Karelia Sweater by Midori Hirose Comes to Loop in a Delightful Kit!

Karelia Sweater by Midori Hirose Comes to Loop in a Delightful Kit!

Q: What do you get when you combine knitwear designer Midori Hirose, Daruma yarns, and the gorgeous Roosimine technique?

A: The Karelia sweater of course!

And we are so so happy to have gorgeous kits for this sweater in the shop from today!

Midori Hirose is a Japanese knitwear designer who lives in northern Germany with her family. She moved to the country some years ago to study art and never left. Her work pays tribute to her roots in Japan as well as her current home in Europe. Both of these influences are on display in the Karelia sweater, which combines traditional techniques from Europe with stunning Japanese yarn from Daruma in Tokyo. Fans of Laine Magazine will be familiar with her beautiful work as she is a regular contributor. She has designed some of our all-time favourite patterns, including Ranunculus, Snowy Forest, Snow Crocus, and Cherry.

Roositud swatches for the Karelia Sweater

The Karelia sweater has a flattering shape and a sweet floral pattern that is woven between the stitches while knitting using the traditional Estonian Roosimine technique. Midori designed her own “Roositud” – the word for patterns made with the Roosimine technique – for this sweater. We can’t tell you how thrilled we are to have these very beautiful Karelia Sweater Kits at Loop. Everything has been thought out form the colours, to the printed guides, and the terrific bespoke bags to go with them.

The kits are available in three colourways: Midsummer Crown pairs a neutral white base with green leaves and multi-coloured flowers, inspired by the Scandinavian and Baltic tradition of celebrating the summer solstice by making flower crowns. Berry Picking adds retro orange-green toned leaves and strong, vivid flowers to a brown base (when the sample was finished, Midori thought the motifs looked more like berries than flowers, hence the name!) Marc Chagall is a blue-hued number inspired by the blues of Chagall’s famous paintings, combining a navy base with periwinkle-coloured leaves with orange, red, white, and pink flowers.

The yarns used in these kits are all form Daruma and are really special. The base of each sweater is made with Airy Wool Alpaca, an 80-20 wool-alpaca blend. The Roositud leaves use Geek, a blend of wool, polyester, and alpaca, and the flowers use a range of colours of Iroio (wool), Genmou (merino wool), Loop (wool and alpaca), and Wool Mohair (mohair and merino wool), and silk mohair (mohair and silk).

Bespoke project bag for the Karelia Sweater Kit at Loop London

Rounding out this kit is a special edition Amirisu bag with a bespoke illustration by @yamyamkikaku especially for this pattern! The bag has a drawstring top and can be worn as a backpack or over one arm, and it’s the perfect size for keeping everything together for this project. The kit includes all the yarn you’ll need to finish the Karelia sweater along with a guide to each colourway and where to start using each yarn and colour. It does not include the sweater pattern, which can be purchased through Midori’s Ravelry page. To stay up to date with Midori’s latest designs, be sure to follow her on Instagram at @midori_hirose_knit.

Please note that Loop does not normally stock the yarns in this kit. Please choose your size carefully as we will not be able to order extra yarn. More information on this sweater’s sizing is available on the Kerelia Sweater Kit page and we are always happy to help in the shop or via email on shop@loopknitting.com.

Laine 13

We’re also excited to welcome Laine magazine Issue 13 to our shelves today. This issue focuses on timeless, gender-neutral patterns that will fit seamlessly into any wardrobe. The issue features 10 knitting patterns and 1 crochet pattern from 11 designers around the world – including a gorgeous contribution from Midori Hirose. The ‘Cassis’ vest she designed for the issue inspired by the traditional gansey sweaters of fishermen. Yarns featured in this issue include mYak Baby Yak Lace, Shelter by Brooklyn Tweed, Gilliatt by DeRerum Natura, and Tosh DK by Madelinetosh

Loop Gives Back

Loop’s schtickle for charity section is always being updated with more items

We are so proud to announce that between April and November 2021 we raised £510 for the Trussell Trust. Amazingly, that figure was matched by a generous anonymous donor, so we were able to donate a total of £1,020. The Trussell Trust supports a nationwide network of food banks and we are so happy to be able to support the work they do.

Our Holiday 2021 season fundraiser is in aid of Shelter, a charity that provides urgent support, security, and hope to thousands of people facing homelessness and unsafe housing. Don’t forget to shop in our ‘Schtickle’ for Charity section to make your holiday purchases count! Keep checking back as we’re always adding things to our Schtickle section.

Holiday Hours and Useful Information

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We look forward to welcoming you this holiday season! We hope the information below will help keep everyone safe, happy, and crafty.

Our London shop is open 11:30-5:30pm Wednesday to Saturday, and 12 noon to 5pm on Sunday. During the week of Christmas, we will be open Sunday 19, Tuesday 21, and Wednesday 22 December. We will be then be closed 23-28 December and 31 December-4 January, opening between Christmas and New Year’s on Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 December for click and collect only – please call before traveling to the shop. We will re-open as usual from 5 January. You can read about the measures we are taking to ensure the safety of our staff, customers, and loved ones on our website.

If you’re ordering online, please try to do so as early as possible, as Brexit and COVID have disrupted normal shipping times. The last days to order for delivery by Christmas are as follows:

Canada, US, Eastern Europe, and Sweden: Sunday 12 December – that’s this Sunday!

Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Switzerland: Wednesday 15 December

UK: Monday 20 December

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