It has been more than a year since George and I started working on the Knit with attitude’s 10 year anniversary book. I can’t describe the feeling when all our designers came back to us with their samples, and the joy and enthusiasm we had when announcing the upcoming book last autumn. Everything seemed to come together beautifully, what a year of celebration we had planned and prepared for! But if there is one thing I have learned as an independent yarn shop owner it is that everything is unpredictable and nothing is certain in our wonderful woolly world.

I did not see this coming, the world being put on pause and a different reality formed for all of us. There will not be an anniversary party, there will not be get togethers and celebratory workshops – but let me assure you there will be a book! When we announced the book back in the autumn we said that one of our goals was to create something beautiful that translated the experience of being in our shop, the atmosphere, community and conversations shared on a daily basis. We wanted to bring Knit with attitude to you as a piece of us that could be kept and treasured in your home where ever that happened to be. This intention now speaks on so many more levels than when setting out to do it.

The book was due to be published now in July, we are several months behind schedule, and I know I don’t have to explain why. But finally we are ready to share quite a bit with a few of you as we are ready for test knitting! Please have a look through our teasers and short descriptions (we are still trying to keep this as cryptic as possible not to give away too much too soon).

Striped Summer Top by Susanne Sommer
A loose-fitting striped T-shirt is my ultimate staple garment. Paired with the crisp texture of linen that gets softer with every touch, this might just be the perfect summer T-shirt. The two contrasting colours of this natural fibre get accentuated through the striped design, and the unusual top-down
construction adds a chevron detail to the shoulders.

Slashed Sleeves Sweater by Renée Callahan
A sweater designed to be worn with all the attitude of a punk and all the grace of a duchess, because you shouldn’t have to choose! The pullover is knit from the top-down with a seamless, set-in sleeve construction, i-cord neck trim that is worked as you go and decorative ‘slashes’ along the sleeves. I worked with a beautiful yarn from Hey Mama Wolf, which is hand dyed by the lovely Jule. By combining the most ancient of raw materials, wool and ramie, and dyeing them with natural dyes, Jule has made something speaks to contemporary issues of sustainability and is very beautiful. 

Crochet Top by Isa Catepillán
This top was designed with the desire of providing attitude to your wardrobe. Very easy to make, this project is perfect for beginners. Using only a combination of dc, sc and chain, you can wear it by itself, on top of a camisole, a long sleeve top or a dress. The sample has a big V opening at the back, but this is optional. The pattern also gives you the instructions of a closed back. This top is a crop top, but it is easy to be modified to make it longer, it is recommended to make it in linen for a touch of sophistication and shine.

Striped Raglan by May Linn Bang
A classic easy-to-wear raglan jumper worked from the top down. The boat neck is done in a wide 1×1 rib, before starting raglan, sleeves are separated and the waist discretely fitted with decreases and increases, the longer rounded back is made using short-rows before the body is finished with a wide 1×1 rib. Sleeves are picked up, and finished with the wide 1×1 rib. No sewing up required. Worked in the plant dyed G-uld No.4 held double stranded.

Centered Panel Shawl by Natalie Selles
There are so many ways to design a shawl, and yet it sometimes feels like they’ve all been done before! I had this construction idea for a while that I hadn’t seen before, so I was delighted to have a chance to work it out properly for the book. It is worked by making a centre panel, then the sides are each knit outwards. This creates a shape that is shallow in the front, but with long enough arms to wrap around without creating too much bulk. Worked in Vivacious 4ply and Cumulus from Fyberspates.

Cabled Sweater by Noma Ndlovu
This cabled sweater is knit from the bottom up in the round. The front and back and then separated and worked flat with shoulder short row shaping and a crew neck at the front. The sweater has drop shoulder sleeves knit in the round in stockinette stitch. Worked in Kettle Yarn Co. Islington DK the stunning fibre blend of BFL wool and Silk, is lightweight to avoid sagging and accentuates the cables beautifully. Handdyed by Linda in soft neutrals or popping jewel colours – the result will be breathtaking.

Colourwork Knee Highs by Julie Knits in Paris
These socks are worked in the round, from the toe up, with a short-row heel and increases over the calf. The feet are worked in a stripe sequence and the colourwork is charted. The foot features cheeky stripes while the leg showcases stylised cheering and dancing characters. Worked in the favourite sock yarn CoopKnits Sock Yeah! in bright neon colours!

Socks by Fiona Alice
These socks are knit-toe up with a contrasting toe and a slip-stitch heel. Separate lengths of the contrasting yarn are added in after the toe is complete. These vertical lines are worked as Intarsia, creating no floats or the need to carry the second colour in-behind. The clusters of stripes create a repeating chevron pattern which will cover the front of the sock. Worked in your favourite handdyed sock yarn, the possibilities are endless.

Cowl and Fingerless Mitts by Karie Westermann
A cowl and fingerless mitts set, worked in 1×1 rib and stranded colourwork. According to the designer the most beautiful colour work design she has made. Worked in Norwegian Peltwool the grip will result in a lovely stitch definition at the same time as being soft enough to be close to sensitive skin of the neck and wrists.

Steaked Sweater by Eli Leistad
This sweater is in the round from the bottom up, starting with 1×1 rib and then charted colourwork. Steek stitches are added for the armholes, and later for the neck. Shoulders are grafted, and then the armholes steeked. Stitches are picked up for the sleeves, then these are worked in the round down to the cuffs, and finished with 1×1 rib. For the neckline, stitches are picked up and worked in 1×1 rib. Worked in aran weight Norwegian Peltwool this sweater knits up quickly like a dream.

Laced Cardigan by Francesca Huges
A cardigan with vintage 40s / punk vibes. Pair with a beautiful dress, fishnets and lace up boots. An all over lace pattern cropped boxy cardigan. Knit from the bottom up in the round, then split for sleeves, and joined using a 3 needles bind off at shoulders. Sleeves picked up and knit in the round from body. Worked in the lush Devonia 4ply from John Arbon providing both softness and a superb stitch definition for the lace.

Two Fibres Shawl by George Cullen
In the summer of 2019, Maya and I went to the G-uld natural dyeing workshop in Denmark. So it’s without question that in my design for the Knit With Attitude anniversary book I wanted to use G-uld and evoke the memories of the time we spent there. This shawl combines the lighter No.4 and the heavier Alpaca 4ply. A long parallelogram shape that moves from diagonal stripes of garter stitch to a simple two colour lace. It is a celebration of the combination of colour and the tactility of different fibres.

Our test knit will start as soon as out team is in place and we’ve managed to share the relevant information with you all, we are looking to complete at the end of September as the book is due to be published in October. All garments in the book is graded in 9 sizes, socks 3 sizes, and accessories are one size.

If you like to be considered to join the KWA Test Knitters Team drop me an email through my contact us form (<<< just click, there’s a link), not in the comments below. Tell me about your (test) knitting/crocheting experience, please include your bust size, and make a prioritised list of three designs you would like to make. I am truly excited and looking forward to hearing from you!