Knit Christmas mini stockings for your tree

Decorating the Christmas tree is a wonderful tradition. Take a look at Facebook or Twitter anytime in December and you’ll see photo after photo of friends’ Christmas trees duly trimmed. A well-decorated tree with unique elements is a point of pride for many of us.

Handmade items mark out your tree from everyone else’s – and often tells a tale in itself. The glitter-adorned cardboard angel your kids made at school; the snowflakes you made by folding a piece of paper on itself and snipping out tiny segments; the trinkets you got at the Christmas market. 

 

Christmas Mini Stockings by Julieta I. Brandao
using Susan Crawford's Coquette Vintage Cotton Yarn

 

Knitted decorations are another wonderful way to make your tree unmistakably yours. knitshop.co.uk’s Christmas Mini Stockings are a great example. The tiny stockings are quick to knit and give your tree a cosy homemade feel. They’d also look great strung up above a fireplace as bunting.

The Christmas Mini Stocking pattern contains five variations, so once you’ve got the hang of the basic pattern you can make plain and patterned versions. We’ve used yarns from knitshop.co.uk’s Coquette Vintage Cotton range for our versions. The stockings knit up on 2.75mm needles, but because they’re small they really won’t take long to make. 

 

The green stocking is version two on the pattern.

 

The pattern is knitted in the round, with some shaping for the toe and heel. However, the instructions are very clear, so you should be able to follow them even if you’ve never tried shaping using the short row technique before. 

 

Zig-Zag stocking is version four on the
Christmas Mini Stocking Pattern

 

Once you’ve made stockings with a zigzag pattern, you can challenge yourself with the Christmas tree and holly designs. The pattern includes a chart for each design as well as written instructions. 

Christmas Tree Stocking is version three and is the first to use
all three colours of Coquette: Flame, Highland and Snow.

 

You can make several stockings in each of the five designs – or lots of stockings using one or two of the designs – using one ball of each colour of Coquette Vintage Cotton Yarn. We’ve used Flame, Snow and Highland shades. There’s a 15 percent discount voucher on the downloadable pattern. Just scan this to get the discount code for your Coquette Vintage Cotton Yarn. 

 

Holly Berries Stocking, this is Julieta's favourite!
It is version five on the pattern.
It is using all three colours of Coquette: Flame, Highland and Snow

 

If you prefer, you can use knitshop.co.uk’s Sock Yarn instead. Using the Green, Bordeaux Red and Natural shades of Sock Yarn, you’ll get a more muted effect. If you use this yarn with 3.25mm needles the tension will be very similar. The designer Julieta Brandao also recommends to use knitshop.co.uk's Alpaca Fino Yarn in red, grass green and natural white using 3 - 3.25mm needles. 

And please share your photos of your finished stockings or anything else you have made using knitshop.co.uk yarns with us on our Facebook page! 

Green Stocking, Christmas Tree Stocking and Zig-Zag Stocking.

Green Stocking using Highland and Snow.

Red Stocking using Flame and Snow.

Links to this blog:

Knitted Christmas Stockings pattern: http://knitshop.co.uk/knitshop-pattern/2918-mini-stocking.html

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

Coquette Vintage Cotton Yarn Highland: http://knitshop.co.uk/coquette-vintage-cotton/2763-highland-coquette.html

Coquette Vintage Cotton Yarn Snow: http://knitshop.co.uk/coquette-vintage-cotton/2801-snow-coquette.html

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

2.75mm double-pointed needles: http://knitshop.co.uk/275-bamboo-dpn

3.25mm double-pointed needles: http://knitshop.co.uk/knitting-accessories/1564-325mm-dp-13cm.html

Knitting the round video instructions: http://www.stitchdiva.com/tutorials/knitting/on-double-pointed-needles

Short row shaping instructions: http://www.vogueknitting.com/pattern_help/how-to/beyond_the_basics/short_row_shaping.aspx

Knitshop Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Knitshop/82318014483

December Workshops & Christmas Party

There’s no ignoring the fact that Christmas is just around the corner, so this month’s workshops focus on all things festive.

We start with Crochet a Snowflake on Friday 13 December on how to create a Christmas snowflake. The delicate crochet decorations are made using a combination of double, treble and slip stitches.

We recommend this class for anyone who knows the basics of crocheting and who is looking for a small project they can work on while learning new crochet skills. We’ll show you how to work each crochet stitch and how to read the chart needed to complete your snowflake. Once you’ve mastered how to Crochet a Snowflake, you’ll be able to make more at home and decorate your window, Christmas tree or even embellish gifts with them. They’re made using knitshop.co.uk’s 4ply Cotton Yarn or Coquette Vintage Cotton Yarn in Snow. 

Let It Snow - Snowflake crochet in Coquette Vintage Cotton
by Julieta Brandao

On Saturday 14 December we continue with Knit A Christmas Tree Decoration. Here, you’ll learn how to knit tiny two-colour Christmas stocking that you can hang on the tree, with or without a hidden chocolate-y treat.

You’ll need to know how to knit and purl, but the class will show you other techniques including knitting in the round, working with two or more colours at once and reading a pattern.

Depending on your level of experience and confidence, you can make either striped Christmas stockings or more complex stranded Fairisle ones. Of course, once you know how to make tiny Christmas stockings, you’ll be all set to explore the addictive world of sock knitting. 

Mini Stockings knitted in Coquette Vintage Cotton Yarn
colours: Snow, Flame and Highland by Julieta Brandao

Our second December workshop, also on Saturday 14 December, shows you how to knit Fairisle Christmas gifts. With Nordic Christmas patterns being all the rage at the moment, we show you how to use this impressive colourwork technique to make either a pair of wristwarmers or a small bag. Either will make lovely handmade Christmas gifts.

As with the Knit A Christmas Tree Decoration workshop, you’ll need to know how to knit and purl, but we’ll show you how to do everything else. You’ll learn how to work in colour changes in the same row in order to build up your Fairisle pattern and how to read a chart showing where the colour changes need to be made. We’ll also show you how to knit in the round so your wristwarmers are seam-free.

On Saturday 14 December we’ll be showing knitters how to make a Christmas corsage to pin on a jacket or bag. As well as knitting and purling, we’ll look at how to use continental knitting techniques to create a slightly different knitted effect. The corsage flower also involves increasing stitches within a row, so we’ll also show you how to do this. 

Christmas Tree Tea Cosy knitted in
Alpaca Fino Yarn

Everyone loves to get cosy knitwear as a Christmas gift and on Friday 20 December we’ll be showing you how to Crochet a cowl. The workshop introduces you to crocheting in the round and also explains how to give your cowl a twist by adding a Mobius loop. Using the technique we demonstrate, you’ll go on to be able to crochet wristwarmers and hats using your crochet-in-the-round skills.

If you like the idea of making a cowl but you knit rather than crochet, our final pre-Christmas workshop is for you. On Saturday 21 December in our Last-minute Christmas Gifts workshop we’ll be knitting in the round and making a cowl. We’ll show you how to knit this way if you’ve never done so before.

Once you’ve joined the round you just knit, knit, knit and your cowl will grow really quickly. If you like the technique, there’s a gorgeous next project for you to try too: our brand-new Kolibri wristwarmer pattern is also knitted in the round. 

Purple Velvet Wrist Warmer knitted in
Kolibri Wool Yarn by Julieta Brandao

All knitshop.co.uk workshops take place at our Boutique at 326 Lee High Road from 11am to 1pm. Full instructions, patterns and materials are provided, along with post-class support to help you complete your project. To book a workshop, add it to your shopping basket and then choose self-pickup at the checkout. Workshops cost £15 to attend. 

AND our CHRISTMAS PARTY with MINCED PIES and MULLED WINE on Friday 20 December from 11am onwards. 

Links to this blog:

December workshops at knitshop.co.uk: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/252-december

Crochet a Snowflake workshop, 13 December: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/2882-crochet-snowflake.html

Knit a Christmas Corsage workshop, 14 December: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/2900-christmas-corsage.html

Crochet a Cowl workshop, 20 December: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/2901-knit-a-cowl.html

Last-minute Christmas Gifts workshop, 21 December: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/2902-knit-a-cowl.html

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

Coquette Vintage Cotton Yarn Snow: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/coquette-vintage-cotton/2801-snow-coquette.html

Kolibri Wristwarmers pattern: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitshop-pattern/2896-purple-velvet.html

Snowflake crochet pattern: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitshop-pattern/1972-free-pattern-let-it-snow-snowflake.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

November Workshops

November workshops

knitshop.co.uk has a bumper crop of workshops this month to help you build up your knitting and crochet skills and make festive items for Christmas. All our workshops take place at our Boutique Outlet at 326 Lee High Road in Lee Green from 11am to 1pm and are led by fully qualified knitwear designers and teachers.

On Friday 8 November we’ll be showing you how to master different types of knitted colourwork. Taking stocking stitch as a basis, the Colour Knitting workshop looks at how to incorporate two or more different colours of yarn into a design and when you use each technique. We’ll show you how to alternate colour yarns at the end of a row and carry the unused colour up the side of the work so you can use it later in the design. We’ll also look at how to change colours partway through a row.

Christmas Tree Tea Cosy - Pattern from knitshop.co.uk
One of the project you could make in our Colour and Fair Isle knitting workshops.

If you’ve got some experience of knitting projects containing several colour yarns, why not try a more advanced colourwork technique? Our Fairisle Knitting workshop on Friday 15 November also introduces you to knitting in the round. Using the techniques shown in the class, you’ll be able to knit seam-free designs such as a wristwarmer or a small bag.

On Saturday 9 November we’ll be holding the first of our festive workshops, showing you how to Crochet A Christmas Snowflake. This workshop is aimed at fairly confident crocheters, however, if you know how to crochet doubles, trebles and turn a chain, you should be fine.

Snowflakes crochet in fine Crochet Cotton

We’ll help you add half trebles and double trebles to your crochet repertoire and explain how to follow a chart so you can easily finish making your snowflake at home. You can also download the snowflake pattern for free.

We’ll also be making Christmas decorations at our crochet workshops on Saturday 16 November and Friday 29 November. It’s traditional to include handmade items on your Christmas tree, so why not find out how to make your own baubles? You’ll need some knowledge of crochet in order to tackle our Crochet Christmas Decorations workshop, but anyone who knows how to turn a chain and create doubles and trebles will soon be able to make their own crochet decorations.

Mini Christmas Stockings knitted in Coquette Vintage Cotton

Knitters will have plenty of chances to make Christmas items too. On Friday 22 and Saturday 23 November we’ll be Knitting A Christmas Stocking. In this workshop you’ll learn how to knit in the round using stocking stitch and how to turn a heel and shape the toe of your festive stocking. This workshop is therefore also a perfect introduction to sock knitting on a miniature scale!

If you enjoy our Fairisle Knitting workshop earlier in the month, you could even use your new skills to create a Fairisle version of a Christmas stocking. Find out how in our final November workshop where we’ll be knitting a Fairsle Christmas Stocking.

Links to this blog:

November workshops: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/251-november

Colour Knitting workshop: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/2884-colour-knitting.html

Fairisle Knitting workshop: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/2835-fair-isle-knittig.html

Knit Your Own Christmas Stocking workshop: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/2888-christmas-stocking-knitting.html

Crochet a Snowflake: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/2881-crochet-snowflake.html

Free Snowflake Crochet pattern: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitshop-pattern/1972-free-pattern-let-it-snow-snowflake.html

Crochet Christmas Decorations workshop: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/2887-crochet-ornament.html

Fairisle Christmas Stocking workshop: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/workshops/2889-christmas-stocking-knitting.html

Samuel’s Waistcoat – a smart but snug top for kids of all ages

Exclusive knitshop.co.uk pattern to download

Samuel’sWaistcoat is a fast-to-knit chunky top that’s perfect for autumn and looks great on boys and girls of all ages. It’s made using our popular Thick & Easy Yarn and will fit kids aged four to 11.

knitshop.co.uk owner Julieta originally designed the pattern for her daughter when she was four years old and has recently made her another version now she’s nine.

The pattern mainly uses rib stitch (alternating knit and purl stitches), with some easy shaping. It’s a one-piece knit that only needs to be sewn at the sides. You knit the front of the waistcoat first and then continue knitting the fronts without casting off. This makes for a smooth shoulder line. Since you can’t knit the left front and right front at once, you simply slip the stitches from one side of the neck on to a stitch holder until you’re ready to use them. You can even slip the spare stitches on to the cord of a circular needle – they’ll be kept safe by needles on either end.

Samuel's Waistcoat knitted in Black Thick & Easy Yarn
using 9mm needles

The waistcoat has a cord to secure it at the waist. We clearly explain how to make the cord and whenever you should knit two stitches together to make holes to thread the cord through.

To make Samuel’s Waistcoat you need just three 100g balls of knitshop.co.uk Thick & Easy Yarn, costing just £17.70. There’s a choice of eight solid shades including burgundy, light blue, forest green, a soft grey, beige, white, bright green and orange.

For an alternative look, you could also knit Samuel’sWaistcoat in our Handspun Wool Yarn, which we used in the multi-coloured version of the pattern. This yarn is currently available in either variegated Burgundy or Mango shades. Handspun Wool Yarn is usually used with slightly smaller needles, but can also be used with the 9mm needles we recommend for this pattern. 
 

If you’re using an alternative yarn to the one in the pattern we suggest you knit a tension square first (see this wiki link for details of how to make one). A tension square is used to check that the needle size you select takes a certain number of stitches and rows to knit a standard size 10cm x 10cm square when knitting in stocking stitch.

Thick & Easy Yarn knits to a tension of 10 stitches over 19 rows on 9mm needles. Change to a larger or smaller needle if your tension square needs more or less stitches than this. Since Samuel’sWaistcoat is a loose-fitting garment (and kids grow so fast), don’t worry too much if your tension is a stitch or two different from ours.

scan me for a 15% discount on Thick & Easy Wool Yarn!

scan me for an exclusive 15% discount
when you purchase the Thick & Easy Wool Yarn from knitshop.co.uk

Links to this blog:

Samuel’s Waistcoat pattern: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitshop-pattern/2838-samuels-waistcoat.html?utm_source=Samuel&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=samuel

Thick And Easy Yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/106-thick-easy-yarn?utm_source=Samuel&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=samuel

9mm bamboo needles: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitting-accessories/1352-bamboo-knitting-needles-9mm.html

9mm circular bamboo needle: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitting-accessories/1755-9mm-100cm-bamboo-circulars.html

Instructions for how to knit a tension square: http://www.wikihow.com/Understand-Tension-in-Knitting

Product of the Month October

Product of the Month - Simply Striped Waistcoat and Beanie Hat Pattern

This cosy matching set was designed by Julieta Brandao, here is the previous blog about the pattern.

It retails at GBP 4.00 and is available to download from the www.knitshop.co.uk website. The best news, since it is our Product of the Month for October it is available for free till the end of October. Don't miss this fantastic opportunity, download your copy now by visiting: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/126-simply-wool-yarn

Simply Striped Waistcoat and Beanie Hat

This pattern also includes a 15% discount voucher for your purchase of Simply Wool Yarn at www.knitshop.co.uk. Visit me to see all available colours in the Simply Wool Yarn: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/126-simply-wool-yarn

Simply Striped Waistcoat and Beanie Hat Pattern
Using Simply Wool Yarn in Dark Turquoise, Yellow and Robin-Egg-Blue

Simply Wool Yarn In Yellow, Turquoise and Purple

The Simply Wool Yarn has been one of our most popular yarns, it is one of the first yarns we stocked back in 2004. Here is a previous blog about the Simply Wool Yarn. Other projects in Simply Wool Yarn are:

Beautiful Felted Rabbit using Cream Yellow
and Rust Red Simply Wool Yarn

Crochet-Felted Bags by Susie Johns
using Turquoise and Dark Lilac Simply Wool Yarn

Fair Isle Knitted Wrist Warmer by Julieta Brandao
FREE Download of the Month October - visit www.knitshop.co.uk for more details

scan me to download the pattern

or click here to download the pattern Simply Striped Waistcoat and Beanie Hat



Links to this blog:

Simply Striped Waistcoat and Beanie Hat Pattern Set: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/knitshop-pattern/2757-simply-waistcoat.html

Blog about Simply Waistcoat and Beanie Hat: http://knitshopcouk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/simply-waistcoat.html

Blog about Simply Wool Yarn: http://knitshopcouk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/simply-wool-yarn.html

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

Autumn Workshops & Activities

Learn new knitting and crochet skills this Autumn

knitshop.co.uk ‘s knitting and crochet classes are back in full swing in September after running a reduced program over the summer. New classes to tempt you include Crochet With Colours and Fairisle Knitting.

First off all, the Boutique Outlet in Lee Green will be open again on Saturday's 10am - 3pm and workshops will resume from the 28th September, every Saturday 11am - 1pm. 

This autumn we are offering you workshops for all colour knitting fans. Come along to our Colour Knitting and Fair Isle workshops in November to find out about the different techniques you can use to brighten up your knits. From stripes to stranding, slip-stitch and intarsia, there are lots of ways of introducing colour to your knitting and it’s not always obvious which technique is the best to use. 

Fair Isle knitted Wrist Warmer pattern by Julieta, knitshop.co.uk

If you’ve a particular interest in either Fairisle or Intarsia colour knitting, our dedicated two-hour workshops on each of these topics will be sure to pique your interest. We use our Fairisle Wrist Warmer pattern as the basis of our Fairisle workshop. It’s a great introduction to this knitting technique and can be knitted flat or in the round. Intarsia knitting, on the other hand, is almost always knitted on a flat piece of work. Both types of colourwork are usually described in knitting patterns using graphs, so we’ll help you understand these too.

knitshop.co.uk workshops are held at our boutique outlet at 326 Lee High Road, Lee Green from 11am to 1pm. All materials needed for your workshop will be provided and you’ll have a choice of colours to work in. You’ll have plenty of personal attention from the tutor as there will be no more than six people in the class. You’ll be able to take your project away with you along with the pattern so you can complete it in your own time. We provide email and phone support to help ensure you’re able to do so. 

Simply Striped Waistcoat and Beanie Hat pattern
by Julieta, knitshop.co.uk

If you want to improve your knitting and / or crochet skills, we have some beginners and basic knitting and crochet technique workshops on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 September and again Friday 4 and Saturday 5 October. For more information and details visit our workshop booking page http://www.knitshop.co.uk/156-workshops. 

If you prefer to, we’re happy to help you with a related project of your own. We have plenty of books and patterns to inspire you. 

Another date for your calendar is this month knitting and craft show in Skipton. Yarndale is held on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 September. Lovely Susan Crawford will be exhibiting with her Vintage Collection of Pattern, Books and Yarn, which includes knitshop yarn's Coquette Vintage Cotton. Julieta will be visiting the show on Saturday 28 September, email her if you want to meet her at the show. 

This Attractive Affair from A Stitch In Time by Susan Crawford
see this garment in Skipton at stand 144

Autumn half term is still more than a month away, however we have got a full packed program for your little ones and if you want to book a workshop please visit our online shop to book or call 020 7099 8864. 

Here are some dates:

Let's Get Hooked - Crochet for kids: 26 October and 2 November
Swing The Needles - Knitting for kids: 25 October and 1 November

For our full list of workshops click here.

To keep up with offers, launches and classes at knitshop.co.uk, join our mailing list here.

Links to this blog:

Knitshop.co.uk workshop list: http://www.knitshop.co.uk/156-workshops

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

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