Two of our favourite things this winter are the new Fancy Tiger Crafts Heirloom yarn and, of course, pom poms! Our Sophie (resident knitting punster and window-dresser extraordinaire) has designed a super-easy hat pattern incorporating both these wonderful things. Sophie’s Hat is a great Christmas gift for anyone, young and old, male and female, and it knits up super quickly – perfect for last minute gifts. It can be knit either back and forth on straight needles for the absolute hat novice, or in the round on circular needles for those of you ready to give that a go! Either way, it’s …

Sophie’s Hat – Free Pattern Read more →

We pride ourselves on the wonderful yarns, sourced from around the world, that grace the shelves of Loop. But of course we hold a special place in our knitty hearts for British wool. So when we got the chance to stock the very classic and very British Toft yarns, we jumped at it! Their alpaca fur pom poms might have also had something to do with it…

It is now properly cold here in London but, as knitters, we’re embracing it. This winter, one of our biggest joys will be knitting with the newly arrived Eden Cottage Yarns. Hand dyed in Yorkshire, dyer Victoria Magnus’ colours all carry a silvery tone and romantic atmosphere of the northern English landscape. At Loop we now carry two of Victoria’s yarns: the merino and silk blended Titus 4-ply – utterly gorgeous for lace shawls and other special accessories – and Bowland DK – a Blue Faced Leicester wool that we can’t wait to make piles of jumpers in. Here’s a …

An Eden Cottage Winter Read more →

We know it’s still over a month until Christmas but, as knitters, we’re inherently inclined to plan ahead. A few years ago we compiled lists of what we would ask Father Christmas for if the elves made yarn and haberdashery and we thought it would be fun to do it again! We think it might be useful when you’re compiling your own wishlists, or if you’re thinking about shopping for a knit or crochet inclined friend. We also mentioned a few years ago that you can create an online wishlist from any shop using the Amazon Universal Wishlist Button. That …

Christmas Wishlists! Read more →

We’re doing our best not to turn the heaters on in the shop this week, in spite of it getting very cold – what is knitwear for, after all? We’ve had delivery of some lovely things which have reminded us just how well us knitters do “warm”. We can’t think of a better way to keep toasty than with the magic of cables – those deceptively simple twists that create a  wind-proof, double-thickness fabric. If they’re good enough for seafaring Irishmen, they’re good enough for us.

Look what’s landed at Loop this week, just in time for the cold weather. It’s the beautiful, rustic and warm Heirloom from Fancy Tiger Crafts. Raised, milled and dyed in the US, it’s a 100% Romney wool yarn.  Romney sheep are the descendants of English medieval longwool breeds, and produce a lustrous, hardworking wool with a long staple length, which is perfect for warm, sturdy items that will hold up to wear for years to come. We love that the name they chose for this yarn, Heirloom, reflects that. And it’s not just the fibre that we love so much …

Fancy Tiger Heirloom at Loop! Read more →

We journeyed north last week, introducing you to the best Scandinavia has to offer at Loop. Today we’re staying north, but a little closer to home – Scotland! Loop is full of beautiful yarn, patterns and gifts from this textile history-rich land and we’re so pleased to be sharing them with you in their best autumn colours.

Last night at Loop we had the pleasure of welcoming Eline Oftedal, talented author of Knit Nordic, for a little show and tell. Accompanying her was a cameraman from the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation! We sure gave him a lot to take in as it was one of our busiest knit nights in a long time! We were so inspired by Eline, and the wonders of Scandinavian knitting in general, that we decided to devote today’s blog post to the quite large library of Scandinavian knitting resources at Loop, and some of our favourite Scandi yarns!

We are coming to you live from the Knitting & Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace in London! We’ve set up our stand, and are two days in to this amazing show. It’s been lovely to see Loop customers – both our regulars (you know who you are!) and those of you who have travelled from afar (including California!) for the show. We’re also so excited to be introducing the newest addition to the Loop family, Shalimar Yarns Breathless!

Yesterday was quite the dreary autumn day here in London, but happily the postman dropped off an unassuming box, which, when opened, revealed an amazing riot of colour that immediately brightened the shop. Freia yarns from Knitwhits are completely unique in that they have hand-painted colour transitions, creating a beautiful ombre effect. The possibilities are endless with this yarn – stripe it, fairisle it, make a Pop Spots or Spectra with it, or let the yarn do the talking and give it some good old stocking stitch. We think it’s pretty hard to go wrong with these amazing colourways.