Trish’s Yarn Sightseeing Trip to Amsterdam

Posted on 4th May 20204th May 2020 by Esther

Last year December 2019 BC (Before Coronavirus), my friends Deslyn, Nikki, Anne and I took a trip to Amsterdam because they all had significant birthdays ending in Zero. I have promised not to mention any ages but as the youngest I have been dubbed the Apprentice as I first met them in a workplace environment 13 years ago and we have remained firm friends since.

Although this trip was not about me, the first stop on our itinerary was the local yarn shop Stephen and Penelope – Stephen being the knitwear designer Stephen West. With smartphone in hand and Nikki navigating we found the shop without too much trouble, even though Nikki would keep saying left or right and pointing in the opposite direction! The yarn-bombed bicycle outside was a giveaway.

They were very patient with me as I fondled and squished my way around the store, the yarn that is, it is not acceptable to fondle or squish the staff.
There were some familiar yarns to me and lots that were not, so I headed to the ‘local’ section and proceeded to ooh and aah. We’ve all bought yarn and then wondered what to do with it, so I started with the buying of a pattern.

Stephen West is well known for some very elaborate shawls, but I thought I would play it safe and opted for his pattern called Sharktooth. Choosing the yarn was the next step. Having decided I would like something variegated I chose a Merino Swirl skein by Fru Valborg, a Swedish yarn but dyed exclusively for Stephen and Penelope, 80% Superwash Merino, 20% Nylon in shade Night Owl. Still wanting to get some local yarn, I bought a mini skein of Undercover Otter a hand-dyed yarn from Amsterdam, an Otter Pup, to contrast on the picot edge bind off.

I also snapped up some extra Otter Pups, bespoke bicycle stitch markers and project bags to treat the staff for Christmas.

I had fully intended to start the shawl as a little Christmas present to myself but after hunting high and low on Boxing day I couldn’t find the correct needles. I should have checked the multiple WIPs! I finally got around to starting it (twice) on Easter Sunday. Starting can be tricky and with only a few stitches and 6 stitch markers it was hard to see the pattern establishing at first.

The yarn was a delight to knit with and there was enough of a pattern to keep me interested but not too much that requires a lot of attention, there was a nice rhythm to it once you were in the groove. I only knitted the small shawl but I’ve seen a picture of the larger size on Ravelry where the shark teeth are knitted in a contrast to the main body, it would make a lovely accessory to both casual and formal wear…my next project? Without being able to nip over to Amsterdam again, I’m eyeing up our Lilypond Yarns and WYS Exquisite 4-ply.

All About Shetland Hap Shawls

Posted on 11th February 2019 by Esther

You might have seen that we have a workshop on Knitting the Shetland Hap Shawl coming up and wondered to yourself…‘What’s a Hap Shawl anyway?’

Well, we thought we would do a little post all about this wonderful slice of Scottish knitting heritage.

Firstly, what exactly does ‘hap’ mean? Well, according to blogger KnitBritish in her extremely informative post, hap means “to cover, wrap or keep warm” and was “a traditional shawl of everyday wear for Shetland women”.

You can see a variety of charming vintage photographs of these warm, practical shawls in everyday use at the above blog post, but here are a few from there and from other archives:

These shawls originated as a practical garment for keeping the Shetland weather out while working and out and about on the islands – usually constructed as a garter stitch square with a old-shale lace border around the outside. As you can see from the first photo, they were equally as useful as baby blankets as wrapped around the wearer’s body against the elements.

Recently, knitting designers such as Kate Davies and Gudrun Johnston have revived this traditional shawl style and taken it into the 21st century, playing with different shapes, yarns and styles. A quick search on Ravelry turns up many lovely designs – here is just a small selection:

As you can see, once the basic techniques are mastered this is a style which you can adapt to your own preferences – working with rustic tweedy yarns and natural shades, or more bright and contemporary yarns.

Anniken Allis will be teaching a workshop on how to knit her own version of a Shetland Hap Shawl (pictured below) on Wednesday 13th March. The workshop costs £59 for the day and materials will be supplied (plus we have plenty of gorgeous suitable yarns to choose from when you decide to make your own afterwards).

To book either visit the listing on Eventbrite or call 01626 836203.

With thanks to the beautiful and informative information found at these blogs, click through to read more if you’ve really got the ‘hap bug’ and to view even more fascinating historical photos: KnitBritish, Jamieson & Smith and Kate Davies.

At last! Beautiful, contemporary crochet patterns.

Posted on 8th October 2018 by Esther

One of the comments we often hear is that our crochet-loving customers wish there were more contemporary crochet patterns on the market. As Joanne Scrace of The Crochet Project put it, “often crochet has been viewed as “best for homewares and novelties” and has struggled to lose the reputation created in the 1970s of ill-fitting granny square jackets.”

The Crochet Project have been working hard to completely transform the market and we are really pleased to be stocking two of their recently published books here at Spin A Yarn.

Everyday Wearables harnesses Joanne’s in-depth understanding of how crochet fabric is created, the need for drape and takes fit and construction lessons from both knitwear and dressmaking. A world away from the lumpy garments so many people associate with crochet, she has created pieces that fit well and look great.

The book is filled with extremely detailed and helpful photo tutorials, so it’s far more than the 8 patterns it contains – it would be a perfect gift for a novice to crochet who wants to start branching out into making garments.

The Crochet Project are also known for their beautiful shawl collections. We have the fourth Shawl Project book in stock – this time they have focused on designs which make colour-shifting gradient yarns really sing.

We have a huge selection of these yarns in stock – Schoppel Zauberball would be a perfect choice with their long gradients of colour throughout each ball.

Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball

Or what about playing with one of our new Devon Indie-dyed Lilypond Yarns?

Mulberry Pie

You can find both these book in our shop or read more about them on our website here:

Everyday Wearables by Joanne Scrace of The Crochet Project

The Shawl Project Book 4 by The Crochet Project

Anniken’s Lace Workshops

Posted on 10th March 201612th February 2020 by Esther

We’re very lucky here at Spin A Yarn to count one of the current top lace designers of the knitting world, Anniken Allis, as a great friend and well established workshop teacher.

Hailing from Norway, knitting is in Anniken’s blood – having learnt Continental knitting from a young age, she started designing patterns in her early 30s and her love affair with designing beautiful lace accessories and garments began. Now a published author (of Beaded Lace Knitting) and having had her work featured on the front of the highly respected US Vogue Knitting, we are thrilled that she regularly travels up from her home in beautiful Cornwall to continue teaching workshops with us – on everything from how to knit Continental style, to Norwegian ‘Selbu’ style mittens.

Selbu Mittens

Candace Shawl

Anniken’s delicate and glamorous shawls feature novel stitch techniques, unusual cast-offs (and sometimes cast-ons!), and often beading… she teaches all of these techniques and more on her popular workshops here at Spin A Yarn, plus staple techniques of Scandi-style knitting patterns such as Continental Knitting style.

We’re very excited that Anniken will be teaching ‘How to Design a Crescent Shawl’ with us this summer, so if you have your heart set on designing your own glamorous lacy accessories, that will be the one for you!

If however you’re a beginner, then Easy Lace Knitting will get you started with the core skills you’ll need to master lace patterns, including the basic stitches and how to read lace charts.

Violetta Shawl

We have a few spaces left on each of these workshops, so if you’d like to embark on making a gorgeous accessory with Anniken’s help and advice, do visit our Eventbrite booking page or give us a call on 01626 836203 to secure your place. These workshops cost £59 each and, run from 10am to 4pm.

Easy Lace Knitting, Weds 4th March 2020

Learn to Design a Crescent Shawl, Weds 27th May 2020

Learn Continental Knitting including Norwegian Purl, Weds 10th June 2020

Free Pattern – Rowan Beaded Shawl

Posted on 4th December 20157th December 2015 by Esther

04 Dec

To celebrate our Spring 2016 Newsletter, Rowan have shared with us a beautiful and very glamorous shawl pattern designed by Jennie Atkinson in one of our favourite yarns, Kidsilk Haze. It features all over lace and a crochet trim making it suitable for the more experienced knitter.

This design uses only 1 ball of Kidsilk Haze and 1 pack of 6mm Swarovski Aquamarine Selection Beads. This pattern has been translated into French, German & Swedish – you need only print the pages you need after downloading.

Rowan Free Shawl Pattern

Click here to download: Rowan Swarovski Shawl by Jennie Atkinson

Make sure you share your photos with us if you make one!

Free Patterns – Simple Boucle Shawl

Posted on 2nd November 201527th September 2016 by spartadmin

02 Nov

This simple, elegant shawl pattern is as much part of Spin A Yarn history as the beautiful skeins of Touch Yarn hanging behind it! The perfect way to ease yourself into knitting triangular shawls, it uses 1.25 skeins of New Zealand Touch Boucle yarn which we stock in an amazing array of hand-dyed colours. If you’re buying the yarn for a shawl, we’re very happy to wind off the additional 0.25 skein for you – just ask.

Materials

Yarn: 125 grams of Touch Boucle OR 150 grams Rare yarns Boucle

Needles: 12mm

Note: Before knitting prepare for fringe by cutting 128 lengths at 10 inches long.

Pattern

Cast on 12 stitches

Next Row and Every Row: Increase at each end of every row until there are 140 stitches on the needle.
(If using Rare Boucle continue increasing for another 4 more rows).

Attach evenly the 64 fringes along the 2 bottom edges.

To download a PDF of this pattern for easy printing, please click here.