Crafting Whimsical Creatures with Julie Arkell!

Crafting Whimsical Creatures with Julie Arkell!

Oh what a treat we have this week: Julie Arkell and her magical creatures are heading to Loop for three workshops in 2023!

To long-time Loop fans, Julie will need no introduction. Her sensational stitches, world-famous workshops, and whimsical aesthetic have been an important part of the shop and our community since the very beginning. Julie’s multimedia statuettes convey a captivating sense of wonder and fascination. Her characters are like worlds unto themselves, multi-layered and complex yet simply expressed. Her art is truly unique, and this is your chance to see through her eyes!

Each Creature Workshop participant will receive an unadorned papier-mache doll made by Julie. Then, using trinkets, wools, and threads from home or from the shop, you’ll complete your very own work of art. You’ll have access to Julie’s patterns during the workshop for inspiration and instruction, but your creature will be uniquely yours, with all your own knitting and stitching to bring to life the creature of your imagination.

Julie’s characters are so lively you almost expect them to spring into action!

Come spend a wonderful day with us at Loop and in the inspiring surroundings of Camden Passage, Upper Street, and Angel. We are so happy to announce Julie will hold classes with us on Sunday 18 June, Saturday 21 October, and Sunday 22 October this year. Each workshop lasts from 11am to 5pm with a 45-minute break for lunch when you can explore the area around Loop on your own. You bring your sewing kit and your wildest imagination, we’ll supply the coffee, tea, cakes, and a truly wonderful teacher.

Meet the Maker Julie Arkell at Loop London

If you want to learn more about Julie’s work, check out the Meet the Maker video we featured on her!

More Classes & Workshops at Loop

Take your knitting to the next level with our Knitting Improvers class.

If you’re hungry for more classes, we have plenty on offer! This weekend we’re very excited to host a one-day Knitting for Improvers class with Linda Litchfield on Sunday 12 March. Linda has 60 years of knitting experience, 10 years of experience teaching knitting, and a degree in fine-arts textiles from Goldsmiths to boot. In just under six hours of instruction she’ll cover skills to take your knitting to the next level, such as reading patterns, finishing techniques, and working in the round.

Sometimes all you need is a little help.

If you just need need a little advice come to our free drop-in Knitting SOS session also taking place this weekend from 10:30 to 11:30 on Sunday 12 March. There’s no need to book in, just come to the shop with whatever project has you stumped and we’ll do our best to get you sorted out (though do please drop us an email if you need help with brioche, complex cabling, fisherman’s rib, Baltic braids, and other extended techniques).

Toys are a joy for the knitter and the recipient!

And later this month we’ll host a really phenomenal Toy Making Workshop on Sunday 26 March. This class with Sophie Heathscott will teach participants how to make one of two cuddly pals while also learning to become a pro at magic loop, the technique that allows knitters to use a long circular needle to knit a circle of a much smaller circumference. Toys are totally joyful to make. They’re quick to knit up and you’ll feel a special sense of satisfaction when you see the years of comfort and delight they bring to whichever dear one you’re making it for.

Put your skills into practice with this brilliant new book on toy making!

If you’re already a keen toymaker (or if you already know you’ll want to make more after Sophie’s class), make sure to preorder Mouche & Friends: Seamless Toys to Knit and Love by Cinthia Vallet, which will be published on 12 April. This lovely book contains 12 patterns to make sweet animal toys plus their clothes and accessories. It’s the perfect way to practice everything you learned in the Toy Making Workshop!

See our full offering of classes on our website!

Knit Collage

More divine yarns have arrived from Knit Collage, including the new-to-Loop Dreamland! We fell in love with these yarns as soon as we saw them. Plush wool and mohair with baubles, tinsel, and ribbon spun in? Yes please. We are so happy to have received a shipment of Daisy Chain and Cast Away, two firm favourites from this brand, and we’re absolutely thrilled to have received Dreamland for the first time as well. Inspired by the market streets of Hong Kong and India (where the yarn is hand spun), ribbons, flower appliques, and sparkling Angelina fibres make this wool-mohair blend shine. Come see what all the fuss is about!

Ito Kin Gin

The versatile colours of Ito Kin Gin make it a great match for most yarns!

Glitz and glam galore! Ito Kin Gin is such a fun way to bring a bit of brightness to whatever it is you’re knitting. Lace shawls, thick jumpers, even socks — there’s nothing on two needles that can’t be elevated by a little sparkle courtesy of this fantastic yarn. Kin Gin is easy to hold double with all kinds of yarns, but it works especially well with Ito Sensai Mohair. Available in seven colours, with either a white or black core for maximum colour versatility, this yarn is a total blast.

The Stitch Festival ⁠— Discounted Tickets!

There are only a few weeks left until The Stitch Festival comes to town from 23 to 26 March and we’re super excited to announce that in addition to discounted tickets we’re giving away five pairs of tickets to the festival! Tell us what your favourite Stitch Festival craft is in a comment below to enter before 11:59 pm on Sunday 12 March and we’ll select winners at random on Monday. The tickets will be valid after 10 am on Thursday 23, Friday 24, Saturday 25, or Sunday 26 March and you’ll receive registration information via email directly from the festival. To purchase a discounted ticket, use the code LOOPKNIT23 at checkout before 11:59pm on Wednesday 22 March. Unfortunately this code won’t work for child, VIP, or group tickets and won’t be valid for tickets on Sunday 26 March.

Happy stitching!

25 Comments on “Crafting Whimsical Creatures with Julie Arkell!

  1. It would be so great to come to the show.
    What a lovely give away!
    It’s a long time since I’ve been down to London.

  2. It would be so great to come to the show.
    What a lovely give away!
    It’s a long time since I’ve been down to London.
    Just my dream place all that wool working in one place…..my first love is wool work.

  3. Oh how exciting. I would love to win a pair of tickets to the stitch festival. I have tried ALL the crafts and love them all! I mainly knit and crochet at the moment but have dressmaking and embroidery WIP’s waiting patiently. I would probably go with my daughter who would really enjoy the day with me.

  4. My favourite craft would have to be crochet ! Would be so excited to win tickets to the Stitch Festival

  5. Fave stitch fest craft: I’m a really avid sewer and that’s definitely what I spend most craft time doing but have recently been enjoying the much calmer feel and portability of knitting (just finished my first sweater)!

  6. My favourite stitch festival craft is sewing – dressmaking. I learnt to sew at Raystitch just down the road from Loop and I was at a class and one of the attendees was wearing a lovely cardigan called Levenwick by Gudrun Johnston. I of course complimented the attendee on her cardigan and it turned out to be Susan’s daughter (her boyfriend’s mother knitted the cardigan). I also met Lydia from PomPom Magazine at another class at Raystitch as well. Any visit to Raystitch is always accompanied by a visit to Loop & vice versa.

  7. My favourite Stitch Festival craft is dressmaking, but I also knit and crochet a little.

    I’m coming to your Knitting for Improvers class next Saturday :)

  8. Oh my word how I would love to win a ticket to the festival! I’m so happy that I will be in London from South Africa over the time of the festival but with our shocking exchange rate (22:1) after buying a ticket I’ll pretty much have to “admire but not acquire” when I am there. Knitting is my most favourite craft but I’m falling in love with crochet too. I visited Loop last year and could hardly breathe it was so exciting! This will be my first time at such an event as the Stitch Festival. If I win a ticket I might just be able to acquire as well as admire.

  9. I’d love to win Stitch Show tickets. I hope this is where I ask to go in the draw. Knitting is my go to. I’ve learned socks, now I’m on to FairIsle!

  10. Hello there!
    Would love to win tickets for the Stitch festival! Would be amazing!
    Thank you for organising this competition!
    Laurence

  11. I’m so excited for The Stitch Festival, this is gonna be my first time attending, and it’s definitely gonna be all about knitting and yarn for me

  12. I’ve tried to comment that I would so badly love to win tickets for the stitch festival! I love knitting and am just discovering the joys of crochet and am desperate to go to the show! My previous is “awaiting moderation”?

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