The decorations are going up, there are Christmas songs wherever you go and we’re all writing lists. So it’s time to take a last look at your gift knitting or crochet plans and checking you are still on track. How many gifts do you still have on your list to make? How big is each gift – a sweater or a hat? If you answered 5 to question one and now note that they are all jumpers or blankets for double beds, it is possible that you have a time problem. So… How much time per week do you have to knit? How long does it take you to make (including weaving in ends, sewing up, adding buttons, e ..read more

I want to organise the odd yarn balls in my stash but not all have labels, how can I check what yarn weight they are? There are a couple of ways you can narrow down the yarn weight of a mystery ball or skein. If you have a needle guage with holes for the different needle sizes, take a small length of your yarn and fold it in half. Then see which is the smallest hole you can slide your doubled yarn through – this is the needle size for your yarn. So if it goes through 3.5mm it is probably 4-ply, 4mm DK and 4.5mm or 5mm aran. Another method is “wraps per inch” (wpi). Wrap your yarn round a need ..read more

I don’t understand charts. Where do I start? Charts are simply another way of providing knitting instructions and if they are well drawn they should to some extent be a diagram of how your knitting should look. The most straightforward charts to understand are those for colourwork. Each square on the chart represents a stitch and is in the colour of the yarn you’d use. You could think of putting your knitting needle below the chart and matching the stitches on your needle to the stitches on the chart. Right side rows are worked from right to left, this is why the right hand column is labelled ..read more

I’ve only knitted on straight needs but I’m seeing more and more patterns for circular needles. Why? And have you any tips? Historically garments have been knitted in the round all over the world but especially in Scandinavia and the Scottish Islands. It was only with the advent of modern manufacturing techniques that they have started to be knitted in pieces to be sewn together at the end of your projects, which is what we have become used to in the UK. Knitting in the round means that you don’t have any sewing up to do at the end, a real plus for lots of us, and, in most cases, you will o ..read more

When you are deciding on which increases and decreases to use, it often depends where and on what sort of project you are using them. The simplest increase is to make a stitch by putting the yarn over your needle before working your next stitch – we’ve all done it by mistake when learning. The problem is that this leaves a hole in you work so it is really only suitable when you want to make a decorative set of holes, ie when working a lace pattern. A common increase is the kfb – knitting into the front and back of a stitch. This doesn’t leave any holes but it will leave a small horizontal bar ..read more

The Great British Yarn Crawl will run from mid-April to the end of June and, for anyone who loves visiting a yarn shop, it couldn’t be easier to take part. A real treat and a great excuse for a yarnie road trip. You’ll be able to pick up a Yarn Crawl card from any of the UK Hand Knitting premium yarn shops  and collect your first stamp. Then, when you visit other participating shops you’ll be able to pick up more stamps. When you have six stamps, hand in your card to the last shop to be entered in a prize draw for lots of yarnie goodies (you need to have visited at least two di ..read more

Our current appeal for socks and other warm items to go Ukraine mentions that the socks can be made in any yarn. This is because these are socks to sleep in rather than ones that will be worn all days inside boots If you are making socks for normal wear in boots or shoes you need to choose a yarn that has been specifically spun for socks. If you look at the lovely sock yarns supplied by our members, you will see that sock yarn is mainly in the 4-ply thickness but that doesn’t mean that all 4-ply yarns are suitable for socks. West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply; James C Brett Funny Feetz; S ..read more

Every new year the experts at Pantone identify their colour of the year, which they think sums up the shades and tones likely to influence the next twelve months of design. The choice tends to be quite influential with designers producing new work and, because the colour experts have used a lot of design sources to come up with their choice, very in line with the fashion trends for each year. For yarn companies who will have built their current shade ranges over a long period of time, it is interesting to see what yarns fit with the Pantone choice. We’ve taken a look at our members’ ranges and ..read more

Have you ever watched any of the decluttering or living for less type TV shows? You often come across experts showing people how to “shop their wardrobe”. This means taking out every garment they own – often a large amount including unworn garments, thanks to fast fashion – and creating new outfits as if they were in a clothes shop. It can also mean having a clothes swap with other family members or friends. It occurred to us that if you have a yarn stash, it could be possible to “shop it” in the same way. We’re by no means saying that anyone out there has a yarn stash thanks to fast fashion b ..read more

Did you go to any of our Yarnstravaganza celebratory events at yarns shops last month? Hundreds of shops ran events, did giveaways or offered special discounts in the week long celebration of local yarn retailers. The result was shops having more customers during the week and new knitters and crocheters discovering them. Below is what a few of the shops had to say. We’d love to hear from customers too. Add your story in the comments. Fiona Burks, Yarn Etc Thank you so much, it’s been a great experience and our customers loved it. Usually in the run up to Yarndale our business has a quiet week ..read more