-stitch-scarf-pattern.html

FREE Download of the month: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/content/11-free-patterns

Books and Magazines at knitshop.co.uk: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/140-patterns-magazines-books

Knitting and crochet yarns: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/81-knitting-yarn

Gift Voucher from knitshop.co.uk: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/188-gift-voucher

Last-minute gifts for knitters

Stuck for what to buy a knitting or crochet fan this Christmas? knitshop.co.uk is at hand to help you choose a gift your creative friend or family member is bound to love.

We’ve got some simply irresistible yarns in the softest natural fibres – it’s all exclusive to knitshop.co.uk as we only sell our own yarns.

Velvet Purple knitted in our beautiful and colourful Kolibri Wool Yarn.

Our bestseller is Kolibri, a fairly chunky yarn that comes in 10 fantastic mixed shades and is sold in 100g skeins. One or two skeins of Kolibri is plenty for making a hat, scarf or pair of gloves or mittens. Check out our downloadable PDF patterns you can gift alongside this cosy yarn.

Eve Skater Set a downloadable pdf
knitted in Thick & Easy Wool Yarn

As well as our own pattern selection, we stock lots of books and magazines filled with patterns, techniques and ideas for needlecraft fans to savour. Vintage fans will be delighted to receive the Vintage Gifts To Knit book by queen of vintage Susan Crawford. It’s currently on special offer for just £11.20 rather than the usual £14. Those are ideal stocking fillers for your loved ones!

We’ve also got our own vintage cotton yarn, Coquette, which we produced in partnership with Susan. You’ll find lots of patterns for this yarn in the knitshop.co.uk pattern library including the easy to knit Reo Wrist Warmer.

REO Wrist Warmer knitted in Coquette Vintage Cotton Yarn

For a truly luxurious gift, consider our newly introduced Angora Soft Yarn. This snow-white yarn is simply the softest yarn available and is ideal for keeping a loved one wrapped up warm and for small heirloom knits. Our Angora Soft Yarn is ethically produced and is sure to be treasured by anyone receiving it.

Our brand new and absolutely gorgeous Angora Soft Yarn.

Knitters and crocheters can never have too many accessories and we offer a full range of circular, double- and single-pointed needles and crochet hooks. We stock felting needles and felting kits too.

We’ve just added a trio of oversized Addi knitting needles to our accessories range. These 12mm, 15mm and 25mm needles are used for super chunky knits, cost around £10 each and are great fun to use. Pair them with a bag of Merino Wool Tops and give them to a friend who either loves to make giant knits or who likes to spin or felt yarn. A 1kg Mixed Merino Bag contains four different shades while the Assorted Merino Tops Bag includes 20 shades.

Addi Knitting Needles now available online
at www.knitshop.co.uk.
visit the shop to find your sizes!

If you prefer to make your own gifts and are short on time you can also adventure into needle felting and try your hands on one of our Needle Felting Kits to make your own gifts this Christmas. Available are Flower, Butterfly, Jewellery - Necklace or Bracelet and a Felted Fairy.

Red Christmas Fairy Angel
now available as a kit to purchase from knitshop.co.uk

Last posting for Christmas is Saturday 20th December. After that we can’t guarantee your gifts will arrive on time. Our boutique outlet store is open this Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 11am until 4pm where you can buy, browse or collect your orders. If you live outside London, a knitshop.co.uk gift voucher may be a more suitable gift. These are available in £20 and £40 denominations and can be used to buy items from our shop or to pay for one of our creative workshops.

If you’d like to give a knitting or crochet-related gift, feel free to call us for ideas and advice on 020 7099 8864 or email info@knitshop.co.uk.  

Links to this blog:
Addi knitting needles http://www.knitshop.co.uk/334-addi-knitting-needles

Angora Soft Yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/333-angora-yarn

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

Felting Kits: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/143-felting-kits

Kolibri Wool Yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/176-kolibri-yarn

knitshop.co.uk Bookshop: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/166-book-shop

Knitting and Crochet Accessories: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/62-knitting-accessories
knitshop.co.uk Workshops: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/156-workshops
knitshop.co.uk Yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/81-knitting-yarn

knitshop.co.uk Patterns: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/161-knitshop-pattern

knitshop.co.uk Gift Voucher: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/188-gift-voucher

Merino Wool Tops:
http://www.knitshop.co.uk/merino-tops/2755-assorted-merino-bag.html

Merino Wool Tops 1kg Mixed Bag: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/merino-tops/2594-mixed-merino-bag.html

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

Purple Velvet Wrist Warmer

Kolibri Purple Velvet Wrist Warmer

If ever there was an excuse to show off your knitting skills, it’s autumn and winter. Everyone’s wrapped up warm but few people can resist checking out what other people have chosen to keep off the chill and how stylish their resulting attire looks.

Handmade garments invariably look better than shop-bought ones anyway and the fancy patterns and colours of wintry knitwear make a fashion statement all of their own. 

Purple Velvet Wrist Warmer in Purple-Berry Kolibri Wool Yarn

 

Our latest pattern offers both colour and fancy knitwork in abundance. knitshop.co.uk’s Kolibri Purple Velvet Wrist Warmers feature both lacework and cables and are knitted in knitshop.co.uk’s incredibly popular Kolibri Wool Yarn. This variegated yarn knits up densely on 5mm needles but the subtle colour changes don’t detract from the pattern.

We really love the luxurious length of the gloves – they come halfway up your forearm. They even have a proper knitted thumb, which not all wristwarmers include.

The Purple Velvet Wrist Warmer is a great project if you’ve already got some experience of lacework and can work yarnovers and knit two stitches together. You do need to know how to knit in the round, but once you’re underway you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to follow this gorgeous pattern.

The cabling featured here isn’t complicated and the results are really stunning. For some cable knitting projects you need a cable needle, but you’ll find it just as easy to use a short double-pointed needle.

You’ll need one 100g hank of knitshop.co.uk Kolibri Wool Yarn and a pair of 5mm needles. The pattern knits to a tension of XX stitches by XX rows over a 10cm square. You’ll probably also find it useful to use a stitch marker to indicate the beginning of each pattern repeat. 

 

We used Kolibri in the Purple-Berry shade for our version. For a more muted effect that really shows off the stitches choose either Kolibri in Pink-Aquamarine or in the rich Brown-Mix shade. 

 

Kolibri Wool Yarn usually costs £8.89 per 100g hank but there’s a 15 percent discount voucher included with the Purple Velvet Wrist Warmer pattern. Just download the PDF pattern once you’ve checked out at knitshop.co.uk’s online store, then scan the QR code voucher.

Links to this blog:

Purple Velvet Wrist Warmer pattern: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitshop-pattern/2896-purple-velvet.html

Kolibri yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/176-kolibri-yarn

Kolibri Brown-Mix yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/kolibri-yarn/338-brown-mix-kolibri.html

Kolibri Pink-Aquamarine: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/kolibri-yarn/441-pink-aquamarine-kolibri.html

Kolibri Purple-Berry yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/kolibri-yarn/873-purple-berry-kolibri.html

5mm bamboo needles: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitting-accessories/1699-bamboo-knitting-needles-5mm.html

5mm double-pointed needles: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitting-accessories/1486-bamboo-knitting-needles-5mm.html