It's a Stitch Up

Despite my penchant for all things stitch-related, I have never before been to a craft-related exposition. The Knitting & Stitching Show runs a large event at Alexandra Palace, London every October and a smaller, sister event at Olympia in March. The lure of cut-price tickets led mooncalf and I to go and investigate, investigate being a thinly-veiled guise for ‘shopping’.

On the shopping front, we were a little disappointed. The merchandise on offer seemed (perhaps unsurprisingly) aimed more at the elder lady, with floaty tops and chocolate-box tapestry kits available in abundance, but relatively little for the youthful craftster. Artisan spinning fibre was at the top of my shopping list, but I only found one stall selling fibre, and it was undyed. Bargains were also anticipated but were not forthcoming – we heard that the cost of stalls was relatively high, which goes some way to explaining this. That said, we did not leave empty-handed.

One bargain I did managed to find was this Drops Baby Merino yarn at just £3 per ball. It’s bouncy, superwash, extra-fine merino and these candy colours will be perfect for the Tuva Pullover in my queue.

Drops Baby Merino

Another exciting find was the fabled Zauberball sock yarn. I have been a long-time admirer of Ravelry stash photos but never seen any in the flesh before. This is a 150g ball of the sport-weight variant, which make a generous pair of socks.

Zauberball sock yarn

But there was plenty more to see beyond yarn. Sewing pattern start-up By Hand London were there showing off their latest beautiful garment patterns and fabulous fabric. Their Eliose design launches their expansion into the world of fabric. Its innocent-looking floral motif is not as it demure as it first appears – they’re actually little monsters! Exciting times are afoot for By Hand London, they have just launched a Kickstarter project to bring fabric print on demand to the UK, with some superb rewards available including sewing workshops, dinner & cocktails, and the chance to have fabric printed with your own design before anyone else. Be sure to make a pledge and help make it happen!

Charlotte from By Hand London showing off their new fabric designed by Eloise Jephson

By Hand London co-founder, Charlotte, was kind enough to give me a copy of their new pattern, the Flora Dress. Shortly afterwards the perfect fabric caught my eye.

Fabric from Til The Sun Goes Down with ‘Flora Dress’ pattern from By Hand London

This stunning Pucci-inspired silk twill fabric from Til the Sun Goes Down was a bit of an extravagance, but I’ve literally never seen a fabric that’s more “me”.

Not a bad haul at the end of the day. I was disappointed at the lack of fibre, but satisfied my cravings with a visit to Spin City’s Etsy store. Completely justifiable, I’m sure you’ll agree.