What is the best thing about opening a yarn shop? Aside from talking to our lovely customers in person, of course: working up samples for our sample wall! 

Crafty Llama at St Saviour’s Yard

I say, 'our sample wall', but first – for those who have only just found us – who are we? Crafty Llama has been selling high-quality knitting and crochet supplies online since 2020. Quickly, a large international customer base was built, and the llamas have enjoyed ongoing email conversations with customers, from answering crochet questions to helping choose a circular knitting needle set. When plans were announced for a container hub for creatives and independent retailers, called St Saviour’s Yard, Crafty Llama welcomed the opportunity to open a brick-and-mortar shop in the centre of Norwich’s vibrant NR3 area. And this is when I joined the llama team.

We decorated the walls of our large container, #01, with grids full of knitting and crochet tools and notions. And then the yarn arrived. Every crafter will understand the excitement: squishing new yarn, softly rubbing it against your cheek, giving it a little smell. The balls and skeins of yarn in your hand, in either vibrant or muted colours, instantly grow into garments in your mind. With the yarns displayed, our swift and winder set up, and our A-frame shop sign decorated, we opened our doors in January this year.

First knitted sample: The Pressed Flowers Kerchief

And so, our sample wall: my first sample knitting project was a bandana. The Pressed Flowers Kerchief is a free pattern by Amy Christoffers, released two years ago by PomPom and Hobbii. Seeing as 2026 seems to be the year of the bandana, this is a great pattern to choose, with the added interest of the geometrical flower motif.

I didn’t use the recommended yarn but opted instead for The Fibre Co’s &Make DK. Green (Borealis Bash) as the main colour, grey (Mr. Toad) for the flowers. &Make DK is a beautiful blend of wool (55%), alpaca (35%) and linen (10%). The white linen fibres create tweed-like depth and texture, while the alpaca adds a soft touch.

I was intrigued to try mosaic stitch, which is used throughout this kerchief pattern. Mosaic knitting is a colourwork technique that could be seen as an easier alternative to Fair Isle and intarsia. You simply slip stitches, instead of having to hold multiple strands of yarn in your hand. Working with two different colours, changing colour every two rows, you repeat the combination of *slip stitch, k1* on both the right side (slip stitch with yarn in back) and the wrong side (ss wyif). Meaning—except for the edge where the flower motif forms—hardly any purling! Although it isn’t a difficult pattern to follow, mosaic knitting does require your attention; maybe not the easiest technique while also talking to customers…

The contrast-coloured slipped stitches give a beautiful, pixelated effect on the right side of your work. The layered result can feel a little thick, but it won’t affect the drape. Mosaic knitting was developed in the 1970s by Barbara G. Walker, an American knitting expert and author who passed away in December last year. Even though Walker coined the term and designed the ‘rules’ of mosaic knitting, slip stitch knitting has a long history in folklore. In folkloric peasant knitting, this technique was used for durable, textured knits. More importantly, the geometric motifs of mosaic knitting mimic ancient textile and tile work. It is, therefore, the perfect stitch for a folk-style kerchief.

Process and inevitable mistakes

The Pressed Flowers Kerchief is knit side to side, increasing every other row for the first half and decreasing every other row for the second half. For the increases, the pattern simply says M1; you can choose a left- or right-leaning increase. Perhaps I was a little nervous about my first project at the job, but while I remembered the mnemonic 'Right means Rear' (M1R > insert needle from the back), I strangely started knitting this picked-up bar through the back loop instead of the front. Normally, obvious little holes will appear in your knitting. Luckily, through the mosaic stitches, the holes stayed hidden. Instead of tinking back or frogging my work, I decided to keep going and consistently make this invisible ‘mistake’ again and again. 

Eager to try out as many different tools as I can, now that I work in a yarn shop, I chose Kollage SQUARE circular knitting needles for this project. These aluminium, square-shaped needles are ergonomically designed to reduce stress and strain on your hands and wrists. Being new to them, my stitches started a little tight. Slowly, my tension loosened while I eased into the new job. The slightly bigger flowers on the second half of the kerchief are a testament to my growing confidence.

Working on this sample was a good reminder: whether you are starting or have been crafting for years, you are bound to make mistakes. What sets apart an intermediate or advanced knitter/crocheter from a beginner is understanding your mistakes and knowing how to fix, or even use them. Some errors must be corrected, while others simply result in a slightly different outcome. Also, a pattern can be a guideline, an inspiration. You are always free to personalise it, or, eventually, freestyle your own. If you don’t like 2x2 ribbing, change it to 3x1. Want more length than the pattern asks for? Just keep on knitting (but you might need to buy another ball of yarn!). A final garment isn’t solely a success when it’s an exact copy of a pattern. You can tweak, alter and diverge from the pattern—accidentally or deliberately. 

 Beauty of imperfections

On one of the shop’s first opening days, a woman walked in. She had heard the news about a new yarn shop in Norwich. I saw that she was wearing a gorgeous woven scarf, frilled at the edges, and I couldn’t help but point it out. 'I made it myself!' she said, beaming. She explained that she had woven it during a workshop in Japan. Because she had run out of time and had to rush finishing it, the tension at the edges of the scarf was off, she said. 'Why don’t you pull a couple of warp threads out at each side, to create frills?' the Japanese teacher had suggested. And that’s what she did, in style: embracing the beauty in rough edges and imperfections.

Happy crafting,

Rosa x