NewsletterPlus #3
NewsletterPlus #3
Missing your beach holiday this summer? Let us help you relax...
Welcome to the third free edition of NewsletterPlus! We’ve had so many new subscribers join us since the last edition and we’re very excited to be sharing this one with all of you. While the summer holidays might look a bit different this year, we’ve put together a collection of yarn, patterns, and articles to help you relax and recreate those feel good vibes of the beach. We hope you enjoy!
As we hope for more sunny weather this August, there’s no better yarn to accompany us than King Cole’s Island Beaches DK (100g/ £3.99). With beautiful shades and a range of patterns to choose from, Island Beaches is bound to make you feel relaxed and inspired.
In June of this year King Cole released Island Beaches as the third installment to its Beaches series. Featuring a single colour variant design with soft and subtle shading, Island Beaches comes as a more fluid and modern looking yarn when compared to its cousins the solid colour Paradise Beaches and the multicoloured Beaches. With a pallet meant to convey a tropical getaway, Island Beaches DK’s single colour shading hits the mark.
What this yarn does take from the first two ranges of the Beaches series is its texture. Made of 70% Premium Acrylic and 30% Polyamide, it’s a soft yarn to work with - and it looks great in either plain garter stitch or a pattern. Garments made from this yarn are striking with its soft self-patterning effect, and it would be lovely to wear.
A range of beautiful patterns for both adults and children accompanies Island Beaches DK. They are designed to embrace the eye catching self-patterning nature of the yarn whilst still creating garments that are soft, relaxing, and reminiscent of those sought after beach vibes.
To browse our collection of Island Beaches patterns, click here.
This week’s Yarn Corner features King Cole’s Island Beaches DK (£3.99/100g). Use the discount code below for 10% off this yarn in our online store and get Island Beaches for just £3.60 a ball:
BEACHES10
Discount code is valid until midnight Wednesday 19th August.
Monthly Giveaway!
Last month’s giveaway winner received a 25mm crochet hook, so it’s time to introduce the prize for August. This time, one lucky subscriber will win 3 balls of King Cole’s Recycled Cotton Aran in a beautiful buttercup shade!
Completely free, no strings attached- all you have to do is be subscribed to this newsletter to be in with a chance of winning! The winner will be contacted via email in September.
We love free patterns as much as the next crafter, and often find ourselves browsing Pinterest for inspiration. As fun as it can be seeing other people’s creations and trying it out yourself, it can get infuriating when most free patterns you click on are a bust. Some of them don’t work, some are confusingly written - some don’t even contain patterns! Luckily for you, we tried and tested a tonne of underwater themed patterns so you don’t have to.
These underwater creations make really great motifs to add to items for children such as a blanket or a jumper, or even to some crocheted hand towels for your bathroom. The jellyfish and starfish patterns are both from a website called Repeat Crafter Me. We found them on Instagram as the maker is putting together a children’s blanket and released free patterns for all the underwater motifs, which also includes a seahorse and a turtle.
We found the crochet conch shell in a pattern collection on Pinterest. It was really easy to make and stands out with the colour change crab stitch border.
All of these patterns are crochet. They are also written in American terminology, so we’ve included a guide to the basic stitch names below the links to the patterns.
Jellyfish, Starfish, Sea Horse + Turtle
What do you think of using American patterns? Do you find it easy to translate, or is it a challenge? Let us know!
We were so pleased with how the underwater motifs turned out that we decided to feature @repeatcrafterme as the next Instagram account we think you should know about. This account is fun and vibrant, filled with unique designs that really stand out. Sarah Zimmerman is the best selling crochet author behind @repeatcrafterme, and shares free patterns on their website www.repeatcrafterme.com so you’re in good hands if you choose to take a look.
Studies are starting to show that there is a positive connection between handicrafts such as knitting and crochet and good mental well-being. Learning a craft can improve stress levels, self confidence and brain function. If you suffer from a mental disorder it’s believed that crafting can act as a sort of therapy, so far as to be prescribed by doctors in some parts of the world. The way learning a skill and completing a project affects your happiness levels and sense of accomplishment can transform your lifestyle. So if your relaxing beach holiday is cancelled the summer, you can recreate the feeling through craft. <click here to read full article>
Click here to view the pattern book on our website.
Crazy about crochet bags…
A recent trend we’ve seen (and fallen for) is crocheted market bags. Usually made in a strong cotton designed for sturdiness when carrying shopping, these bags are ideal for trying to live a greener lifestyle - and saving you from that pesky carrier bag charge.
The bag below is made with Retwisst Macrame yarn that is now available both online and in our Newland Avenue shop. The bag itself is crocheted, making the Macrame yarn perfect for a range of crafts.
If you’re looking to create your summer projects on a budget, King Cole’s Big Value Recycled Aran is available in our online store at the reduced price of £1.95 (R.R.P £3.59) in five beautiful colours, and is ideal for cute crochet bags. It is made of 85% recycled cotton so your reusable shopping bag would be twice as good for the environment!
The next free edition of NewsletterPlus will feature an exclusive pattern for the market bag pictured above!
In the next edition…
FREE patterns
A brand new discount code for our Yarn Corner pick
Craft Talk with our next Monthly Maker
And much more!
Did you like this edition of NewsletterPlus? Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next one! We have articles, discounts and giveaways coming your way twice a month🎉
Don’t forget, you can comment and let us know your thoughts👍