Stitch London Frequently Asked Questions
Stitch London get a HUGE amount of emails asking us all kinds of things. To help you we've put all the answers here.
Please please pleeeeease check here before you email us to ask something that's already been answered...
New Members FAQs • Learner FAQs • Overseas FAQs • Random FAQs • Charity FAQs • Student FAQs • Commission FAQs • Press FAQs
Can I join? Of course! Sign up to our newsletter here.
Can I join if I don't live in London? Yes. Our newsletter, Ravelry, Twitter and Facebook mean you can be part of Stitch London where-ever you are. We do global projects sometimes too.
When/where is your next meeting? We only publish meeting details in our newsletter. When you sign up you'll have to wait till the next one comes out and is sent to you. In the meantime you can see meeting details here in our newsletter archives.
AGH! I don't have a newsletter yet? Where is it?! When you sign up you get an email asking you to confirm that you want to join our mailing list. Confirm by clicking on the link. The next time our newsletter goes out (we send them every two weeks), you’ll be sent one into your very own Inbox.
I still don't have your newsletter and it's been two weeks! Try three things: 1. Check your junk mail. 2. Try sigining up again and see if it tells you you're already signed up. 3. If those both fail then email us.
How much does it cost? Not a thing. It’s all free free free. Meetings are free. Newsletters are free. We’ll teach you anything you want to know (about knitting) for free. The company of all our other members is free. But you’ll have to buy your own drinks and food (if you want them).
Where do you meet? We change venue and day every week. We always meet from 6pm. We always meet near a tube station in central London. We always meet on a weeknight, never a weekend. You can see a list of our venues here.
I’ve never been to a meeting before. Can I just turn up? Yes. We don’t need you to tell us you’re coming along. Just turn up, pull up a chair, sit down, and stitch. We have newbies come along every single week so you won’t be alone.
I can’t get there for 6pm. Can I turn up at any time? What time do you finish? Meetings begin at 6pm. You can turn up any time you like. Stitch London is very easy-going. Come for the whole night, come for five minutes, come for an hour. Up to you. We normally stay at the venue well past 10pm. Every venue we choose is open late. So turn up when you like.
I crochet/sew/spin/cross stitch? Is that ok with you? It's fabulous! Stitch London have never ever been known to turn a good (or evil) crafter away. We're multicraft. Join us!
Do you have a group in (insert area you live or work in here)? Sadly not. We're just one group. If you want a local group check the official SnB.
Why are you always in central London? Can you please come and knit here? We have to stay central to be fair on everyone. Plus you can knit on the way there.
Can I help you teach? Yes please! See our Stitch Sage information here.
I can’t knit but am desperate to learn. Can you teach me? Stitch London's free knitting classes are currently on hold until March. Please check back in March for details.
Click here for full details of our free Learner meetings.
Are you getting paid to teach me? All our teachers are very kind volunteers who don’t get paid a penny to teach you and do it for the love of the knit. Lessons are completely free. (But if you’d like to say thanks by buying your teacher a drink or a slice of lovely cake we’re sure they’d appreciate it)
What do I need to bring? A guide to what to bring along can be found on our website. We believe that choosing your own yarn and needles is all part of learning to knit, so there’s also a page of London Yarn Shops for you to get your sticks and string from. Useful, eh?
Do you teach crochet or cross stitch or sewing? There are many people who crochet at Stitch London meetings, but at the moment we don’t offer crochet lessons. You’re welcome to ask a fellow crocheter for tips. We hope to be able to offer crochet soon. Watch this space.
I know how to knit but want to learn more complicated stuff. Can you help? Currently our official teaching meetings are on hold. However many Stitch Londoners are happy to help you learn new things if you ask. All you need to do is turn up, settle in and ask someone. Just remember they're not official teachers so while we're on hold we can't guarantee it.
Do you have a group in (insert area you live or work in here)? Sadly not. We're just one group. If you want a local group check the official SnB.
Why are you always in central London? Can you please come and knit here? We always knit in Central London. We have to stay central to be fair on everyone as our members come from all over. Any way, you can knit on the way there!
Can I help you teach? Yes please! See our Stitch Sage information here.
I'm coming to London on holiday! Woo hoo! Can I join you? Of course! Just sign up to the mailing list for meeting dates. We do love visitors.
How can I join in from overseas? Sign up to the mailing list, tweet us on Twitter, Facebook us, post on Flickr or join us on Ravelry. We're a huge virtual family.
How many people run Stitch London? Just one. Check out our Who? page for more info.
How many people come to the Stitch Up meetings? Between 30 and 200 depending on where we are and what time of year.
I have a question for gin-soaked Aunty Gertie. Email her at askgertrude@stitchLDN.com
Where can I buy your kooky Stitch London badges? We're working on an online store but you can buy them at events we sometimes sell at. If you email us to tell us which ones you want we can bring them to meetings too. Badges £1. Fridge magnets £2.
How does Stitch London make money? We run workshops at events, sell advertising, sell merchandise and run a commission knitting agency. We're a small business and rely a lot on voluntary work since most proceeds go right back into the group. It's fabulous community though. So it's worth the time and effort. Any sponsorship or donation gratefully accepted.
Don’t go! I have more questions! You can email us at info@stitchLDN.com if you have anything else you need to ask. We will get back to you as soon as we can.
I run a really lovely charity/event/. Please can you mention us? As you can imagine there are 1000s of charities out there who would like our crafting community to help. We get dozens of requests each month. We do try to feature as many as we can we can't possibly help you all without imploding from effort, so there are a few ways you can help us help you:
- • Join our Ravelry group and post about it yourself
- • Tweets us on Twitter with a link and we'll retweet
- • Post on our Facebook wall with a link
Will you run my knit a square/hat/chicken/cover for a double decker bus event for/with me? Stitch London runs tons of free events. So as you can imagine we're a little busy and can only fit so many events in. We're happy for you to promote an event you run yourself through the channels above though.
We need volunteers knitters. Can you help? Try the ways above if it's a charity event. If it's for profit or promotion and you're not a charity you'll need to offer payment. Knitting is work too.
I want to write about Stitch London for my project. Can you help? We're happy to be written about. You can find most of the history and group answers to your questions on the site and by hunting down some of our press interviews. Ask if you can't find but do look first.
If I email you a mammoth load of deeply involving questions will you answer them? Unfortunately not as running the group takes so much time. We may be able to offer you a bit of time at a meeting or a phone interview though. As above lots of questions are answered on our site already.
Can I come to the group and talk to your members? Most of our members are happy to answer questions. Please prearrange with us before you come along. We don't permit student interviews at Learner meetings, sorry. We're too busy teaching.
Can I film/record at your group? You can but the same answers as above apply. You'll also need permission from the venue and individual permission from those you feature. We'll give you a set amount of time too to make sure our members have time to relax and stitch too.
I need something knit! Can you find me a knitter? We can! We have a pool of knitters called our Stitch Squadron. Email us at commissions@stitchLDN.com and we'll send you the form to fill out to find a knitter. We charge a finder's fee for this service. The fee helps us keep the group running.
I want to knit for cash! Glad to hear it. Have a read of this.
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