Now that most of our Christmas bits and pieces are online, I thought it would be a nice idea to do a general post about what we have in store (and online) that is geared towards Christmas crafting.  

Firstly, for the sock knitters among you, I have to show you this year's Christmas colourway from West Yorkshire Spinners in their Signature 4 Ply.  With a pretty silver sparkle thread running through it, the Vintage Tinsel colourway is a pop of nostalgic fun for your feet this Christmas.  With each purchase of this colourway, you get a 4 page pattern booklet for the Twinkle Toes sock designed by Winwick Mum.  You can find this on our website here and of course, in store.  We also still have a couple of balls of a previous Christmas colourway, Robin.

If you're a crocheter and want to make something cute for your tree, what about this teddy and deer bauble kit?  The box contains everything you need except the hook and sewing up needle, but if you don't already have a 3 mm hook we have plenty in stock.  I think the deer one is so cute with her nose freckles!

Or maybe a Christmas themed cross stitch kit is how you envisage relaxing in the run up to Christmas?  We have lots of different options, but my favourite are these DMC kits, which use navy Aida fabric to make the designs really pop. There are 10 different designs to choose from, from gingerbread houses to reindeers, puppies, and love birds.  These Felt Cross Stitch Hoop Kits are also a good option for children to make, as the holes are much easier from young hands to work with, compared to Aida fabric.  Plus with the included hoop, the finished piece would make a great grandparent Christmas gift!  The wooden Ornament Cross Stitch Kits are even simpler to make thanks to the wooden template with pre-drilled holes, all that's left to do is decide on the design!

In store we also have a section in our bookcase dedicated to Christmas Knitting and Crochet books, with lots of projects and inspiration for any Christmas related item.  There are knitted and crocheted toys aplenty, both large and small.  There is even a Christmas jumper book by Rico which has Christmas Jumper designs whose sizes vary from baby to adult, so the whole family can match at Christmas time!  Below are a few examples of what we have, but there are lots more!

We also have lots of Christmas themed ribbons, both bright and neutral with all manner of designs. There are a few bundles of Christmas Fat Quarters for anyone handy with a sewing needle, and for children's crafts we have felt in an arrangement of colours, as well as decorative craft buttons to add interest to their creations.  We can even help if you're in need of some jingle bells, with coloured, silver and gold in a couple of sizes available in the shop. 

This post is a bit different, as rather than introduce you to one yarn, I'm going to show you two very similar yarns, both fun fur yarns.  We had a very similar yarn last year that was very popular so we're excited to stock some very similar yarns again this year.  Fur yarns are super chunky weight yarns, working up quickly on 8-10mm needles to give a fabric that looks just like fur.  The individual stitches aren't visible, but you end up with a beautiful and ever so soft knitted fabric, perfect for accessories, teddies and even garments.  So, let me introduce you to Rico Creative Petit Lapin (Left), and James C Brett Chinchilla (Right)!

We are stocking 5 shades of the Rico Creative Petit Lapin and 8 of the James C Brett Chinchilla - a mix of plain colours and realistic fur colours which are lightened on the ends, as below (Petit Lapin on the left and Chinchilla on the right).  The Petit Lapin even comes in a mottled blue and black shade that's very unusual.

There are patterns from both companies to go along with their yarns, including a waistcoat pattern with both adult and child sizes - just in time to get cozy for winter!

Rico Creative Petit Lapin can be found here, and James C Brett Chinchilla can be found here.

We are pleased to bring you the latest offering from West Yorkshire Spinners, a brand new collaboration with Dame Zandra Rhodes with 6 brand new colourways for two of their most popular ranges, Signature 4Ply and ColourLab DK

As I'm sure you know, we have recently started adding West Yorkshire Spinners ColourLab DK to our shelves ( and online here ) as we feel it a is a really good all round 100% wool yarn with an affordable price. And of course we have stocked their Signature 4Ply for a good few years as it really is one of the best sock yarns, whilst still being soft enough for accessories too. So we were very happy when they brought out this range of 6 multicoloured yarns, with all 6 colourways available in both ColourLab DK (on the left) and Signature 4Ply (on the right).

As you can see, they are bright and fun, like Zandra herself.  There are 2 of the yarns that come out in stripes, 2 that are multi coloured and 2 that are mottled so there is something to appeal to everyone!
She has also brought out a book with 15 patterns, from garments to accessories and socks, in her trademark colourful and bold style.  

I was really taken with the Forest Stripe colourway, and as I was sitting trying to warm my hands back up in the shop I decided to cast on a quick pair of handwarmers which should hopefully be ready in a day or so.  To get them done quicker I decided to go with ColourLab DK and I've been really impressed with both how soft the yarn is, especially as its 100% wool, and also how neat the colour changes are.  Sometimes in multi coloured yarns the place where the colour changes is dragged out so that you end up with  a lot of muddy stitches in between the 2 colours, but not so with this yarn. I'm really excited to get them done (and worn!)

ColourLab DK Zandra Rhodes collection can be found here
Signature 4Ply Zandra Rhodes collection can be found here

Whilst this isn't strictly New In, Stylecraft have brought out 4 new shades which really brighten the colourways available for this fun yarn.  The yarn is light and airy thanks to its loosely spun construction whilst retaining good stitch definition for cabled items.

Stylecraft Softie now comes in 10 shades, making a really nice palette that encompasses both brights and neutrals.  There is good pattern support available in store, just look for the "Stylecraft Ladies Chunky Patterns" folder on the pattern bookcase.  It also has a tension that makes it a good yarn to use for any Chunky pattern.

Stylecraft Softie Chunky can be found here 

We are really pleased to have begun stocking the Life range of yarns from Stylecraft!  I'm sure many of you will be aware of this great yarn, but for those who aren't, allow me to introduce you!

Stylecraft Life takes all the positives of their premium acrylic found in the Special range, such as it's softness, durability, ease of washing, and blends it with 25% wool to make it even better.  A little bit of extra warmth but with none of the inconvenience of a pure wool yarn (scratchy and unforgiving when it's time  to wash it!) - who can say no to that!

I have knit 2 garments for my parents using Life DK as they need to be warm (My poor mum is always freezing!) and easy to care for as they are not used to having to care for hand knitted items.  I picked Denim and Blue Haze as blue is the family's favourite colour and they came out so well, were a really lovely knit and very much appreciated!  They have been worn consistently since I gifted them and still look perfect.

All these yarns are now available on the website.  

​Life DK can be found here
Life Aran can be found here
Life Chunky can be found  here
Life Super Chunky can be found here

Stylecraft ReCreate is a brand new yarn and is a part of Stylecraft's efforts to produce yarns with less impact on the environment.  It is a blended yarn made entirely from recycled fibres.  40% wool from recycled garments, 30% acrylic also from recycled garments and 30% polyester that comes from shredded plastic bottles and is then spun.  It comes in 8 shades (above), and there are 6 patterns to go with them.

I was very excited to cast on the cabled cardigan for myself in the navy yarn shown in the pattern.. It's a really lovely shade of navy with a mostly cream fleck which I really like.  I'm hoping the largest size will work for me, and I was pleasantly surprised that it only requires 7 balls!

You can find the yarn here and the patterns here.

This lovely yarn isn't technically "new in" as its been here for a few weeks, but it's so nice I felt it deserved its own post to sing its praises!  Stonewashed DK is a lovely colourful yarn which knits up as mottled colours rather than stripes, with all the colours blending well together.  Its a 100% premium acrylic yarn which feels very nice to the touch.

We are pleased to announce that we are now stocking the iconic Peter Pan yarns by Wendy!  We have in stock the full colour range in the 4ply (12 pastel colours) and DK (24 colours, both pastels and brighter colours) as well as white 3ply, and the full range of baby and children's Peter Pan patterns.

I didn't realise just how long a history Wendy and Peter Pan both have - Wendy started up in 1898, changing the name to Wendy in 1928, as the owner Arthur Carter was an acquaintance of J M Barrie and was granted permission to use the name.  They launched Peter Pan in 1965 to become one of the best known names for knitters looking for high quality yarns.

​Sharon has already tried out the yarn by knitting the very cute and very tiny cardigan in my first picture, using one of the Peter Pan patterns.  She was very impressed by it, it knitted up beautifully and was a very enjoyable knit, the yarn didn't split and feels very soft.  The pattern was very clear - Peter Pan patterns have the brilliant feature where each size is printed in a different colour to make it much easier to follow along and not make mistakes.
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All of the options are now live on the website so you can browse online as well as in store.  You can find them here. I'm loving the pale grey shade, Whisper as it looks modern whilst still maintaining a "baby" palette.  It would also pair beautifully with many of the other colours to make a stunning stripey crochet baby blanket!

Here is my usual "technical specs" table featuring the DK, 4ply and 3ply:

We love the Stylecraft Special range and have in stock at the shop over 80 shades of Special DK.
We've recently added the complete range of Special 4ply, Special Superchunky and Special Super Chunky Tweeds and increased our range of Chunky and Aran.
Once we have sold some of our clearance yarns we will have the space to carry the whole range of Stylecraft Special.