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 …
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 …