A customer was asking about the stitch pattern on this little hat.

It is worked over 6 stitches.

When worked flat it is:
1. K3, p3
2. P3, k3
3. S1, k1, yo, k1, pass slip stitch over the stitches, p3
4. P3, k3

In the round, it's:
1. K3, p3
2. K3, p3
3. S1, k1, yo, k1, pass slip stitch over the stitches, p3
4. K3, p3

The hat was knitted in King Cole's Baby Pure DK.

Crocodile Cardi

We love seeing all of the crafty things our customers have been making.

Mrs Heap has recently come across crocodile stitch, and wanted to use it to create something for her granddaughter. She had used a mix of crochet and knitting to make this lovely sleeveless cardigan and hat set.

Yarn: King Cole Comfort Aran, in Candy Pink

Pattern: Mrs Heap's own design

New Books

We get very excited when new books arrive. Here's a selection of some of the most recent ones.

The Great British Sewing Bees' "The Modern Wardrobe" is a hefty tome, with step-by-step instructions, illustrations, tips and techniques. There's full sized pattern sheets (sizes 8-22) and 28 projects.

"Sew Cute Baby Animals" is gorgeous, 17 paper-pieces blocks to make into quilts, bags, burp cloths etc.

Kerry Lord's "How to crochet animals - Ocean" is just lovely, full of sea life and tentacled creatures.

"Year-Round Gnomes" - 8 mythological creatures to add a touch of whimsy to your home. (My favourite it the Easter Bunny gnome.)

Last, but definitely not least, is "280 Japanese Lace Stitches". This is a must for chart-loving, lace-loving knitters!

Meet Loghlan, the Loghtan

On Friday, Kath Giles was in the shop, and she brought in Loghlan, the Manx Loaghtan. (Loaghtan are a type of Manx sheep.)

Kath has used Loaghtan yarn to make Loghlan's body, face and horn, and has dresses him most beautifully in a fantastic Laxey tartan kilt, a stripy Breton-esque top, and a lovely black jacket.

We do LOVE it when our customers do a 'show and tell' of their work.

The KC Collection: Mulberry Soft

King Cole are bringing out wonderfully fantastic luxury yarns, the KC Collection.

 

Mulberry Soft DK is the perfect indulgent mix of the highest quality mulberry silk and baby alpaca. This creates a sumptuously soft superfine yarn from Peru. This perfect combination gives a beautiful lustre and softness to this new King Cole yarn.

Footsie Dress

 

"Footsie", not just for feet!

Pam has knitted this beautiful little dress in King Cole Footsie, in the colourway 'Strawberry'. The yarn is marketed as a sock yarn, but it looks fantastic made into a dress too.

Christmas Sweaters

Ian McKellen and Björn Ulvaes are knitting up festive sweaters for ABBA.

Tomte Visit the Forest

A little forest of Christmas trees has been growing in the shop. A couple of Tomte have popped in to see what's happening, and a Christmas hat appeared out of nowhere.

 

All very cute, but hiding a tasty secret - a Terry's Chocolate Orange.

The patterns are available, as is the yarn, and the various trimmings.

A Homespun Sleeveless Sweater

 

Carole is wearing her new sleeveless sweater. It was knitted in King Cole Homespun. It's a DK weight yarn, comprised of fine merino, alpaca, viscose and polyamide. It  feels wonderful against the skin, light yet warm. Four 50g balls were used to make this garment. The colour is 'Midnight Sky'.

Carole initially had some problems with her tension square. She was able to get the correct number of stitches per 10cm, but had too many rows. The solution was to move up and over. She found moving up to 4.5mm needles (instead of the 4mm standard for DK yarns), and also moving over to bamboo needles, gave the correct sizing.  If she had stayed with the 4mm needles, the top would have been too short.

Nudinits and A Naughty Knitted Noel

 

Brenda's needles have been busy. She has been using the Nudinits book to create these fabulous characters. We also have "A Naughty Knitted Noel". This doesn't have the characters, but has patterns for turkeys, Brussels sprouts, Christmas puddings, etc.

Oddments Needed

Do you have any little oddments of yarn? An army of Twiddlemuff-ers is looking for all those little bits and pieces. From fancy yarns, to the more prosaic, almost all can be worked into Twiddlemuffs.

If you have oddments you don't need, please bring it to the shop, and we can pass it on to crafters helping those with Alzheimer's. The finished Twiddlemuffs will be given to Alzheimer's Society Isle of Man.

Hop-tu-Naa Approaches

  

Hop-tu-Naa is approaching.

Some of these crafty bits could be Manx-ified, with pumpkins magically morphed into moots.

Autumn has arrived!

Autumn has arrived at Joan's.

King Cole has released a new yarn, Autumn Chunky. It is a beautiful multi-tonal roving yarn with 80% Premium Acrylic and 20% Wool. It has a gorgeous soft handle and would suit warm garments, accessories and homeware.

Meters Per Ball: 140 m

Needle Size/Tension: 6.0mm | 14sts

A Riotous Hat

Over the last 12 months, many people have taken up knitting and crochet, and many have returned to the crafts.

Hirelle Moore was challenged to make a hat for her daughter. She hadn't picked up needles in years, but managed to make this fantastic hat in the course of one evening! Her daughter kept looking over and saying "It actually looks like a hat!"

Hirelle used a chunky yarn, King Cole Riot, and topped the hat with a faux fur pom pom.

Excellent work.

A Jumbo Knitting Project

One of our customers has completed a jumbo knitting project. Isn't it great!

The knitter used King Cole Yummy in silver, and pattern 9149. It was knitted on 4mm needles, rather than the 6mm ones usually recommended. This gives a tight knit, suitable for stuffed toys. A similar thing is often done with crochet, and especially amigurumi, where a smaller sized hook is used.

Reg the Dog

Mrs Garrett brought Reg into the shop today. Isn't he cute!

Her daughter has been making these lovely doggies. Some have been made to store pjs or nightdresses, others have a hot water bottle inside. But Reg is a soft cuddly toy.

Well done, Reg is brilliant.

Regia Rainbow

A new colourway in Regia Pairfect by Schachenmayr has arrived! It is a glorious 4ply sock yarn, 75% virgin wool, and 25% polyamide. The wool means they keep you warm, but not too warm. The polyamide is great for strength, meaning the socks will last a longer time.

Regia has made it incredibly simple to knit two identical self-patterned socks from one skein. The yellow starter thread - which comes from inside the yarn skein - marks the beginning of each sock. Simply cut off the yellow starter thread and begin knitting the first sock. After the first sock is completed, unwind the yarn to the next yellow starter thread and cut it off. Then simply knit the second sock.

Like all REGIA yarns, it won’t felt and offers long-lasting wear and great shape retention. Machine washable at 40° C (100° F) and can be machine dried.

The yarn is designed for socks, but can be used for all sorts of other items too. Let your imagination run riot.

Car Jacket

 

Alison's needles have been busy once again. Here's a car jacket from King Cole Baby Book 4, knitted in Baby Drifter.

It looks excellent!

Ana's New Cardigan

Ana is very happy with her new cardigan. It was knitted by her mother-in-law, using King Cole Subtle Drifter Chunky, in the shade 'fuchsia'.

The Drifter range is wonderful. There's lots of yarn in a ball. We have it in the Subtle variety, and also the self-patterning one. It's acrylic, wool and cotton and feels brilliant.

Dolls, Dolls, Dolls!

We've been asked recently for patterns for dolls. We have listened, and have found three great books, My Felt Doll, My Crochet Doll, and My Knitted Doll. They all have a different style, but the dolls are seriously cute.