Peach is the colour for 2024

Pantone, the colour experts, have named their colour of the year for 2024. This year they’ve gone for a classic shade – Peach Fuzz. They say this velvety gentle peach tone represents closeness and connection, and that it’s “radiant with warmth and modern elegance”. We’ve picked out some of our members’ yarns to give you…

Learn at your yarn shop

Have you been thinking “new year, new yarnie skills”? If you’ve decided that now is the time to take on a new knitting or crochet challenge, your local yarn shops might be a good place to start. Whether you are looking for a formal workshop or support as you take on the big project or…

Knit a hat in a day

There are lots of lovely thick yarns around and it is honestly easy to make a hat in a couple of evenings. We even know of one knitter who made three superchunky hats in a day last winter when overseas visitors turned up without sufficient cold weather clothing. You’ll find plenty of simple superchunky hat…

Ask the yarn doctors: Identifying mystery yarns

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…

The Great British Yarn Crawl

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…

Viva Magenta – the colour of the year

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…

Shop Your Stash

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…

Summer accessory knitting

Summer knitting is always a topic for debate. Some people think that working with yarn is a cold weather only activity while others of us wouldn’t be without our needles and hooks regardless of what the thermometer says. That said, casting on an over-sized chunky cardigan may not be the ideal option for a sunny…

Settling in to knit at your local yarn shop

At UK Hand Knitting we are big fans of knitting and crochet groups of every type – in person and virtual. But right now, we’re really enjoying the return of yarn shop knitting groups. As with other knitting groups, those hosted in yarn shops offer a range of benefits to crafters. There is simply the…

Knit and crochet to reduce waste

We recently showed you some of the fantastic recycled yarns on the market, but you can also use your crafting skills to reduce the amount of single-use items you consume. One of the most famous eco-knitting projects is to create “plarn” (plastic yarn) by cutting up plastic bags and then knitting or crocheting up into…