Crochet Love

We do love a bit of crochet at Loop, particularly when the weather warms up. Crochet is perfect for when you want a a quick little project that you can whisk away on holiday, or stuff in your bag for your commute. You can make small items like toys or home accessories, or crochet little motifs that will one day be put together as a blanket or garment. We have an abundance of crochet inspiration at Loop right now that can help you get hooking!

We love the crochet aesthetic of two French women – both called Cecile! – whose books we stock at Loop. The first Cecile – Cecile Balladino, whose book Crochet Boheme is pictured above – will be teaching master classes at Loop next month! Her book is full of the colourful, romantic crocheting like that featured on her blog Eclectic Gipsyland.

Cecile will be sharing her love and expertise of colour combinations, plus imparting tips and tricks such as weaving in ends while crocheting, seamless changing of colours and different types of granny squares. There are still a few places left and you can find booking information here!

The other Cecile – who we have also been lucky enough to have teach at Loop! – is Cecile Franconie, whose book Granny Folies is a fun and sophisticated take on granny squares. Keep in mind that both Ceciles’ books are in French – but don’t let that put you off if you don’t speak the language! If you have a basic knowledge of crochet charts, they and the gorgeous photos are sufficient enough to follow the patterns.

We do, of course, have crochet resources aplenty in English too! Here’s a selection of some of our recent favourites:

There’s also a new crochet magazine we adore: Simply Crochet. We love it for its truly modern take on this traditional craft!

If you haven’t yet had a chance to pick up a hook and give crocheting a go, never fear! We have a Beginners Crochet class starting next week, and the lovely Jemima will get you hooking in no time. And pretty soon you’ll be able to start stitching away at our all-time favourite crochet blanket pattern, the Babette Blanket!

We hope you’re inspired to get crocheting! Feel free to have a browse of our extensive crochet book library here, and perhaps have a little swoon over our gorgeous collection of crochet hooks (including the incomparable Furls and this gorgeous set from Chiaogoo) here!

Happy hooking!