Back in September, when we were schmoozing our way around London Fashion Week and then anxiously checking the blogs afterwards to see which trends would emerge triumphant, we kept our fingers crossed that the twenties style dresses and gold and sparkling embellishments we saw strutting down the catwalk would make an appearance come spring. And sure enough, dropwaisted style dresses, long line tunics, sequins and scallop edging hit the highstreet this year.

We love the style and distinct look of the twenties. The effortless glamour, the sequins in day time, the femininity and romance of it all, so it was with excitement we got commissioning for this issue – and June is the perfect month to do it. Think garden parties at dusk, dancing with a glass of champagne, live music outdoors – I'm sure it never rained in The Great Gatsby!

The scallop edging, tiny pearl beading and sequin detail of Alison Robson's camisole made it an instant favourite in the Knitting office. If you're sick of prom dresses and want something a little bit different to wear to this summer's events pair with a silky skirt and a string of pearls and you'll not only be classically chic, you'll be right on trend too!

The secret of this simple top is the incredibly flattering shape, from the slimming wide waistband to the horizontal stripes and top-arm hiding sleeves. Dress it up or down and you'll always look put together.  



The beautiful Gatsby cape by Kyoko Nakayoshi is in the softest angora, in the palest blue. Whether you're feeling whimsical on a summer evening or are looking for the perfect wedding cover up, this is a beautiful timeless piece.





Also in this issue:

• EXCLUSIVE Gold collar top, Deco rose motif tunic, Ladder and lace jumper


• EXCLUSIVE – Patchwork knitting shell unit technique and Shells shawl pattern


• One to watch – British designer Amy Hall


• Interview – Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Mably talk their new book


• Weekend Knits – Part 2 of the Heirloom blanket plus 2 chic stash projects


• Spotlight on –Iridescence
  
  


• NEW! – Objects of desire

And as always, we bring you the best news, reviews, books, tips, styles and prizes in your favourite Knitting magazine.

Finally, we can tell you! You might have thought we were being a bit quiet and non-comittal about the Olympics in Knitting mag. With so many other people making Olympic knitted figures, the wealth of Olympic themed books that have come out this year and, of course, the wonderful Woolsack, already leading the charge, we wanted to do something a bit different. As a mag we're small, we're feisty and we aim high! So, here's what we're doing...

To celebrate the London 2012 Olympic Games our July issue will feature an exclusive 2012 shadow knit man's jumper designed by the fabulous Erika Knight for and modeled by...Lord Sebastian Coe! Yes, Mr 2012 himself, Olympian Lord Coe will be gracing the illustrious pages of Knitting magazine (!), talking about his support of the British wool industry and his excitement for the upcoming Games.

With only weeks to go we were very lucky that Lord Coe took time from his increasingly busy schedule to meet with and discuss Erika's original sketches with Editor Emma (it's all about who you know, you know!). 



Involved in the choosing of the design, Lord Coe was also interested in using a British product to help support our industry, and you can't get much more British than Erika Knight's Blue Faced Leicester, produced and spun in Yorkshire and supported by the Campaign for Wool.

The jumper is of course gorgeous, Erika is the queen of tasteful, and will make a lovely reminder of what a year 2012 was! So don't miss out, put 7th June in your calender and get your July issue of Knitting magazine with possibly the exclusive of the year!

We are so ridiculously proud of our super-duper magazine designer, Claire, who ran the London Marathon for the first time on Sunday in under 4 hours, raising £1000 for Cancer Research, a charity close to her heart. She has been training for weeks – trust us, we've heard about it every step of the way! – and had only hoped to raise £300 to begin with so she definitely deserves the 'Well done Claire' cake and giant personalised gold medal we made for her, as modelled here!



Another member of Team Knitting is doing something equally awesome – and another first! Resident Knitting mag 'agony aunt' Jeanette Sloan is doing the Moonwalk on 12 May. If you don't know what the Moonwalk is, it's a fundraising power-walk marathon (yes another one) through London to raise money for breast cancer charity Walk the Walk – oh, and in a bra. A visible one.



Having beaten cancer twice, this is a subject close to Jeanette's heart and you can read her story, her plans to decorate her bra and even sponsor her on her fundraising page over on her blog jeanettesloan.wordpress.com.

Jeanette is also donating 10% of every sale of yarn or patterns from her website www.jeanettesloandesign.com to Walk the Walk throughout the whole of May so if you are planning on treating yourself to some of her beautiful alpaca yarns or cute accessories patterns, throughout May you will be helping an excellent charity too!