Queen of socks Rachel Coopey continues with her quest for warm feet with her latest publication ‘Coop Knits Socks Volume Two’. Full of beautiful and wearable designs, these patterns have us head over heels (or should that be head over socks?!) Also accompanied by step-by-step tutorials and guides on key socks skills such as Kitchener Stitch and Afterthought Heels, these patterns are the ideal blend of techniques for beginners and experienced sock knitters. Each candy coloured sock is a treat of cables and lace, making the prettiest patterns and sweetest feet!

The textile history of a country is as rich and varied as the garments and fabric produced. It is always fascinating to discover the traditional crafts and costumes that are part of everyday life and to be inspired by the skill. In the shop we have books and yarns from all around the world and now we have the textile history of Muhu Island, Estonia to show you.

Finally we are getting a bit of nice, light, summer knitting weather! Yeah! Later in this post, we have a tutorial for the figure of eight cast-on, mentioned in other tutorials (and here) and a new way of striping those toe-up afterthought heel socks. But first we wanted to show you the new knitting bags we got in at Loop. Above you can see Sophie knitting with one of the Yarn Pop Gadgety bags. These are great because they have grommets that allow yarn to be threaded through. The ball of yarn stays safely inside the bag pocket, instead of rolling out …

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