A colourful knitting day at Toft

Here at Toft Towers colour work (in a selection of natural alpaca colours of course) is something we are really starting to encorporate into our knitting.  Be it intarsia or stripes, fair isle or slip stitches, we love working with colour combinations to create unique patterns.

Jubliee jumper with intarsia diamond.

So Saturday's colour knitting workshop at Toft Studio was an excuse to share this love as we welcomed several workshop regulars, as well as some new faces. 

We covered intarsia - did you know that this term originates from woodwork and the inlaying of different colours of wood to make a pattern, but in knitting it refers to using blocks of colour.  With intarsia knitting is not stranded or carried across the back of the knitting as with fair isle, instead a pattern piece is knitted effectively in columns and therefore bobbins of yarn are used for each column.

Toft's jubliee jumper is a brilliant example of intarsia with swiss darning or duplicate stitch detailing (see our website for our swiss darning help video). The key to tip top intarsia is your tension, in fact the talk of tension was a running theme of the whole day.  Too loose, you'll get holes where the colours join and too tight, joins will be puckered and out of shape. 

Colour work means lots of yarn, not all of it alpaca to practice with.

Stranding or floats behind fair isle work.

The day started with a slightly soggy dash around the farm to meet and greet the newest additions to the herd and then it was back to the comfort of Toft Studio for tea and biscuits before a full day of knitting.  After a warming lunch (it might be June but we needed it on such a rainy day - it felt more like March!) the afternoon was spent tackling fair isle and learning to knit with a strand of yarn in each hand, one continental style and one English style. We chose between the fair isle beanie kit or a brand new Toft design, the houndstooth fair isle wrist warmers kit, which is available to purchase online or at the farm now!

Sneak preview of Toft's new Houndstooth wristwarmers

Toft tips for fair isle are to give continental knitting a practice before tackling fair isle, if you are determined to do it properly that is. Fair isle never uses more than two colours in any one row and knitting using this method of one strand in each hand, rather than picking up and dropping colours as required will give your knitting a better chance of looking tip top. This latter method can play havoc with your tension (I did warn you about the prominence of that t-word!) and also yarn dominance. In brief, yarn dominance means which strand is carried above and which below according to how they held when knitting and this must be consistent because one colour will appear to recede and one will be dominant. 

There is more to fair isle than first meets the eye - it's pretty involved and incredibly interesting!

  

Even the history of fair isle was discussed during the day, did you know for example that sleeves are traditionally knitted from the shoulder down in order that the well worn cuff can be unravelled and re-knitted as necessary. Shetland islanders were also proficient on-the-go circular knittters, many ladies had knitting belts enabling them to knit whilst doing their daily work, probably with a baby on their back at the same time, multi-tasking and portable knitting all in one!  Puts our knitting on the go with knit pros a little in the shade! Those kind of facts are perfect examples of knitting know how providing ingenious solutions to practical problems. Indeed learning intarsia and fair isle, traditional knitting methods for use in modern designs of the like found at Toft give us (and I'm pretty sure all knitters) a warm fuzzy glow.

 

Lots to discuss about colour work.

We haven't got another colour workshop in the diary yet but do let us know if you'd be interested in learning. Helen and Carrie got very excited about lots of new ideas after their first brainstorming session together that the diary until Christmas is chocablock full of new topics. Take a look at the website to book your place on one of our new workshops, some are even in the diary for a Friday afternoon like the lace , aran and giant knitting workshops, should you fancy a cheeky afternoon off in the relaxing surroundings at Toft.

From autumn onwards crochet workshops feature highly alongside spinning, quilted patchwork and firm favourites like the button bag and several seasonal felting workshops. Why not let us know if you have any workshop ideas that you'd like to see at Toft.

Little Cria hiding the grass at Toft.

Knitting causing you tension??!

Knitters tend to approach tensions in several ways. Some knitters never knit a tension square - whispering with a giggle that belies the fact that they know how naughty they are, but "I just want to get on with my knitting, it seems such a waste of time". Other knitters can get slightly obsessive about tensions, worrying that anything they are knitting, from a scarf to complex jumper, something to be felted or a hat can't possibly be attempted without a tension square.

At Toft we like to think that we fall somewhere in between. Yes, giving tensions in patterns is very important and most if not all of our patterns now have them, but whilst we tend to knit tension squares for garments quite religiously, we don't tend to follow this rule when knitting scarves, snoods and other accessories.

Now you may call us reckless but if you have been knitting for a while you probably know whether you have a tight or loose tension and you adjust your needles accordingly and when knitting a scarf for instance it doesn't matter too much if it turns out a little smaller or bigger than the sample piece that we have. There again if you are a newbie knitter, as many Toft fans are, we want you to feel comfortable that the first pieces of knitting you attempt are quite easy; they grow nice and quickly on large needles giving you lots of confidence to continue knitting and you shouldn't have to worry about getting too technical with tensions. In fact our beginner patterns are designed with this in mind.

When talking about knitting, tension covers not only the amount of stitches and rows within a given measurement, it can also refer to the weight of the yarn and therefore a measurement of tension or gauge. We occasionally get calls from worried knitters querying which needle size to use for their pattern because the needle size given on the yarn band is different to that given in the pattern. Again call us reckless but who doesn't love a beautiful lacy snood knitted in fine yarn on huge needles? This effect is very different to that you would achieve by sticking to the guide needle size of 3mm for instance. Likewise when knitting for something that will be later felted, like the Bulb Bag you need to use large needles (bigger than the 8mm indicated on the yarn band) in order that your bag will then felt correctly in the washing machine once completed.

You will find lots of references to the amount of stitches and rows per 10cm that should be achieved when using a particular yarn with a particular needle size in patterns books, magazines and on the web. These are very useful and all Toft yarns do knit to their given weight, Lace or 2 ply, Fine (3-4ply), Double Knitting, Aran and Chunky, but they shouldn't be taken as the complete gospel. Knitting would look very boring if we didn't experiment, use huge needles to knit a rib snood for example or a moss stitch blanket with several strands of chunky yarn.

Toft Tip: Some references and patterns class Toft Aran as Chunky and Toft Chunky as Super Chunky, if the needle size recommended is around 5-5.5mm then you need Toft Aran and above around a 7or 8mm you would need Toft Chunky - of course this all goes out of the window depending on the effect you want to achieve and the stitch you are using. Toft's Herringbone Blanket for example is knitted on 12mm needles (10mm needles recommended) because we found after experimenting that this size gave the best stitch definition in our Chunky wool alpaca blend yarn, we did start off with an 8mm needle!

The tension of a yarn weight is actually a very subjective thing, two DK yarns made by the same producers, in the same fibres, will have a slight variation in their knitted tension depending on something as small as the different dye colour used. Therefore it stands to reason that DK yarns of different fibres, dyes and even natural colours will also have a variation in their tension. It took a couple of years of spinning with alpaca (not to mention the sweat and tears) to know just how to spin the perfect Toft Alpaca Shop yarn for you and this isn't necessarily the same way that other alpaca yarns are spun.

I guess what we are saying is, don't let knitting tensions get you down.

We would recommend as a rule that you should knit a tension square definately for garments, but if you don't want to, or think you know your own knitting tension quite well then don't worry so much for accessories.

Some Toft Tension Tips

* If you are knitting with Toft yarn to a non-Toft pattern then work a tension square. You might need a different yarn weight to the one given on the pattern, yarn weights vary between producers as does the meterage of yarn, so worry less about the weight in grams and more about the meterage within your ball of yarn.

* If you are a knitting newbie your tension is likely to be either really really tight or really quite loose. Don't panic, with practise this will sort itself out and you will discover your actual knitting tension. Just be aware that your first piece might not be perfect - but it's your first piece of knitting so be proud of your achievement! You could always book on one of our beginner knitting workshops to hone your skills

* When knitting intarsia and fairisle your tension and something called yarn-dominance will be very important. If you have a loose tension definitely use smaller needles than required when knitting intarsia, you will probably also have to compensate for your loose tension whilst you are knitting between colours by tightening the yarn as you go, and fairisle, that a whole other story! Why not book a place on our colour workshop to learn more- we guarentee you'll love colour work.

* If you are going to knit a tension square, knit more than just the amount of stitches and rows stated in the pattern's tension square. Never be tempted to measure from edge to edge of your knitting. You should also, if you are being serious about this tension malarky, block (i.e. wash and press your little square) just as would do the final item. Knitting will relax and settle once blocked and this will affect your tension measurement. (A blocking blog post will be coming soon).

* Don't sweat it - to paraphrase knitting guru Elizabeth Zimmerman be the master of your knitting and don't let it cause you tension!

Dreaming of a change? We're Recruiting!

With the success of our extended range of products in 2011 and the coming expansion into The Toft Studio in 2012 we are on the hunt for someone to come and join us here at Team Toft.

We are seeking a motivated and enthusiastic individual to join a small growing team in a rural Warwickshire based office working part-time (with a view to extend following introduction period).

This is an unusual and fantastic opportunity for anyone wishing to work and build up experience in the textile design and manufacture field. Working days will be varied as we manage the entire process from the farming of the fibre through to retail of the product. Working within a friendly expanding UK family business, the right candidate will develop with the company and become influential in retail and possible design aspects of the business.

Working hours may vary to include weekday and some weekends.

Key Experience Knowledge and Skills:

· Solid administrator and good IT skills to include knowledge of social media
· No textile experience required but interest in craft and fashion useful

· Ability to demonstrate good customer service skills
· Able to work as part of a team and provide support to others
. Flexibility to adapt to a busy varied working day
. The candidate must hold a full UK driving licence

If you have the skills and enthusiasm we are seeking please apply with your CV by email to Kerry Lord kerry@thetoftalpacashop.co.uk . Closing date 1st March 2012.

If you have any questions don't hesitate to get in touch.

First Workshop of 2012

We're big on workshops here at Toft. It gives us such pleasure to know that we are passing on skills like knitting, felting, crochet and also sharing our knowledge about our furry alpaca friends.
The first workshop of 2012 was Intro to Knitting, a workshop we've become famous for here and we've never had someone leave unable to knit - we won't always pass judgement on finished items, but they all leave having knitted something!

January's intro course however was a corker, attended by 10 lovely people, ready to knit and fresh with 2012 enthusiam. As is customery on a Toft workshop we had plenty of tea before heading out into the slightly wild weather for a tour of the farm. At the furthest point away on the walk the heavens opened and we were treated to some horizontal rain that almost succeeded in getting up under our coats, but everyone powered on laughing and enjoying the endearing sight of bedragled alpacas.

Once back at the farm there was more tea with biscuits to re-fuel us before we started with the knitting. Some of the group, including Anne, Norah, Sarah and Kate soon remembered knitting with their Mums and Grans and it all came flooding back to them.

Anne even decided to tackle something slightly more challenging than the necklace or easy wristwarmers. Here is the beginning of her rib beanie.

Henny, Carol, Hannah and Tim needed just a bit more tutition particularly as several of them had never so much as picked up knitting needles.

Tim thought that his sewing up of people skills (he's a nurse) might come in handy and he was right. He soon got to tackling knitting and purling for the rib of his first hat, not to mention his first ever knitting project! Everyone did really well and a few have already been back in touch wanting to start on a beginner beret and fur pom pom hat to name but a few projects.

If you would like to join us on a Toft workshop we have an exciting new schedule for 2012 including crochet, knitting the mini bulb bag, felting making during shearing week and also a quilting workshop in the autumn (details online soon). Check our workshop pages for more details. We even provide gift vouchers if you want to treat someone to a crafty present. The next workshop is Intro to Knitting being held on Friday 17th February, perhaps we'll see you there.

Crafty things made from... crafty things.

Take a look at these crafty items made from, well, crafty items.

Many of you may be familiar with knitting needle bangles and rings, 'zip' earrings, and needle point necklaces, well good for you. We'd just like to marvel at them for a short time and think about how lucky we are to be surrounded by crafting tools. We admire them not simply because they help us to create beautiful knitwear, or keep our knitting needles safe, or do up our jackets, but beacause they have their own pleasing aesthetics. It's a bit like buying a fur pom pom, just because it's so pretty, we know it's done and we know who you are!

Take a look at this article written in 2009 about designer Liana Kabel (maker of the craft jewelry) we're coveting several more pieces! We'll be showing you how to make your own jewelry from alpaca felt in May's shearing and felt workshop and Liana has provided us with lots of inspiration.

http://www.ecouterre.com/knit-wit-liana-kabel-recycles-vintage-knitting-needles-into-eye-popping-jewelry/

Carrie would like to thank her dear friend April for the beautiful cowhide needle case above and Liana Kabel knitting needle bracelet brought for her birthday several weeks ago and thereby inspiring this post!