‘Tis the season to be jolly, and what's jollier than a burst of colour? Enter the kaleidoscopic world of Katie Jones! We chatted with Katie to explore the inspiration behind her five brand new Christmas decor patterns.
Christmas is just around the corner, and what better way to prepare than to deck your halls with colourful handcrafted decorations?
Enter the world of Katie Jones! 🌈 With needles and hooks clicking like reindeer hooves on rooftops, Katie stitches true Christmas magic with her vibrant and whimsical designs. And, in the spirit of festive giving, Katie has teamed up with Hobbii to gift YOU not one, not two, but five exclusive crochet and knitting patterns!
We have asked Katie about Christmas traditions, her thoughts behind the five Candyland patterns she designed for Hobbii, and what she wishes to find in her stocking this year – hang on, you’re in for a treat!
So, get your favourite warm beverage, cosy up by the fire, and let’s jingle all the way into Katie's kaleidoscopic world! 🧶🎄🎁
1. What are your favourite Christmas traditions?
“My favourite Christmas activity is decorating the house. I love to go all out! I enjoy creating big, bright and fun window displays in the front of the house. I've even made giant candy canes from pool noodles that we hang on the front of the house!
Decorating the tree is another ritual I cherish. I basically like to leave no small branch unfilled! My tree taste is a real mix. We have decorations that have been passed down the family, ones that I have made, and some silly ones I have picked up. It's a bright, bold, and colourful mix.
Since we host our families at our place, I adore turning it into a winter wonderland for everyone to celebrate in. I get so much joy from putting up lights and tinsel. It's really my favourite thing to do to welcome in the festive season!”
2. What inspired you for the Candyland patterns?
“I wanted to make something bright, colourful, and fun. I’ve always been fond of the vintage silver tinsel Christmas trees that were popular in the 50s and 60s, so I knew I wanted to use some metallic elements. I really love Fair Isle, and I adore the old ski jumpers in vintage patterns where the whole family can dress in matching jumpers! This was my starting point, and then I went on a Pinterest dive to find more inspiration.”
Do you want a sneak peek at Katies Pinterest Board? Go have a look here!
“I also love Christmas lights and have previously made an advent decoration featuring mini piñata shaped like Christmas lights. I wanted to craft a version similar in shape but reusable, allowing it to be enjoyed year after year.
A big aspect of Christmas in my home revolves around food, so I aimed to enhance my table decoration game by creating some table sets. I'm drawn to the trend of decorative table spreads, and I wanted to make something similar, but with a more festive flair.”
3. How do you choose colours and yarns for Christmas patterns?
“Naturally, I wanted to use red – it’s Christmas after all, so I couldn't not use red! However, I also wanted to put a little twist on the traditional colour palette. I’m in love with minty green and the combination of pink and red, so these colours were the start of the colour palette. I think that mixing pastels with bright colours creates a really lovely rainbow palette.
Some of the colours were also chosen as I fell in love with them when I saw the different yarns. While aiming for bright colours, I wanted to give it a festive touch, so I thought mixing in some tweeds, metallics and some variegated yarns would give the colours more depth and warm them up for a festive colour scheme.”
4. Can you take us through the Candyland patterns?
“For the Advent lights, I aimed for a bright block colour, so I used Friends Cotton 8/6 and Friends Cotton 8/8. To add a little extra shine, I plied them with some metallics. I adore the sequins on the Party Deluxe yarn. When hung on a tree with lights, they reflect beautifully, giving a wonderful sparkly shine!”
Free Crochet Pattern: Get the pattern for the Advent Lights HERE.
“For the Fair Isle Fancy Dining Set, I sought a yarn that would be easy to knit with, to make the Fair Isle easier. I also needed something durable and washable, so Friends Cotton was a great choice for this design.
I wanted to add some sparkle and depth without plying up the yarn, and found that the Panettone yarn was a perfect accompaniment. I fell in love with the pink and red combination and the aqua mix, and I knew that I wanted to mix these in with my colours. I loved the pink and red combination so much that it even inspired me to do an alternative colourway for the set in all pinks and reds too!”
Free Knitting Pattern: Get the pattern for the Fair Isle Fancy Dining Set HERE.
“For the Mini Napkin Mittens and the Cute Cutlery Stockings, I also wanted to use something easily washable so that it can actually be used on the Christmas table. I chose the bright colours of Tweed Dreams – and it was a great fit for the designs.”
Free Crochet Patterns: Get the pattern for the Napkin Mittens HERE and the Cute Cutlery Stocking HERE.
“For the full-sized Sweet Treat Stocking, I wanted to use thicker yarn, as it was a larger piece to make. I also wanted to make it a quicker knit and to have a bit more weight to the finished piece. Aiming for a winter warmth feel, the tweedy colours and the weight and softness of Tweed Delight seemed perfect for this.
To add contrast in the Fair Isle and complement the fluffy tweed, Pearly Haze was the perfect pairing because of its fluffiness and shine.”
Free Knitting Pattern: Get the pattern for the Sweet Treat Stocking HERE.
5. What techniques are used for the crochet patterns?
“The crochet designs are all worked in the round. For the Advent Lights, a dense stitch is used to ensure a solid fabric. This involves Single Crochet (US terms), worked both in joined rounds and as a spiral.
The Mini Mittens and Cutlery Stockings showcase a mix of stitches to give a striped pattern effect. The techniques used include double crochet (US terms) in different formations to create the granny stitch and V stitch, as well as bobbles and ribbing.”
6. What techniques are used for the knit patterns?
“The knit patterns are both using the Fair Isle colorwork technique, where two colours are worked simultaneously in a row to form a graphic pattern. The stocking is worked flat with shaped sections that are joined to form the toe and heel. Using this method, you create the stocking as one long piece, which is then later folded in half and joined.
This approach makes the design less complex compared to working in the round, and it creates the design details of having the Fair Isle front and the back stripes. The Dining Set Mats have a really easy shape which makes them a great first Fair Isle project!”
7. What are your best tips for knitters working with Fair Isle for the first time?
“My top 3 tips for Fair Isle are:
1 – Work on long needles and keep your tension. This allows you to fully stretch out your project, this helps you not rouche in your design. Keeping your tension and not pulling too tight is really important. At the end of each row, make a habit of stretching out your piece to check. If you have pulled any bit too tight you can fix it by pulling some more slack down your stitches.
2 – Manage your floats wisely. Don’t let your floats – the non-working yarn strands at the back – get too long. On longer patterns, twist your yarns every 3-4 stitches at the back. For the Fair Isle Fancy Dining Set and the Sweet Treat Stocking, be aware of the heart sections. Twisting your yarns at the back traps them in when you knit the next stitch.
3 – Twist smartly. When working with two yarns, twist your yarns in one direction on a knit row and then in the opposite direction on the purl row. This approach helps prevent your yarns from becoming too knotted up.”
8. What do you hope to find in your Christmas stocking this year?
“It might be a bit too big for a stocking, but as a maker that generally works from the sofa, I’m very tempted by the big curved pillows that I have seen around. They're designed to elevate your arms when knitting or crocheting, aiding in better posture. That's definitely on my Christmas list!”
Interested in adding one of those pillows Katie talks about to your own wishlist? Have a look at our Deluxe Crochet Pillow.
Get Katies Candyland Patterns here
