CONTACTING US

We receive such a large volume of e-mails that it is not possible for us to reply to them all. If you contact us, please bear in mind the following:

• Our customers always come first. They are guaranteed a swift response and their e-mails take priority over all others.
• Next priority is given to enquiries about products which are on our website.
• Mails with attachments are automatically deleted and will not reach us. We can only accept attachments by prior arrangement, from an address that is known to us.
• Likewise, e-mails with embedded attachments and scripts are automatically deleted.
• STITCHES is a knitting support service for our customers. When using it, please remember to quote either the order number or the name of the VY project to which the enquiry relates.

The following are the most relevant of our frequently asked questions:

I have just tried to place an order but the transaction failed. What went wrong?

When authorisation for the transaction is refused, it is not us that is refusing, but your card company or bank. You would think the most obvious reason would be the input of an incorrect card number or insufficient funds in the account. However, we have found this rarely happens. The most common reason that we find is the input of an incorrect credit card expiry date. In order to protect their customers, the card companies insist on an exact expiry date for an online transaction. One false digit and it is refused. They suspect that someone has the card number but not the card (with expiry date on it) and is just trying various dates. Check to see if the date you gave is correct. Some card companies are so security sensitive that an incorrect expiry date freezes the card to protect you. Others are less rigid.

Another possibility also relates to your card company's security policy. Some companies, particularly in the USA, do not allow foreign online transactions over a certain limit. You should contact your card company to ask if they operate such a policy.

Here is another common reason. Our order form has a box labelled ISSUE which is for British SWITCH cards only. If you are not using a British SWITCH card then leave this box blank, otherwise the transaction will fail.

I am finding it hard to achieve the given tension in a pattern. What can I do?

The first thing to say about your tension is - do not worry. Worrying about your knitting tension is like throwing petrol onto a fire: it will only make matters worse. Do not worry about changing needles; the needle size is immaterial as long as the knitted result works out to your satisfaction. However, many knitters do not realise that the tension at which you hold the yarn in your hand is just as important as the needle size you use. Do you ever use a sewing machine? If you do then think of this analogy with knitting. The stitch size control can be equated with the knitting needle size. The tension discs on the machine can be equated with your hands. Both of those things affect the result. We have found in teaching over the years, that most knitters' tension problems arise from a failure to control the yarn in the hand. It is a skill that must be learned if you want your knitting to be perfect. An accomplished knitter can knit to a range of consistent tensions using the same yarn and needle size, just by controlling the yarn in the hand.

I suggest that if you wish to tighten up your tension, you wind the yarn around your little finger, thus putting more tension on the yarn as it comes from your hand onto the needle. If you already do this, then wind it round twice.

Could you give a word of explanation about the blank square chart symbol that means No Stitch? And incidentally, how did the Alice Starmore charting system come about?

I developed my system of chart symbols over thirty years of designing knitwear. Beyond the obvious basics, I devised each symbol as and when I needed it for something new that I was incorporating into a design, so the system grew, rather in the manner of Topsy. My aim has always been to create a clear and intuitive system that allows the knitter to visualise the knitted fabric in the printed chart.

The clarity of the charts in print is the result of extensive development by the graphic design company, Windfall Press. Most knitters take the charts for granted, not realising how much work and experimentation went into making them easy on the eye for extended use. The weight of every line in every symbol and grid has been carefully considered for balance and clarity.

The No Stitch symbol is the method I use for charting out three-dimensional knitting on two-dimensional paper. The blank square seems to me to be the most logical way of describing visually that there is nothing there. Blank squares on my charted texture designs mean that there are no stitches in these squares. Ignore blank squares and work only the squares which contain instruction symbols. The blank squares are there because stitches are increased during the charted pattern. Once the stitches are increased, the blank squares are required in order to instruct on how to work the new stitches. In many of my charted designs, stitches are also decreased. This means that the blank squares reappear when the stitches are no longer there.

For example, take chart B of my Elizabeth I design on Page 121 of Tudor Roses. In this case, chart B, row 1 (RS) is worked thus -
P1; inc 2 sts as given in key for centre symbol; p1. Row 2 (WS): K1; p1 (this is an increased st from the previous row); inc 2 sts as given in key for centre symbol; p1 (the second st increased from the previous row; k1. Row 3 (RS): P1; cable 3 as given in key; p1; cable 3; p1.

The two blank squares which run up to and including row 23 are for the 2 sts which are increased on that row. From row 24 onward all the squares are filled.

Do the projects on the VY website include the pattern along with the yarn?

In most sections of our website, including ALICE STARMORE CLASSICS, the projects consist of yarn plus full colour patterncard containing all instructions.

In BACK CATALOGUE, A COLLECTOR'S ITEM and THE CHILDREN'S COLLECTION, the relevant book is required, and so the projects consist of the yarn only, plus any necessary technical amendment.

Do the VY patterncards include instructions for the whole range of sizes or just instructions for the specific size ordered?

Our patterncards include instructions for the complete range of sizes as given on our website.

However, we are very often asked if we can amend our patterns. For example, can we add sleeves to a vest; can we turn a vest into a cardigan, and most often of all, can we turn a child’s garment into one for an adult? We have tried to be as accommodating as possible with these requests and we have taken the trouble to fulfill many of them. In these cases, we supply technical amendments for use with the original instructions, and these amendments are for a single specified size. Such amended designs include the Glenesk and Rosarie cardigans and the grown-up versions of Firebirds and Beadwork, and Isobel of Mar.

If a technical amendment is supplied for use with a book, then it will also be for a single stated size.

What is the best project for someone attempting stranded knitting for the first time?

For a first stranded project you have several options:

1. KEYKNOT CUSHION. No steeks or shaping.
2. PRIMAVERA WRAP. One steek but no shaping.
3. BABY BLANKETS or SUZANI WRAP or PERSIAN TILES WRAP. Also one steek but no shaping.
4. ROSCALIE VEST. Our simplest stranded garment. It has steeks and some shaping at armholes and neck. It is an excellent learning experience.

Do you sell patterns separately from your yarns?

No, apart from the books that we have for sale on site. We specifically developed our yarns to complement our designs. We do not sell patterns separately. You will not find any better yarns for our patterns than our own. Guaranteed.