To celebrate many yarn shops preparing to reopen, UK Hand Knitting has launched a treasure hunt to help knitters and crocheters re-discover their local store. There are 14 quiz questions to answer which lead you on a virtual magical mystery tour around the UK. All the answers can be found on the UK Hand Knitting… Continue reading Join our virtual yarn shop treasure hunt to dig up some yarnie prizes
We are having some lovely sunny weather at least part of the time and even if you are still mainly at home you will be in need of some summer knit and crochet ideas. There are some lovely cotton and other lightweight yarns around at the moment, so we’ve picked out a few examples for… Continue reading Summer yarns for 2020
We have written in the past about school holiday knitting projects for kids and at the moment we've notice people including crafts in their home schooling plans so we though it was a good time to take another look at crafting with youngsters. You can find our top tips for teaching kids to knit here… Continue reading Using yarn to entertain your kids
There is a lot of discussion about the moment about what we should aspire to do during lockdown. We are not suggesting you master advanced yoga techniques, learn Tibetan or write a Booker prize-worthy novel. However, we would like to suggest that it might be the time to make a tension square for each of… Continue reading What better time to do a tension square?
It is a tough time for everyone right now and that includes the yarn shops we love. The UK Hand Knitting Association, whose members include the largest yarn brands in the country, has launched a campaign together with five leading craft publishers to support local yarn shops across the UK – “Yarn Shop Love” As… Continue reading Our campaign to support local yarn shops
A few of you have been in touch lately to tell us that charity shops are turning away handknitted items because they cannot be sold in the stores. We got in touch with Trading Standards to find out more. Current law in the UK – which includes charity shops as well as other retailers –… Continue reading Donating knitted items to charity shops
One of the biggest talking points from the recent Hollywood movie Knives Out was the cable sweater worn by Chris Evans which has proved a big hot despite the hole. It seems that men’s cabled jumpers are suddenly very popular as a result, so we’ve found some patterns for you to enjoy. They are all… Continue reading Join the men’s cable jumper trend
With the weather we’re having at this time of year, it is easy to get caught out and discover your lovely cosy knitted hat is nowhere to be found in a cold snap. This one of the many reasons we love chunky yarns – you can turn out a warm accessory or two in very… Continue reading Quick chunky knits
One of the topics our yarn doctors are asked about most is tension or gauge. Or rather, a lot of people ask why a project has come out bigger or smaller than expected – and the answer comes down to having the wrong tension. Any good pattern will tell you how many stitches and rows… Continue reading New tutorial: Getting your tension right
Each year a panel at colour experts Pantone selects the colour of the year. The idea is the shade is something they expect to see in design this year which also embodies the mood of the time. In recent years some of their colour choices have been a bit of a challenge to knitters and… Continue reading Classic Blue – the colour for 2020
