Andmade

C O T T O N O P O L I S

all the likes for this lovely cotton yarn, it knits beautifully, has really good stitch definition & it’s attracting attention in the studio - always a good sign!
easy to wear & easy to care for - a summer favourite.

yesterday a visitor to was talking to me about cotton & it’s connection to Manchester - & how cotton was one of the main contributors towards making the city one of the country’s leading manufacturers of cotton products, so much so that Manchester became known as Cottonopolis.
The city became the global centre of the textile trade with strong connections to Africa, India & the Americas, & the Royal Exchange on Cross Street was built to house thousands of cotton merchants who traded in cotton twice a week.

i love this little connecting thread running through time, finding it’s way onto my knitting needles & maybe, eventually, being worn by you!

cotton neck knots in five colours - available now!

COTTON CARE
to maintain the shape & softness of cotton knitwear i recommend washing by hand with a mild, liquid detergent at low temperature.
wash once & rinse twice.
never wring - better to roll gently in a clean, dry towel.
never hang - dry flat away from direct heat & sunlight.

& to store - roll or fold loosely.

love mum x

T O P T I P

having used this cotton yarn in the past i’m short cutting my usual tension square & substituting a quick stitch test - just to make certain of the needle size.

sometimes when i’m having a conversation about knitting - are you yawning already? - so many people tell me they can’t be bothered with this step - they’re in such a hurry to get on with the project!

BUT - we all knit differently - some knitters are so tight they can hardly slide the stitches off the needle & the opposite is true - too loose just encourages dropped stitches!

a simple tension square - usually 10x10cm - provides you with all the information you need for a perfect fit.
measure horizontally for a stitch count &
measure vertically for the row count.
these numbers are then compared to the recommended tension for the yarn being worked.

so here’s a top tip for tuesday -
the swatch is too tight, too many stitches - try increasing the needle size.
the knit too loose - too few stitches - reduce your needle size & always…

…repeat the square!

[…if that’s not too bossy…]

S T U D I O D A Y S

this week has been busy with paper work & card making, measuring, cutting, & pressing fabric - always the first steps in my making - & i’m always amazed at how time consuming it is - & how absorbing - it requires all my concentration - numbers are not my strong point, although…

this week one of the craft centre visitors was asking me about the light fitting in my studio - it’s a large cylindrical shade with a hand knit, secondary cover, over paper.
he asked me had i made it?
how did i go about it?
how did i work it all out?
i can’t really explain how much delight i took in my answer - not without telling you how much my maths teacher intimidated me! - & weighing it all up - i used maths!

maths + knitting + needles + yarn = lampshade

this is really one of those things that you just take for granted - not really questioning your thinking or process,
just relying on that part of your brain that switches into making mode!

keeping busy while the rain rains!


the only sunshine we’ll see this week!