Coop Knits Socks Volume 2

One of our favourite designers, Rachel Coopey, has just published a follow up to her first volume of socks and it's another beauty. If you're a fan of socks, sock yarn and Rachel's endless quest for warm feet this is a must have!

Coopknits Socks Volume 2 is another great celebration of socks- how to measure them, how to choose great yarn and how to knit socks that your feet will be happy in. We are so pleased to be included as one of the recommended sock yarns of this collection.

Where Volume 1 was a riot of vibrant colours, this time Rachel is exploring a more muted but no less enticing colour palette. The textures suit this change of mood too with a range of cables, lace and colourwork that makes us want to knit every pair!

The variety of designs offered in this volume provide a great opportunity to try out new techniques. For beginners to sock knitting, a plain, topdown sock is also included. Each design is beautifully balanced and well thought out, giving both experienced and novice knitters the chance to create wonderful, wearable socks that are enormously enjoyable to knit. 

'Ernestine' in Vivacious 4ply

As well as written and charted patterns, you will also find beautiful photography and carefully written step by step tutorials to ensure you have everything you need to know. With 12 patterns included, we think it's time to have a year of socks!

You can find more details here or contact us (fyberspatesATbtinternet.com) for distribution information. 

How to Seam a Sweater

It's the halfway point for the Vivacious Sweater KAL and so that prompted us to think about some sweater techniques. We love thinking about clever construction so much that we've got a whole Pinterest board dedicated to sweater techniques but for today we thought we'd focus on seaming.

'Gather' gains just the right amount of structure thanks to seaming

Seaming your hand knit sweaters is like the icing on the cake after a long time knitting, measuring and swatching. Finishing touches to garment knitting is what takes your sweater from the one you wear round the house when you have no intention of being seen to the one you wear out with pride!

Hackney Hops showcases the joy of a good seam!

In Vivacious Volume 1, we included 5 sweater patterns that benefited from the structure and form that seaming allows garments. While some people prefer to knit in the round, a good seam can deliver a garment with a little bit more structure and can really add definition to the shape of the garment. However, we know seaming can be a little burdensome so here are a few of our favourite seaming tutorials on the web:

Purl Bee- A clear photo tutorial for mattress stitching vertical pieces of knitted fabric (You will find this really useful for the Rum Raisin jacket).

Amy Herzog Designs- How to set in sleeves (this would be useful for the Herbin sweater for example)

Knitting Daily- Another photo tutorial on how to mattress stitch horizontal seams

Of course, if seaming really isn't for you, there's always this tutorial about converting the sweater into the round!



You can find these tutorials and other great sweater tips on our Pinterest board. What's your favourite seaming trick?

Free Whiskey Cocktail Recipe!

Yes, we're back from a little time out at Fyberspates HQ and what better way to blast back into action than sharing a recipe for Whiskey Sours??

This Sunday is Burns Night,  the annual celebration of Scotland's national poet Robert Burns.  When we released Vivacious Volume 1, we celebrated all the good things we love about the weekend and a cocktail in the name of a poet? That seems pretty good to us!

So join us in tucking up with your favourite knitting by a roaring fire to celebrate and make yourself a cocktail (or two!).

Whiskey Sour: (Makes 2)

1. In a cocktail shaker (or jar with a lid) combine 85ml whiskey, juice from 4 lemons, juice from 2 limes and 4 teaspoons of powdered sugar. 

2. Shake till the sugar dissolves. 

3. Fill 2 glasses with ice.

4. Strain and pour over the ice before garnishing with a little lemon rind if you're feeling the need for a flourish!

We love this tip via A Beautiful Mess for adjusting the sweetness with simple sugar syrup which she also shows you how to make!

Cheers!

Our Most Popular Collection EVER is Now Fully Downloadable!

Rum Raisin by Belinda Boaden

Vivacious Volume 1 offers knitters 10 timeless pieces that are simple to knit and a pleasure to wear. Whether you’re an experienced knitter seeking the comfort of a soothing knit or a beginner knitter taking your first steps into a new hobby, this collection offers pieces that suit every knitter’s weekend wardrobe and look great with your most trusted pair of jeans. Whatever comfort the weekend brings you, do it in Vivacious knitwear.

Want a little treat without all the commitment of a full collection? You can enjoy 3 single download patterns from Vivacious Volume 1 for the price of 2 when you add all 3 to your shopping cart. So that's one free pattern per purchase. Offer applies to the cheapest pattern and will end at midnight GMT 7th January 2015.

Love what you see? You can download the full digital collection now for just $16.00 or order your print copy from retailers listed here.

Which new indulgent projects will you choose to treat yourself to?

Soonly by Rachel Coopey?

Herbin by Belinda Boaden?

Hermes Baby by Rachel Coopey?

Vivacious Volume 1: errata

Sometimes even with the best of intentions, mistakes happen. While we test our patterns and have them professionally tech edited, we have had a few mistakes brought to our attention that we want to make you aware of so your knitting goes smoothly.

Rum Raisin: (print copy only)

PATTERN BEGINS should read:

Left Back and Right Front Panels

Using 3.25mm Needles, cast on (96(108,120,132, 144)sts.

Begin with a RS knit row, work 4 rows in st st.

Change to 2.75mm needles.

Next row (RS): *k1, P1; rep from * to end.

Next row (WS): *P1, K1* rep from * to end. 

This last sentence should read:

Next row (WS): * k1, P1* rep from * to end.  (This creates a rib)

Vivacious Stockists

UK Shops

I knit - London
Purlescence - Wantage
Love Knitting
Deramores
Laughing Hens
Darnit & Stitch - Oxford
Wild and Woolly - London
Stash - Chester
Stitch Solihull - Birmingham
Hand Made Studios 
Coastal Yarns - Cornwall
The Woolly Brew - Fife
Be Inspired Fibres - Edinburgh

European Shops:

 Wereldwol - Netherlands
Titityy - Finland
This is Knit - Dublin Ireland
MeinWollshop -  Germany

Australian Stockists

The Stash Cupboard- Hobart
The Purl Box -
Chronic Yarnaholic

USA Stockists 

The Knitting Patch - 
Jimmy Beans Wool - Reno
Webs
Paradise Fibres
Serial Knitters - Washington
Knitting On The Square - Ohio
Little Knits
Black Locust Farm - Ohio
Yarns Etc - North Carolina
Knitting in the Red - Georgia
Vulcan's Rest Fibers - Maryland
Black Locust Farm
K2TOG -  California
Auburn Needleworks - California
Knit Wits
Parrot's Perch - Michigan

The Vivacious Sweater KAL

2015 is the year to knit your favourite sweater!

We've teamed up with super retailers Purlescence to bring you a sweater KAL to beat all sweater KALs. Not only can you pick from 5 new sweater designs but you can also win back a sweater's worth of yarn. Yes. You read that right. Here's all the details of how to win:

1. Choose any of the sweaters from Vivacious Volume 1: Hackney Hops, Rum Raisin, London Fields, Gather and Herbin.
2. Choose your Vivacious yarn from Purlescence
3. Cast on no earlier than 1st January 2015.
4. Post your FO in the Glamourous Knitters FO thread by midnight GMT 22nd February 2015.

Winners will be chosen by random number generator and will be announced the w/c 23rd February 2015.

Prizes:
Grand prize- win back a sweater quantity from Purlescence

Runners up prize-  2 winners can choose from any of the Vivacious single patterns in the Fyberspates Store along with a skein of Vivacious 4ply or DK in the colour of their choice. 

What if I have just the yarn in my stash but it's not Vivacious?

Sadly, you won't be able to enter for the grand prize but you can still knit along with us! If it's a Fyberspates yarn, we'll be offering an alternative way to enter on social media near the end of the KAL so keep following along for more details. In the meantime, come join in the chatter in the Fyberspates or Glamorous Knitters group!

Got a Hashtag?

Sure! #vivacioussweater2015

Note- Hackney Hops is currently available online and the others will be released on the 5th January with the full collection launch. Need to know the details sooner? You can order a print copy from one of our stockists here. Alternatively, why not take advantage of the fact the whole of Vivacious Volume 1 is currently available for the price of one single sweater pattern? That's just $7.50 until 3rd January 2015.