Loop

I have been to a lot of knitting stores and this one was definitely NOT worth the trip from central London. Dark store with very little natural light on main floor, narrow door to squeeze through while entering, and absolutely no greeting or offer to assist me during my 20 minute browse. I found the selection minimal compared to the many Canadian and American stores that I have visited and the prices were as much as double what I am used to. Samples looked about 10 years old and other than a cute window outside, I really disliked the store and the atmosphere.

The folks at Loop could NOT have been more helpful and accommodating. They directed me to local yarns, were extremely knowledgable about their products, and were willing to chat with me while they wound one of my purchases for immediate use. Their friendliness and offer of a plastic bag for my computer (it was raining) was much appreciated. Right up the street from the Angel tube stop, this shop is well worth a visit if you’re anywhere in London.

I took a quick, pleasant underground train trip from our hotel and ended up in the world of Eliza Doolittle! This yarn shop had every other one I visited in London beat hands down for friendly, knowledgeable staff, great selection of choice hand dyed yarn from the UK, fabulous historical neighborhood with tons of antique shops and great little cafes, and just plain fun. I think I must have spent close to two hours there and it went like five minutes. When my husband got the bill he said, «You do know you were spending Pound, not Dollars, don’t you?»… Of course I forgot. How else could he understand? Don’t miss the basement where they give lessons. That is where Eliza would have like to live. It has a scrolled Victorian Fireplace. Also, if you like to picnic, there are rows of parks that served the Georgian homes just a block away, behind the shop. You can pretend you were a Dickens character or Elizabeth Barren Browning. Some of Charles Dickens are actually set in this neighborhood. If you can leave Camden Passage without a purchase, you have no heart for the beautiful or the poetic.

What a wonderful wee shop! A quaint wee place tucked away in a cute little back street of Islington. It’s a very short walk from the tube station (Angel) and is easy to find.
This to me is a high end knitting shop, a total pleasure to visit, lots of lovely yarns over two floors to squish and really great staff who are knowledgeable and really helpful. You definitely feel like you are not being rushed which is nice :-) I purchased some gorgeous yarn to knit my new winter hat and a scrummy angora bobble to top it off with. I also picked up a kit to make a baby hat.
There is Madeleine Tosh yarn and lots of other brands too. I spotted Toft and Debbie Bliss too and I saw sock yarn from about £4.50 and I also squished the most amazing yarn which was £26 (I think) it was so soft that I actually gasped/​sighed when I touched it.
I bought my yarn because of a hat I saw in the shop and later after my visit I realised I had been given the wrong pattern, I was heading to get a train back to Glasgow so couldn’t nip back, I rang the shop and explained and they are popping the pattern in the post for me :-)
Hopefully ill be back in the area soon, can’t wait to pop back :-)

According to Vogue Knitting, knitting is the new yoga for men! Well, I like to think so myself, even though I would say that crocheting is the new Pilates?
My Mum taught me how to knit when I was little and I still remember how we sat together in the living room, the TV running in the background and me fighting with the loops or stitches not being of equal consistency and thus my scarf having a rather different width…
Fast forward twenty some years and I’m finding myself on the sofa again. This time I’m crocheting a beanie… and this time my loops are much more consistent. I guess some skills improve with age.
For my various projects I love coming to Loop, as they have a wonderful selection of different yarns and knitting gear such as needles, tutorials etc. I also find the staff very friendly, helpful and above all knowledgeable.
Tip for all beginners: check out some great tutorials on YouTube. This is where I learned to crochet. I love the Internet for that!

Little shop tucked away on an interesting street.
Lots to choose from but I didn’t see much in the way of local dyers and the staff wasn’t unfriendly, but also didn’t seem like they wanted to help either. Maybe I just caught them at a busy time?
Go try it… nothing to loose.

I don’t go to loop enough, but that is probably a good thing as I would end up spending so much money on wool and needles and that would not be good!
If you have knitting/​crochet needs, this is def the place to go. They stock lots and lots of wool. lace wool, sock wool, merino, silk, alpaca, basic wool, tweed, and loads of colours. Prices range from about £4.50 per ball to at least £35 for super dooper yarn (I haven’t quite ventured to those lofty heights yet!).
And the staff are extremely helpful, they will advise on the most basic of questions, even help you out with any knitting queries.
I’m pretty sure they have classes in the month and there is a knit and natter once a week if you fancy it!
A must for any knitter!
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With textile arts so insanely popular again, there are more and more yarn shops popping up. However, none of them meets Loop in terms of either quality or service.
The shop itself is beautiful — yes, a bit twee, but that’s just the style. It’s fashionable and boutiquey and fits in perfectly with the area. It’s split over two stories of an old building, so if you’re mobility-​impaired beware that you will not be able to get up to the second floor. There are also steps to get into the front door, which is very very narrow.
The stock is high end premium yarn. This is not your grandmother’s yarn shop. I’ve seen some other reviewers complaining about the prices — but this is simply the price of luxury and artisan yarn & tools, which many of us prefer to use these days over scratchy acrylic and commercial brands.
You will find artisan, hand-​dyed, specialty, rare, breed-​specific, imported, and luxury yarns. If you expect to spent £1 a ball and knit a naff baby hat, you’re in the wrong place. ;)
The staff are always friendly and open-​minded. They’re generally young and cool and helpful and without attitude. I’ve ordered things online and through the phone and both were fast and efficient, but I do prefer to go in in person and just enjoy the pretty shop.
The only thing I’d say is that that £%&#@ door needs to be fixed. It’s a split door but one half is always shut. It was a sideways squeeze before (it’s like a foot wide…) when open but now I’m pregnant I literally can’t get in the half door! Sort that out, guys.
All in all, ⁵⁄₅ and an essential visit for a craftsperson!

If you are really into knitting this is the place to buy supplies or even to take up on such a wonderful hobby.
Loop is a very sweet little shop located in Islington. Although it’s not really easy to find you should definitely give it a try, because it’s worth it. They offer all kinds of yarn, most of which are imported, but never the less of very high quality. They cater for all needs– starting with the usual classic wool yarn and ending with ones you just keep staring at and wonder, how has someone though of making such a yarn.
The staff are all very friendly and welcoming. They are always ready to give you a useful advice or two and share their experience and knowledge.
Overall a great place.

Lovely little yarn shop.
They were so helpful when I called them in a panic from NY, right before my London flight, looking for a particular dye lot to complete a last-​minute Christmas gift. They put it on hold and it was waiting for me the next day.

Loop is a yarn boutique and serious knitters understand what they have here. It’s difficult to compare to a department store, because Loop carries the local indie dyers that are hard to find. I raced the clock to reach their locked doors; they must have understood the wild knitter look in my eyes, because they unlocked it for me and gave me three minutes. When I uttered the magic words, «souvenir yarn» they pointed me to the Old Maiden Aunt bin. I had been tipped ahead of time that they stocked Wollmeise and they had a nice selection of that yarn. Very nice service; too bad I didn’t get to spend much more time in the store but liked what I saw.

Loop Knitting has only just moved location. As of 19 June 2010 they are no longer at 41 Cross Street, but 15 Camden Passage, closer to Angel tube station than before (very handy!).
Directions (because the map marker is still in the old place as at time of writing):
Come out of Angel tube station, walk straight ahead as if going towards Essex Road, stay on the right. Pass the York pub, you will be in Islington High Street (I never saw such an itsy bitsy ‘High Street’! It’s a short stretch of cobble stoned mews like street, running parallel to Upper Street and completely undeserving of the High Street name) — walk on until Islington High Street makes a short sharp turn to the left: leading off from that short sharp turn is Camden Passage. Walk straight ahead, Loop’s new location is three shops from that corner on your left — opposite the Pierrepont Arcade. Easy!
The new shop is wonderful. There are two floors of selling space (yay!) with the stockroom above and obviously out of bounds. The ground floor holds laceweight and sock yarn weights as well as lots of accessories. The first floor sports the DKs and chunkier wools, also books (under the stairs) and other accessories.
I love that paper mache figure in the corner with its blonde hair and mischievous look!
There is a big comfy sofa on the first floor (other seating is dotted throughout) so I am not sure if there may be a knitting group or any workshops or similar be taking place in future, I’m afraid I forgot to ask — not difficult to do during the mêlée and sad crush that was the re-​opening!
It was fun!

I adore Loop. Yes, it’s at the pricer end of yarn stores but it’s a fairly acrylic-​free zone and if you want cashmere you’ll have to shell out the pennies for it.
If at all possible, visit during the week as it gets so crowded at the weekends. One baby buggy in there and the place is impenetrable.
Good stockist of notions and needles and artisan yarn. There’s a loyalty card and staff are good about calling you back when out of stock products become available again. Some classes are held downstairs too.

A lovely knitting shop in Islington. They have a great selection of yarns, from designers like Rowan to more unusual, hand spun yarns.
Its really nicely done, and feels really homely and well stocked.
They are really friendly, and run a clinic on Saturdays where you can bring your projects in for help if you have gone wrong.
The classes they do are really excellent. They do begginner and more advanced classes and the teachers are great.
Definately worth a visit if you are into kniting/​crochet, or if you want to learn

This place is ace!
It’s jam packed with beautiful yarns and craft paraphernalia and best of all, really friendly helpful staff.
Everything is well designed. I noticed some great local events being advertised in the window.
Word on the street is that they run a Knitting SOS — a much needed support group for knitting mishaps and perhaps those needing some needle recovery…
As sock knitting is the craze du jour, I have been reliably informed that you can pop in for some expert instruction when your Magic Loop goes horribly, horribly wrong. Like mine has.
Be warned. I thought knitting would be an integral and nostalgic part of my credit crunching, money saving drive.
However, I walked away having committed some heinous credit card abuse. It’s all too easily done.

Such a bright and vibrant little shop. Extremely inspiring, and full of too many things i want. What really caught my eye were some chunky turquoise knitting needles! Lucky me, my friend bought them as a christmas pressie, so i have to wait a bit, but they are worth it!
The staff seemed very friendly, and didn’t mind me taking lots of photos! They didn’t have the wool i wanted, but it does seem rather hard to find so i wasn’t surprised. This shop is a good excuse to visit Upper street!

A decent selection of yarns. A small store, but incredibly friendly and chatty staff.
As an American in London, the prices seem super high to me, but they’re in line with yarn prices everywhere in London. The 2 gals working when I was in were helpful and searched through some unclaimed special orders to fulfill my wish of colour of Malabrigo (mmm). And they bumped me up to the next level with my punch card as I was quite close. I’ll definitely be back!

I was delighted to find the location of a yarn shop in Islington while surfing the internet. I decided to venture out there this pass rainy Saturday. I walked down Cross Street and kept looking up under my umbrella thinking that I had missed it, but luckily they had a sign on the sidewalk or else I would’ve strolled right by. The building is tucked next to a larger building, so without the sign it might’ve been easy to miss.
I was happy to find it (and get out of the rain). It’s a tiny shop, but has an extraordinary selection of… anything and everything yarn/​knitting/​crochet related. There is literally a wall of yarn – they’ll gladly climb up a ladder to help you grab the skeins on the higher shelves. Though the cashmere is a bit pricey, I couldn’t help but cuddle up to it.
Loop also has plenty of books and kits, whether you’re a newbie knitter or an experienced crocheter. I was also excited to see that they sell Lantern Moon needles. They’re fancy (and strong) knitting needles made with rosewood from Vietnam. I had never seen them in store before. They carry plenty of haberdashery from recognizable brands such as Clover, Susan Bates, and Boye.
Not only do they sell all this awesome haberdashery, they also sell items by textile artists. I smiled when I saw a set of beautiful vases by Annette Bugansky (
). She hand makes lovely knitted textured ceramics. There were also intricately knitted blankets, gloves, and scarves for sale by other artists randomly placed throughout the store. Classes are also available, so check their schedule online.
Overall my experience here was very pleasant. The staff was very helpful and knowledgeable, though it got a bit crowded in there on a Saturday afternoon. I walked out with some Susan Bates crochet needles and Rowan DK wool for an upcoming crochet session (enough for 5 people). And the damage was less than £20!

I’m very excited to have found this place. I’ve been getting back into knitting recently but hadn’t really discovered one store that has it all: bamboo needles, books with pattern you’d actually want to wear, variegated yarns. until i came here.
I was looking for a particular Debbie Bliss book that I’d seen in America and not only did I find it here amongst her whole range, but I picked up a Louis Harding book too, a designer who marries wool with high fashion — yes, it IS possible! I’m a big fan of Alpaca wool, so I bought a few balls of Frog Tree for £5 each and some lovely picture buttons from the haberdashery section. There’s a lot of classes you can take here too, a very relaxing way to unwind and meet like-​minded knitting freaks.

This is the best knitting shop in London. Its pretty hidden off Upper Street in Islington, but its worth coming here for any supplies that you might need. You can discuss the pattern you want to make, buy one of their many books on the subject, choose from the many varieties of yarn, and you’re set!
Should you get stuck though, they even have a free session where they help you out with your knots and loops! Along with cake and tea of course. There are also a variety of classes on crochet, knitting experiments, and basic knitting.
I love the yarn here, I got a gorgeous fire red variety of wool from South Africa that I’m making a Christmas scarf for. Who you ask?! Lets see how it turns out…