Knitting and crochet is now in every high street, magazine and fashion house. It has enjoyed a huge revival in the last couple of years, becoming trendy with celebrities like Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta Jones helping to raise the profile from a granny craft, to a fun and inspiring hobby once again. Crochet has also shaken off its 'doily mantle' and become a fast growing skill; once people have mastered knitting they often then want to turn their hand to learning a new, but related craft, which can be combined with knitting itself or stand alone.

I set up Angel Yarns three years ago with my husband, Klyve, it is an online yarn shop specialising in designer yarns and knitting accessories. We started the company as I could not find the yarns I wanted to knit with for myself and we saw a gap in the market for a shop that would supply anywhere in the country, not just our own town. We have now built the business up to be one of the biggest online yarn shops sending out up to 300 packages a day, worldwide!

A real diverse range of people are starting to knit, from busy businesswomen, to young men just leaving school interested in becoming designers. Most new knitters seem to be women who want to tap into their creative side, it’s a wonderful way to relax after a long day and you get the bonus of wearing a finished item at the end of your labours! People usually start with scarves or simple projects, like baby blankets, and progress onto shaped garments, like jumpers and cardigans.

Style conscious
The fashion yarns released a couple of years ago brought many people back to knitting who had not picked up needles since they left school. The different textures were stunning, modern technology meant yarns could be furry, have tufts of fabric dangling from the main threads and metallic threads could be interwoven through other fibres in an amazing array of colours. Current fads are sock knitting with the European self patterning yarns and lacy knitting in variegated yarns and a movement towards solid colours to show off lace work also seems to be on the increase.

People also seem to be moving more towards natural fibres in finer yarns so they can really practise the skills they have picked up since they first learnt to knit. Many new knitters are inspired by the rich colours and wonderful selections of yarns available on the market, variegated yarns in hanks in particular seem to fly off the shelves. A lot of bemused husbands and boyfriends are often perplexed by their wives’ excitement over spending so much time, and money, in choosing yarns which then need to be taken home and patiently unwound from a hank into a ball before they even start to knit or crochet!

The tools of the trade have also come a long way. There are hand turned and carved rosewood and ebony needles, mother of pearl inlays and even hand blown toughened glass needles available, people seem to want pretty things to work with, as well as look at.

Knitting and crochet seems set to continue to grow, but shops need to remain alert to new and exciting products to maintain people’s interest. Looking to the current trends in the USA is usually a good way to predict what will come over here. Fashionable patterns and quick, easy-to-knit projects help to bring customers into shops. This is a 'touchy feely' craft, so a beautiful display of pretty yarns and accessories also inspire, as do knitted garments to show how the finished items should look. Gone are the days of knitting and crochet being boring, it is a huge new growth industry with exciting times ahead!