Worldwide Knit in Public Day

This Saturday is Worldwide Knit In Public Day. It's a fantastic opportunity to share your love of knitting with the world. Crafting is a great way to break boundaries and build connections: from inspiring a new knitter to starting a life-long friendship, we've heard wonderful examples of the way knitting has lead on to brilliant things in people's lives.

Of course, the best way to start a conversation over your knitting needles is to have something eye-catching and inspiring on them. So we've put together some recommendations for our favourite colourful and patterned knits with interesting stories behind them to make sure your public knitting goes with a swing this weekend.

We're starting with the Minster Blanket, above, which is part of The Landmark Collection. It's inspired by the colours of the stained glass windows at York Minster, and was designed by our Alison Moreton. It's perfect for beginners, or for an easy project. While the original uses Titus in Coal, Rhubarb, Chevin, Lotherton and Parkin, you could mix it up - and you could include one of our latest shades, Rose Window, in there. It also has links to York Minster, being inspired by the rich raspberry pink of the famous Rose Window in the historic building - to learn more, click here. Click here for the pattern and click here for the Titus to make it - you'll need between one and three skeins of each colour, depending on the size of blanket you want to make.
Also from The Landmark Collection is the Park Hill cushion, another great project for beginners but still gives really striking results. Combining four shades of Titus, it is inspired by the transformation of the Park Hill flats in Sheffield -click here to read about their history. You'll need just one skein of each of your chosen shades of Titus to complete the cushion cover.

When it comes to colourwork and gorgeous cables, there's nobody better than Rachel Coopey, aka Coop Knits. Take any of her projects out with you and you're sure to get chatting about the designs. She's the genius behind the beautiful Toasty collections which are all named after towns and villages in Yorkshire. Try the Northallerton hat with its slouchy shape and neat design, or the repeating pattern of the striking Aiskew mitts. They all use Titus yarn and, although shades are suggested, you could use any combination of colours to achieve a unique result.

Finally, if all this sounds a bit complicated and you think you'll get your yarn in a tangle if you try to talk and knit at the same time, you can keep it simple with the Mabel tea cosy. It's striking and stylish, yet it's simple enough for a beginner to master even when knitting in public. Click here for the pattern, and click here to browse chunky yarns to make it.
If you're planning to knit in public this Saturday, please let us know how you get on. We'd love to see some photos of you all out in your local parks, on street benches or even on the bus with your needles on show!
If you're close to our Leeds shop, come and join us on our Worldwide Knit In Public Day bench, which we're decorating with a beautiful blanket made from our customers' handiwork. Join in by sending us a knitted square of at least 4x4 inches which we can sew into the blanket - or come and knit one on the day. We'll be here to help you with any knitting mishaps, and guide you to your next project too!