6 knittingmag.com
NEWS
Get your home and family ready for
Easter with a whole parade of crafts from
Hobbycraft.
The chain has released a pattern for cute
macramé egg hangers to decorate your
Easter tree or branches, which could also
hold tiny hanging plants.
For crochet fans there are free patterns
for an amigurumi lobster and a turtle,
Stylecraft has launched a new crochet-along
with designer Jane Crowfoot – the Fruit
Garden CAL.
The launch follows the success of last
yea r’s Climbing Rose CAL, which was
based on fabrics by British textile designer
William Morris.
Jane says: “As part of my research for the
Climbing Rose CAL I visited galleries and
Arts and Crafts houses, and it was during
a visit to Kelmscott Manor that I realised
I wanted to base a CAL design on the
incredible embroideries of William Morris’s
daughter May.”
The Fruit Garden CAL is based on the
Melsetter Hangings embroideries designed
by May between 1890 and 1900, which
feature birds, flowers, plants and central fruit
trees on an embroidered trellis background.
The design took Jane more than five
months and features a whole range of
crochet techniques, starting with easy motifs
and progressing to more difficult ones, all
backed by step-by-step photo tutorials.
The CAL comes in two colourways – one
in Stylecraft Life DK and Batik, the other in
new Stylecraft Naturals Bamboo + Cotton.
Colour packs will be on sale in yarn shops
and online and the CAL kicks off on April 28.
Find out more at stylecraft-yarns.co.uk.MAY MORRIS INSPIRES CAL
Rowan is targeting baby crafters with its
latest limited edition yarn, Rowan Selects
Mako Cotton Baby.
The yarn is a soft chainette blend of
63% cotton and 37% Lyocell that comes in
a pastel range of both solid and on-trend
speckled shades.
At around 100m per 50g ball, it knits up
on 5.5mm needles to a tension of 19 stitches
and 25 rows.
Rowan Selects Mako Cotton Baby will
be available as individual balls but also in
kits to knit or crochet a stripy baby snuggle
blanket designed by Lisa Richardson. The
kit includes a keepsake box you can use
to wrap either the yarn or the finished
blanket, matching tissue paper and a gift
tag. It comes in three colourways, each
comprising eight balls in five shades: green,
pink and blue.while spring kids’ knitting patterns have
also been released.
And if you’re looking to try out a new
craft, why not make a springy punch needle
bag to hold your knitting kit? If you like it
there’s also a punch needle cushion shaped
like an Easter egg to try.
There are free patterns, how-to guides
and shopping lists on hobbycraft.co.uk.PERFECT PRESENTS FOR BABIES
PHOTOGRAPHY TAKEN AT NATIONAL TRUST STANDEN, SUSSEXHOBBYCRAFT’S EASTER PARADE