About

Why Tip Top Knits?

Tip Top Knits was (perhaps unsurprisingly!) created in order to document all things knitted. I'm a proud Brummie and the mention of a 'tip top' conjures up childhood memories of neon ice lolly's picked up from the corner shop on the way home from school. It's also local slang for something exceptionally good - I'm not sure which came first, the name or the ice lolly but I digress... the pages of Tip Top Knits will be filled (I hope) with posts on my latest projects, with an emphasis on indie pattern designers, sustainable wool and maybe the odd nod to the sprawling city we live in. Thank you for stopping by! I absolutely LOVE a test knit and if you want to collaborate on anything woolly just let me know! Until then, happy knitting :)

Contact

Drop me an email at: wearetiptopknits@gmail.com

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J's Watch Cap

Watch caps have always been my favourite form of wooly hats! (I'm not sure why I'm such a fan of all things nautical when I live in the most landlocked of cities... but still!). Inspiration for this hat comes from a Julia and a Joe. The chunky knitted rib and petrol blue colour is all Julia's (any Disney Pixar fans in the house?). Whereas, it's construction in 100% British Wool is a homage to fellow Brummie Joe Lycett . If you happen to tune in to his consumer rights show (it's funnier than it sounds) then you'll recall he's been on a quest to get people to use more of this abundant, lovely, highly sustainable material that's currently going to waste in the UK. This hat can be worn by anyone (the chunky rib has the added bonus of being super stretchy so will fit on a wide range of different heads!). Personally I like to fold the brim over, but again - that's up to you! I hope you enjoy knitting it! Materials To make one watch cap… main colour...

Square One Washcloth

So one of my new years resolutions for 2021 was to have a dabble at designing a few things from scratch and seeing if I could get them out into the world (a little bit grandiose for sure, but hey you've got to have dreams when you're staying in). Naturally I've had a slow start so far - January always feels like the worst month for new intentions. But... I'm happy to share my first project! May I introduce you to the Square One Washcloth? Without getting too sentimental about it - this pattern is for anyone who has ever felt like they were plodding along quite happily until something (read 2020-21) caused them to have to abandon their well sketched-out map and start all over again. This is a celebration of feeling like you're back at square one, with all the pitfalls and possibilities that it brings. It also happens to be quite a nice washcloth, perfect for home spa days and made in fair trade cotton so you can reuse it and tread lightly as you piece together plan B...

The Strongest Shape Scarf

The first in my series of no fluff patterns is a triangle shaped scarf. Made out of cotton, it's the perfect cover up now that the summer nights are getting cooler and we move (slowly) into Autumn. If you're lucky enough to be in the Southern hemisphere it might be the perfect scarf to lead you out of the colder days and into the warmer ones too! I knitted up this scarf from cotton wool that was in my stash, sound tracked by a great podcast by Isy Suttie. She is joined by Eliza and Abigale who discuss their work as part of the Lives Not Knives charity. You can find out more about the podcast and the charity here . After creating this scarf using the no fluff stripe pattern I donated the money I would have spent on wool (had I not used my stash) to Lives Not Knives. I'd encourage you to use this pattern more as a recipe - substituting in a wool of your choosing and adding additional colour blocks to make your triangle the size you want it to be. I hope you like it! Happy ...

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