Hugo & Ellie

Thoughtful knitwear patterns with clear instructions, good maths, and a focus on garments that actually get worn.

16/09/2026

The Carthen Socks test is now open! 🧦

Inspired by traditional Welsh carthen blankets, these colourwork socks have been six months in the making, with plenty of swatching, rewriting and questioning my life choices along the way.

There are 8 sizes, a reinforced heel and toe, and colourwork designed to keep those bold geometric shapes going around the foot.

I’m looking for knitters to help me put the pattern through its final test.

Want to join? Find all the details and sign up https://forms.gle/RXjgWWrunytk4zXt9

15/09/2026

Two weeks left in the Mullein test knit.

Every set of tester photos shows me something new. I am finding chickens with red combs, flowers worked in double stitch and small whimsical details tucked into the yoke.

The range this test has brought is wonderful to see. Some testers kept it graphical, almost black and white. Others went for an explosion of colour. A few added sequins or strands of mohair for extra texture.

Testing wraps up soon and the plan is to release the pattern in the first week of October.

Which direction would you take it in? Graphic and moody, or bright and playful? Tell me in the comments.

14/09/2026

My first sample of Mullein Hat is finished and it’s being blocked.

Blocking a hat is never simple. Last time I used a balloon so I could adjust the circumference to fit different heads, but it never wanted to sit still and kept sliding off to one side.

This time I filled a plastic bag with carded wool, rolags I’d prepared for spinning. It holds its shape, sits where I put it, and doesn’t argue back.

Sometimes the best tools aren’t tools at all. They’re just whatever’s already on your table.

How do you block your hats? Balloon, plate, inflatable head, something stranger?

13/09/2026

Two very full days at , and somehow I barely took my phone out of my pocket.

Friday was mostly wandering around, a bit of shopping, catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. I also joined ’s *Adjust for your bust* workshop, partly because bust shaping is something I’m thinking a lot about while working on my Wrapped Tee. Circular yokes are particularly tricky to grade for different bust shapes, so it was really useful to look at the different possibilities and approaches.

The evening was knit night, organised by . It was lovely to see familiar faces like Sophie () and Josie (), meet some new people, have dinner and knit while talking about British wool, our projects and the community. I even made a bit of progress on my Mullein Hat.

Saturday started with meeting my lovely testers, Beverley (.dixon) and Serena () and of course we had to get the mandatory group photo in our Mullein jumpers. The test is nearly wrapped up, and I’m hoping to release the pattern in early October.

There was also some serious yarn squishing with a friend, which resulted in an advent calendar from . I may show you what’s inside later. Or perhaps I’ll keep it a mystery for now.

The afternoon was spent with .baltesz learning about natural dyeing with 11 other ladies. We had a lot of fun experimenting with the dye baths. I may have slightly overcooked the madder, so I’m hoping to learn from that mistake. It will probably haunt me to my dying days 😆

It was a brilliant couple of days. Not quite as busy as the February Unravel, but still full of yarn, ideas, conversations and people I was very happy to see.

If you’ve never been to , take this as your sign to go next time.

Have you been to Unravel before, or is it still on your festival list?

03/09/2026

Around six months ago I finally took some photos of my first Mullein sample, then completely forgot about them. Mid test knit felt like the right moment to bring them back.

This sample was knit over a year ago, on and off, alongside everything else. I finally had the time to finish the pattern and bring it to testing after leaving my corporate job.

I’ve learned a lot since that first sample. Grading circular colourwork is tricky, and it gets harder still when the goal is to keep one chart throughout. A chart that expands below the sleeve separation adds even more to work out.

I lowered the main motif to make the bigger sizes work better. It’s still not perfect, torso length varies so much from person to person, so I’ve written some modification suggestions with input from my testers.

The test itself is going smoothly so far. I’ve been able to answer every question that’s come up, and a few tester suggestions have already made the pattern better than when it started.

What issues have you come across with fit in top down circular yoke colourwork? What best solutions you found so far for this type of construction? Tell me below.

10/08/2026

This past two weeks has been one of my favourite parts of the whole design process.

Two weeks into the Mullein test knit, and there’s so much happening already. I’ve picked out a few swatches and yarn choices to share here, but there are plenty more coming in behind the scenes.

Same chart, same shapes, completely different results depending on the yarn. Ochre and pine. Rust and cream. Blush and green. Deep plum. Pink with a strand of sequins running through it.

A few testers have gone soft and tonal, others have pushed the contrast right up. It’s the first proper look at how this pattern behaves across different fibres and palettes.

Thank you to everyone taking part. I can’t wait to see these swatches turn into jumpers over the coming weeks.

06/08/2026

First time processing raw fleece. I’d done the research, attended a fleece preparation workshop by sharon smith at Wonderwool Wales, read everything I could find. I was still surprised.

I’m not an expert, I’m a designer and researcher who needed to understand this from the inside. Take my observations as exactly that.

Save this if you’re thinking about trying it.

01/08/2026

When I started researching how to wash raw fleece, I expected to find a recipe.

Instead, I found ranges.

There wasn’t one agreed temperature, one soak time, or one amount of detergent. Most advice sits within a range and depends on the fleece, the detergent, the equipment, and the person’s preferred workflow.

Rather than trying to find the “correct” method, I treated fleece washing as a set of variables: temperature, time, number of cycles, detergent, and agitation. Once I understood what each variable was doing, the process made much more sense.

The values in this carousel are the ones I used for washing this fleece by hand, alongside ranges that commonly appear in hand-scouring guidance. They aren’t the only way to do it, but they gave me a framework that helped me understand why each stage exists and what changing a variable might do.

If you’ve processed raw fleece before, I’d love to know which variable made the biggest difference in your setup.

31/07/2026

Methods of making a stranded colourwork swatch for circular yokes

Ranked from worst to best*
*in my opinion

1, flat back and forth
The quickest way to swatch. Knit one row, purl one row.
Good for a rough colour check. Not reliable for gauge, purling changes your tension.

2, flat-ish on circulars
Knit every row by sliding the work back and carrying yarn loosely across.
No purling, but those long floats across the full width need cutting before you can measure. Always felt wrong to cut that much yarn.

3, in the round, small tube
Cast on enough to work in the round, knit a small tube.
Much closer to real conditions. A very small circumference can affect how you hold your yarn though.

4, in the round with steek
Cast on two full repeats, work in the round, add a steek column, then cut open and measure.

For me, it’s the most accurate method for any colourwork project worked in the round. Short consistent floats, clean cut, and what you measure is exactly what you will get.

Do you have your favourite method?

30/07/2026

When I was shopping I didn’t even realise I had a purple theme going on 😆
I went with just a few plans on getting missing skeins to projects I‘ve planned and then I went bit overboard, not too much but still 😆
yarnunique 4 ply Silky sock in Jewelled plum, perfect for earlier bought Rainbow sky, both will be a top for my daughter.
tools and natural dyes, prepping for my incoming workshop
handspun skein and bfl from to go with it
skein of Cosy 4ply in Ink to go with green and pink colourways I already have
4ply bfl and masham in natural to go with my rainbow selection
And of also got hand carders from and turkish spindle from which are already in use 🥰

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Nottinghamshire

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