Tag Archives: blocking

Back in stock: cocoknits Knitter’s Block and Sweater Care Kit.

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Cocoknits is the brainchild of Julie Weisenberger, a knitwear designer and purveyor of high quality tools for knitters. She’s carefully developed notions that are as nice to use as they are to look at. This week brought two of them back into stock – the Knitter’s Block and Sweater Care Kit, tools for the care of our handmade items.

The Knitter’s Block is a set of square blocking tiles that fit together like puzzle pieces. It comes with 18 12″ x 12″ tiles, a pack of stainless steel T-Pins, and a “‘Check’ your Gauge” cloth, woven with 1″ squares for easy measuring as you block, all in a sturdy jute bag.

The Sweater Care Kit is great for blocking, washing, and drying garments that don’t need pinning, like finished sweaters and smaller accessories. It includes mesh laundry bags, super-absorbent towels, a mesh pop-up dryer, and a bottle of Eucalan, all packed into a nice jute tote.

For years, I blocked everything I knit using old towels on the floor. It worked just fine, and there’s nothing wrong with using what’s already on hand, but with all the blocking I was doing between personal and shop projects, I decided to upgrade, and I’m so glad I did.

If you’re looking to upgrade your own blocking tools, the Knitter’s Block and Sweater Care Kit are well worth it – look for them among our blocking supplies, like bottles of Eucalan, packs of T-pins, and sets of blocking wires. See you at the shop!

New from cocoknits.

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Cocoknits is the brainchild of Julie Weisenberger, a knitwear designer and purveyor of high quality tools for knitters. She’s carefully developed notions that are as nice to use as they are to look at.

Last week brought two brand new products from cocoknits: a metal cable needle designed to pair with the Maker’s Keep, and T-pins sold in tins of 40.

We’ve been seeking a reliable source for stainless steel T-pins for the longest time, and are delighted to have found them in cocoknits. Look for them in the front room of our shop, near all the other blocking supplies!

You’ll see the cocoknits Knitter’s Block in the same section, a set of interlocking foam tiles for blocking that we’ve been anxious to get back in stock for a few months now. We’re so happy to have them back on our shelves, along with all manner of cocoknits stitch markers, stitch stoppers, claw clips, stitch fixers, row counters,and other tools!

Look for cocoknits products here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop!

New notions and old favorites from Cocoknits.

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Cocoknits notions have been a hit here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. We’ve sold out and reordered the Knitter’s Keep and all manner of stitch markers again and again since they first arrived in November. I’m happy to report that once again, we’ve restocked our favorite Cocoknits products, so come by if you’ve been anxious to upgrade your collection of useful and beautiful knitting gadgets.

IMG_1344We have a couple of new Cocoknits products along with the old favorites, and chief among them is this row counter. It’s designed to work with the Knitter’s Keep, a silicone slap bracelet with a magnetic face, keeping your tools close at hand as you knit.

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The Knitter’s Keep kit comes with nickel-plated accessories that attach to the magnet, including stitch markers, cable needles, and darning needles. One of our knitting friends calls it the “KnitBit.”

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Also new-to-the-shop is the revamped Knitter’s Block, a set of square blocking tiles that fit together like puzzle pieces. This set now comes with more tiles and T-pins than before, which is handy for blocking bigger projects, and a new “‘Check’ your Gauge” cloth, woven with 1″ squares for easy measuring as you block.

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Some or all of these gadgets will surely come in handy somewhere along your stitching journey, and their pretty presentation makes them gift-worthy, as well. Look for Cocoknits notions by the front window here at the shop!

Back in stock: Cocoknits notions.

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Happy to report that our shelves are once again full of notions from Cocoknits!

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It seems many of you were as smitten with these thoughtful gadgets as we were; the little green table I decorated with Cocoknits goodies back in November was quickly cleared.

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The Knitter’s Keep was the first to sell out, a silicone slap bracelet with a magnetic face, designed to keep your tools close at hand as you knit. It comes with nickel-plated accessories that attach to the magnet, including cable needles, darning needles, and stitch markers. The stitch markers are also sold separately, both locking and round, both silver and assorted colors. They’ve quickly become my favorite markers, and the Cocoknits stitch fixer and yarn snip have found a happy home in my notions case, too, which keeps me company as I work on these socks using CoopKnits Socks Yeah!.

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We also stock the Cocoknits Sweater Care Kit and Knitter’s Block, among many other useful notions from a variety of vendors. A few that recently arrived include Sirka counters, having sold out after a holiday shopping spree, and Bryspun Sock Blockers, in stock at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop for the first time.

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Come by the shop to upgrade your tools and plan your next project!

Hello, Cocoknits notions.

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Back in May at TNNA, we ran into Clara Parkes at the Cocoknits booth and fell in love with what we found there. Cocoknits is the brainchild of Julie Weisenberger, a knitwear designer and purveyor of high quality tools for knitters. We’re thrilled to be offering her line of notions, blocking equipment, and her signature Knitter’s Keep.

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The Knitter’s Keep is a silicone slap bracelet with a magnetic face, designed to keep your tools close at hand as you knit. It comes with nickel-plated accessories that attach to the magnet, including stitch markers, cable needles, and darning needles.

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It wasn’t just the Knitter’s Keep that we loved when we saw it at market, but those notions in their perfect simplicity. We ordered yarn snips, stitch fixers, and all manner of stitch markers: the serious silver and the colorful ones, the simple ring markers and the locking ones.

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We also have Cocoknits Sweater Care Kits on our shelves now, which you might have read about recently on Clara Parkes’ blog, Knitters Review. It’s no wonder we saw her in the Cocoknits booth! Just like us, she admired both the practicality and the “charm factor” in the Sweater Care Kit. It includes mesh laundry bags, super-absorbent towels, a mesh pop-up dryer, and a bottle of Eucalan, all packed into a nice jute tote.

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Last, but not least, we now also carry Cocoknits Knitter’s Block, a set of square blocking tiles that fit together like puzzle pieces. The Knitter’s Block also comes packed in its own reusable bag, along with t-pins and a cotton pressing cloth.

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Some or all of these gadgets will surely come in handy somewhere along your stitching journey, and their pretty presentation makes them gift-worthy, as well.

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Come by the shop to see our whole Cocoknits collection, and upgrade your tools when you do!

Knitter’s Pride blocking wires.

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Blocking is a frequently recurring subject of conversation around the shop. What is blocking, and why do we do it? And perhaps more importantly: how do we do it? Many knitters are unsure about this last step, afraid they’ll somehow do it wrong and ruin their shawls or sweaters. Let us assure you: blocking is nothing to be afraid of, but simply the act of washing your finished piece and laying it out to dry. This resets the memory of the yarn, and can help to even out tension, open up lace patterns, and tweak the dimensions of your piece. Different kinds of projects require different blocking techniques. Sometimes it’s enough to smooth your knitted or crocheted fabric into shape with your hands and let it dry, and other times, you’ll want to pin it out to very specific measurements. For lace shawls and scarves, you may want a special tool to assist you: blocking wires.

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We now carry Knitter’s Pride Lace Blocking Wire Kits, which feature stainless steel wires in two lengths, T-pins for holding them in place on your blocking surface, and measuring tape to check the dimensions of your piece as you block.

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For more information on blocking with and without blocking wires, check out these helpful tutorials:

Also, designer and knitwear photographer Caro Sheridan suggests using blocking wires to help install a zipper on a knitted sweater–clever! Check out the “Techniques and tutorials” board on the HYS Pinterest page for more links to knitting and crochet how-to’s.

Come by the shop to pick up a set of blocking wires, and banish your fear of blocking at last. See you there!