News

Free webinar

In celebration of National Craft Month, Hobbycraft is hosting a FREE ‘Introduction to Embroidery’ webinar this Saturday (11th March) from 6.00 to 7.00 pm UK time and you can sign up HERE.

The Hobbycraft Artisan will show you how to stich your way to a wonderful embroidery piece, that will brighten up your home and help you hone your skills. You’ll be shown how to use an embroidery hoop and how to create a stunning design that captures the natural beauty of a bunch of flowers.

Perfect for embroidery beginners, this webinar will introduce a range of stitching techniques including satin stitch, back stitch, French knots, fly stitch, split stitch and more. The variety of stitches will leave your embroidery work with a beautiful and textured finish, adding details that give your needlework more depth.

The Hobbycraft Artisan will take you through each step of the project, guiding you with handy tips along the way. Enjoy mastering these embroidery techniques and expanding your craft skillset with a relaxing craft that’s sure to spark your creativity. 

The session is perfect for those who are hoping to master a new craft, or refine a long-time favourite. Have a great day!

New subscriptions

NEW SUBSCRIPTIONS Our magazines are mailed to subscribers on the first Thursday of the preceding month, so our April issue was mailed on Thursday 2nd March.

If you’d like a monthly subscription to the magazine and order by or on 1st April, your subscription will start with the May 2023 magazine.

Orders received on or after 2nd April will start with the June 2023 magazine. No money is taken with your order and June will be mailed out to subscribers on Thursday 4th May.

If you’d like to start with an earlier magazine, please buy it as a back issue and you’ll find it in our shop.

Knitting for Ukraine

How we can help

With permission, we’ve copied this from the website of the UK Hand Knitting Association. Our April 2023 issue includes lots of basic hat patterns and an even easier tube sock.

Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine many knitters and crocheters have been wondering what they can do to help. Getting items in to the country is complicated and knowing where they would do most good is almost impossible for us as individuals.

UK Hand Knitting was contacted recently by St Andrews Motor company in Huddersfield with the perfect solution. The company set up Huddersfield to Ukraine, Humanitarian Aid and have been fundraising, accepting and distributing  aid to the people of Ukraine since March 2022.

The team reached out to us because they are desperately short of socks and beanie hats for the soldiers at the front line and for civilians in need. They are asking crafters to help make these items.

The socks must be at least 75% wool because the soldiers put them on overnight to keep their feet dry and warm, this helps with trench foot. They don’t need heel shaping but can simply be a knitted tube with one end sewn closed to keep feet warm.

Beanie hats can be made using any fibre, but they MUST ONLY be dark grey, navy, khaki, dark brown or black.


The UKHKA basic beanie pattern is a quick knit for a warm hat

The UK Hand Knitting website has free patterns for hats, a DK sock and a tube sock that you can use.

Visit http://ukhandknitting.com/knitting-for-charity/charity-knitting-patterns

The address to send knitted or crocheted items to is:
St Andrews Motor Company
273 Leeds Road
Huddersfield
West Yorkshire HD1 6NS

April 2023 (Issue 303) with Alison Dupernex and Bill King

It’s our 37th birthday and our April 2023 issue has just been sent to subscribers. It’s officially on sale in the UK on 9th March. The cover design is a classic cable sweater, that’s easily adapted for any of Bill King’s recent cables and we’ve our usual mix of patterns for men, women and children on standard gauge, LK-150 mid-gauge and chunky machines. Alex Raw steps into our Design Spot this month and we showcase his new project with full knitting instructions for Bond machines or any regular chunky model. We welcome back Claire Newberry, who looks at a handy application in DesignaKnit and you’ll love Creative Machine Knitting, the latest book from  Alison Dupernex. Bill King turns to a very old Passap cable technique for this month’s inspiration. Fay Butcher creates a three-dimensional Passap pattern that stands out from the background and Dee Crew has a fancy shell hem to share. The exceptional talent of Susan Guagliumi offers lots of free help and advice and Spring is finally here, so Sally-Ann Carroll gives us and our knits a few handy hints on how to dress to impress. Our mail order shop is open and we always have help and advice in Dear Anne plus news, reviews and club details.

March 2023 (Issue 302) with Alison Dupernex and Bill King

The cover design on our full-colour March 2023 issue is a comfy cardigan with ribbed trims for a snug feel and we’ve our usual mix of patterns for men, women and children on standard, LK-150 mid-gauge and chunky machines including four family classics in our tuck and stocking stitch series. Six fabulous hats and scarf designs by Alison Dupernex use tiny amounts of lots of colours, so head for odds and ends in your stash. Bill King loves to get the most effect for the least effort and this month he’s certainly jazzed up a few cables! Fay Butcher’s new monthly techniques series for Passap knitters looks at tuck stitch patterns and variations. Dee Crew starts a new series, each month sharing her own original hems and edgings that have never been published before. Ruth Horrocks shows us how to use punchcards or electronics, to help with hand-tooled lace patterns on machines without a lace carriage. The exceptional talent of Susan Guagliumi offers lots of free help and advice and denim has re-invented itself so Sally-Ann Carroll has found perfect pieces for wearing with your knits at this time of year and into the warmer months to come. Our mail order shop is open and we always have help and advice in Dear Anne plus news, reviews and club details.

January 2023 update

Dear Readers

This issue always arrives when mounds of Easter eggs replace piles of sprouts in the supermarket. We always have to go to press very early, so let me remind you of one or two things which may slip through the net.

Pat Banyard Smith is Chairman of Long Buckby Machine Knitters and the club is preparing to welcome Bill King in April. If you’ve not visited the club before, you can look forward to a lovely afternoon in the company of fellow knitters. It’s a very friendly group, with the kettle on for free tea and coffee when you arrive. Bill is an absolute genius on a knitting machine and everyone can look forward to an afternoon of magic. Take your own lunch and spend time browsing around the tables, before Bill’s demonstration and talk. They welcome other clubs, so if you fancy a day out, you’ll receive a very warm welcome. There’s no need to pre-book tickets, but do let Pat know you’re coming so she can make you especially welcome. All the details are in Clubline on Page 11.

We’ve some splendid plans for next month’s magazine, including a fabulous feature from Ruth Horrocks. She’ll show us how to move a 24-stitch punchcard design or electronic pattern diagonally across a garment. If you can’t wait, she published her book last month, so it’s now available. You’ll find details on Page 45, or visit www.chartingheaven.co.uk

Are you a member of the Machine Knit Community? It’s a fabulous online space for machine knitters of all abilities. Nic Corrigan and her team will help you to become the machine knitter you want to be. Members have access to a treasure house of all previous live events, with guest speakers and classes from Bill King, Ria Burns, Marie Bruhat, Alison Dupernex, Kandy Diamond and many more. Nic offers modern designer-level knitting patterns, step-by-step classes and a superb online support network. You’ll find her at www.machineknit.community and it’s a place to meet and be inspired by other machine knitters from all over the world. If you’re a current member, you’ll have heard Nic’s splendid news… but, I’m not going to spill the beans just yet. Hopefully you’ll read all about it in next month’s magazine, so don’t miss our March issue.

NEXT ISSUE

March 2023

Subscription copies sent out Thursday 2nd February

On sale Thursday 9th February

Ask your newsagent to reserve a copy or order a subscription NOW!

February 2023 (Issue 301) with Alison Dupernex and Bill King

The cover design on our full-colour February 2023 issue is a cosy hat and matching hand warmers to keep you snug and warm. We’ve our usual mix of patterns for men, women and children on standard, LK-150 mid-gauge and chunky machines including lots of designs with locked-in warmth. Anne Baker’s Karabee Design knits up quickly with a garter carriage and optional ribber and we show you how to knit the perfect hat with a brim. Five great designs by Alison Dupernex will keep you toasty warm and, as usual, you’ll use up lots of odds and ends. Forget Swiss darning this month, when Bill King shares his simple technique for knitting three colours in a row and Fay Butcher’s new monthly techniques series for Passap knitters looks at stitch patterns and variations. The exceptional talent of Susan Guagliumi offers lots of free help and advice and trousers are the perfect partner to your knitted wardrobe, so Sally-Ann Carroll has rounded up all the latest shapes to help you and your knits stride out in style. Our mail order shop is open and we always have help and advice in Dear Anne plus news, reviews and club details.

February 2023 New subscriptions

NEW SUBSCRIPTIONS Our magazines are mailed to subscribers on the first Thursday of the preceding month, so our March issue will be mailed on Thursday 2nd February.

If you’d like a monthly subscription to the magazine and order by or on 1st February, your subscription will start with the March 2023 magazine.

Orders received on or after 2nd February will start with the April 2023 magazine. No money is taken with your order and April will be mailed out to subscribers on Thursday 2nd March. If you’d like to start with an earlier magazine, please buy it as a back issue.

January 2023 New Subscriptions

NEW SUBSCRIPTIONS Our magazines are mailed to subscribers on the first Thursday of the preceding month. However, the January 2023 magazine was sent to subscribers on Friday 2nd December, because Royal Mail workers were taking industrial action on the Thursday. The consequences of the strike means that some magazines have been delayed in the post and we hope they’ll arrive very soon, as the backlog of mail is cleared.

If you’d like a monthly subscription to the magazine and order by or on 1st January, your subscription will start with the February 2023 magazine.

Orders received on or after 2nd January will start with the March 2023 magazine. No money is taken with your order and March will be mailed out to subscribers on Thursday 2nd February. If you’d like to start with an earlier magazine, please buy it as a back issue.

December 2022 update

Dear Readers

Last time I promised you confessions of an Editor and Joan Lafferty’s words are ringing in my ears. In her article this month she can ‘guarantee that more haste means less speed’ and, of course, she’s absolutely right. Our grand-daughter needed a new hat and scarf, similar to the set we’d previously knitted on my LK-150. She looked through my stash and fell in love with the Raspberry shade in King Cole Bramble DK. She was raring to go, so who needs a tension swatch? I cast on and she merrily knitted. It all seemed a bit big, but foolishly we kept going. She went off, leaving me to gather in the stitches at the top and join the seam. I can’t believe I actually sat and made it all up, because it was far too big. I’d no option than to unpick the lot and start again. The scarf was to be as long as the remaining yarn would allow so I’d none to spare, as she now wanted a ‘really big’ bobble on her hat.

I searched every nook and cranny for my pompon set but it was no-where to be found. Back to the machine I went, to push a couple of needles forward and wind the yarn round and round them. With the needles pulled together to capacity, I tied yarn round the centre then slid the yarn off gingerly and cut round the edges. Making a bobble this way and mindful of my machine’s needles, I didn’t pull the central yarn as tightly as needed and the whole lot fell apart. I’d to line up ‘hundreds’ of cut strands of yarn of different lengths to turn into a pompon.

Eventually, with her hat pulled on and the scarf tied under her chin, she was warm and cosy. However, a job that would normally take me an hour at the most turned into a two-day marathon. So, how did I get it so wrong? The tension dial, of course! I’d been in too much of a hurry to check and we’d knitted everything far looser than we should. It was no wonder her hat was so big and it’s taught me the salutary lesson that the tortoise took his time, but he got there!

This year seems to have flown by and as it draws to a close, let’s hope the coming year will bring each of us the best of health and good fortune. Until next month, my compliments of the season to you all.

NEXT ISSUE February 2023

Subscription copies sent out Thursday 5th January

On sale Thursday 12th January

Ask your newsagent to reserve a copy – see page 61