After 16 years as a teacher,
Stuart Race changed direction
and opened a yarn shop with a
unique community ethos in the
village of Long Melford, Sufolk.
He tells Knitting: “I loved
the job as a secondary
school teacher and head of
department, but with life
whizzing by I wanted a change
to try out something diferent.
The Woolpatch opened in
September 2016 and I’ve never
looked back.”
His overall aim in the shop
is to promote sharing, learning
and being together. “It’s about
the experience,” he says: “It’s
way more than just coming in
to buy wool and fabric. It’s all
about the community.”
Stuart ofers knitting
classes, but has recently cut
them back in favour of more
social knit and natter sessions.
“Every morning and afternoon
in the shop, I welcome up to
six people for two-and-a-half
hours, giving them a place to
sit and knit, crochet, sew and
chat. This community is so
important to the shop. For
some this is their only contact
with others during the week.
“These sessions bring people
together. We share skills,
learn, laugh and relax. Many
customers come on a set day,
and have been coming since I
opened in 2016, so I’ve got to
know them very well. What’s
also good about this is that
customers in the shop can get
assistance on projects. There
is always someone at the shop
with the skills and talents toNominate your favourite yarn shop and win a copy
of Jomo Knits by Christine Boggis, published by
GMC Publications, if it is featured – simply email
[email protected] with the
shop’s details and a brief note on why you love it.PASTEL POWER FROM RICO
help customers out.” He adds:
“Customers will travel to our
shop, not only for the yarn, but
because they know they can
get help and assistance. All for
free. Share and share alike.”
Stuart’s customers love the
fact that he is learning to knit
and sew along with them, and
some depend on the fact that
they can always get help if
they are stuck. He sells yarns
by Katia, King Cole, James
C Brett, Rowan and Drops
as well as fabrics. “We have a
mixture of price points and
yarn types, be it acrylic or
100% wool,” he explains.
“I’m looking at trying out
some eco friendly-yarns made
out of seaweed!”
Stuart also sells online,
and has set up a Woolpatch
YouTube channel where he
does a fortnightly show called
Woolly Wednesday.
Beyond the community
within his shop, Stuart is
building relationships with
other independent yarn
retailers. He explains: “If you
come into my shop and you
can only buy three balls of
wool in a particular colour
and you need four, I can ring
another yarn shop and ind
that ball. So I still get the sale
and the customer still gets
their yarn. It may take a few
days more, but it supports the
bricks and mortar shop rather
than losing out to online!”
Find out more at
thewoolpatch.com or follow
Stuart on Instagram –
@thewoolpatch.THE WOOL PATCH,
LONG MELFORD,
SUFFOLKGerman yarn brand Rico is
tipping pastel shades for the top
with its latest launches for the
spring and summer season.
New Rico Creative Lazy
Hazy Summer Cotton DK is
a blend of 49% cotton, 46%
acrylic and 5% polyester which
comes in 50g balls of 150m, so
you would need around eight
balls for a jumper.
It has a palette of eight mixed
shades, dominated by pinks,
pale blues and ecru tones, and
four pattern lealets for the yarn
have also been released.
Rico says: “Creative Lazy
Hazy Summer Cotton has a
solid core colour wrapped with
an additional print coloured
thread. This twisted thread
looks absolutely stunning in
knitted clothes or accessories.”
SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE YARN
Fashion Cotton Double-
Printed DK is a blend of 90%
cotton and 10% polyamide
with two prints overlaid in a
colour gradient. It comes in six
speckled-looking pastel shades.
Pastels are also prevalent in
Fashion Cotton Light & Long
Tweed DK, a tweedy variant on
Rico’s popular Fashion Cotton
Light & Long. The new launch
comes in seven delicate shades
and is a blend of cotton, acrylic,
polyamide and viscose.
Rico also has plenty of pastels
on ofer in its new colours
for the spring and summer
season, including pinks, blues
and neutrals in popular yarns
such as Essentials Super Kid
Mohair Loves Silk, Fashion
Jersey, Fashion Colour Spin and
Creative Cotton Colour Coated.My Yarn Shop
Wool and the Gang has
released a super-soft new blend:
Alpachino Merino.
The yarn is the Gang’s irst
designed for an 8mm needle
and is made up of 60% Merino
wool and 40% alpaca, both
sustainably sourced from
South America.
The yarn comes in
16 shades inspired by
Peru’s spectacular Rainbow
Mountain.
Wool and the Gang has also
released a design collection for
the new yarn, including styles
inspired by the Americas such as
cropped Fairisle Taylor sweater
and stylish Gwyneth poncho, as
well as a whole range of on-trend
garments and accessories.
Twelve kits and an extra
free pattern are available from
woolandthegang.com.
Wool and the Gang has been
inspiring the next generation
of makers for the past 10 years.
The company’s work has been
described by the New York
Times as “proof that knitting
is much more than your
grandmother’s hobby”.Lazy Hazy
Summer Cotton
Fashion Cotton
Double Printed DKFashion Cotton
Light & Long
Tweed DK