Author: Susan Cropper

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  Here at Loop, we have long been fans of Knit Collage  – we were the very first shop in the world to place an order for their yarns! Knit Collage is owned and run by the lovely Amy Small who designs these happy, cheerful yarns that are unlike any other. Amy teaches women who come from disadvantaged backgrounds in the Punjab region of India to spin beautiful fibres that incorporate tiny crocheted flowers, ribbons and other lovely trims into the yarns. Every single skein of yarn is completely unique! Amy designs each and every yarn and colourway herself – …

Knit Collage Candy Cowl Read more →

Tiny buttons make good eyes

  You probably didn’t know you needed a bunny brooch for your shawl. But you do. You need one with a secret pocket for hiding little chocolate eggs in. I won’t tell you if those chocolate eggs are part of the children’s egg hunt or if they are your own private stash. That’s up to you. But I offer you this little pattern for a Bunny Pin (with a Secret Pocket) to try out with some lovely natural wool yarns.

Here at Loop, we can’t get enough of hand-dyed yarns. It’s not uncommon for us to open a box from one of the lovely hand-dyers whose yarns we stock and gasp in awe of the deep, rich colours they manage to produce. Part of the beauty of their work is that each skein is ever-so-slightly unique, making it that much more fun to choose which ones should go home with you. But it’s not just hand-dyed yarns that we lust after – it’s ribbons, buttons and trims too! The buttons above, for example, come from Barcelona, where the velvet is …

Hand-dyed Loveliness at Loop! Read more →

I was recently reminded how confusing the issues around blocking finished knits can be. To wet block or steam? Use blocking wires or not? Iron, steam or leave to dry? Many people I come across also believe that the stated needles and gauge on a pattern are set in stone. They understand they can substitute a similar weight yarn but don’t feel they have permission to experiment with the needles and gauge. This isn’t true. It may be more complicated to do this when knitting a fitted garment but it is a pleasure to do when knitting shawls, scarves and …

Top Tips for Blocking Your Knits! Read more →

This week we have a special treat for you! If you’re a regular Ravelry user, you will probably have seen that one of our favourite designers, Stephen West, has been hosting a ‘knit-along’ and releasing stunning patterns as part of his Westy’s Besties KAL recently. This week, the pattern being released is the shawl he originally designed for Loop – the Westloop Shawl! Stephen has very kindly agreed to offer the pattern for free to Loop customers who purchase the yarn for the pattern in either Brooklyn Tweed LOFT or or the Isager yarns required for the pattern. Hooray!

Spring is fast approaching and what better way to get in the mood than with some stunning Mulberry silk? This gorgeous 100% silk DK yarn from Louisa Harding comes in 15 jewel-like colours and is perfect for projects you’ll want to wear when the weather finally warms up. Equally stunning in stocking stitch or lace, you’ll enjoy making every shimmery, smooth stitch whatever project you choose! Here we’ve chosen to do a swatch (in colour 36 Golden) of our free pattern, the Beginners Lace Shawl – absolute luxury knitting on some rosewood needles (try our short ones for swatching and …

Shimmering Silk & a Fab Gadget Read more →

If you’re a regular Ravelry user, by now you’ve probably seen on of the many lovely patterns by design duo Tin Can Knits. We’ve had their book, 9 Months of Knitting, in the shop for a while, and we recently started stocking their single patterns and newer book, Pacific Knits. Emily, one half of the Tin Can team, has been kind enough to design Sweetness, which right now is available exclusively on the Loop blog – lucky us! It uses under 150 m each of two shades of Malabrigo Twist, one of our softest, squishiest yarns. (Shown here in Terron …

Sweetness by Tin Can Knits – Free Pattern Read more →

Stocking yarn from Danish brand Isager has always been a pleasure for us at Loop – so many gorgeous colours and fibres make it easy to love! A couple of weeks ago, we showed off the stunning Pop Spots shawl in Isager Tvinni, which makes perfect use of those shades and textures. This week, we want to share the to-die-for collection from Helga Isager called The Bird Collection – a book with 7 designs designs for women and six designs for kids using Isager’s wonderfully tactile yarns. Take the Robin pullover, above – stylish, simple and great on a range …

The Bird Collection Read more →

Those of you who have been to our shop in London will know about the lovely, cosy corner upstairs where, nestled in their own little cubby-holes, are over 100 different coloured 25-gram balls of pure, delicious, Shetland yarn. We’ve long been fans of this wonderfully traditional British wool; spun and dyed in the Shetland Isles, Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift is a 4-ply or fingering weight yarn that’s perfect for colourwork. Lucky for us, a new book has arrived that will put all these wonderful colours to good use – writer, designer and blogger Kate Davies’ Colours of Shetland. As Kate says, …

Shetland Love Read more →

  A lot of you are already ‘popping’ but we thought we’d go ahead and share the fabulous new pattern by Juju Vail for Loop here on the blog!