Norah's guide to surfing the Berroco website

Our website is a virtual treasure trove of information. Whether you are aching to see all of the newest Berroco patterns, want to download a free pattern or are looking for a yarn shop near you, our home page is the place to start. With a few clicks of the mouse you can also see all of our current yarns larger than life, complete with full shade cards and information. Find out which patterns other folks liked last week and read through archived issues of KnitBits.

The following are some of my favorite features, the ones I find myself going to every week. While I hope that many of you are already familiar with much that our site has to offer, read on, there may be some tricks you've missed.

Search Box  |  Say you've just seen our ad in a magazine. You know the name of the sweater, you know what it looks like and you know what yarn it's knit in, but don't want to spend a lot of time fumbling about searching. Or maybe you've heard about our Brea bag. You keep seeing it in web blogs and the time has come for you to knit one. Where are these patterns? The search box, located in the upper left corner of our home page, is the quickest way to find something by name. Type the name in, hit the return key and you are golden.

Shop Locator  |  Are you one of those knitters who MUST visit every yarn shop within a 50 mile radius of your vacation route? (I KNOW you are out there.) The yarn shop locator is for you! Click on the shop dotted map of the US to find shops all over the country, complete with phone #'s, addresses and in many cases, links to the shop's web site.

Quick Links  |  Every Monday, almost without fail, I checkout the quick links "Top Ten Free Patterns" and "Top Ten Preview Patterns." I am compelled to know which patterns have been looked at the most during the past week. Perhaps it's a bit voyeuristic, but after all, it is my job to know what folks are knitting. It's not just for my amusement alone; I hope you find the "Top Ten " list interesting too. The quick links drop down menu in the upper right of our home page has links to these pages and other frequently perused pages.

Yarn Boutique  |  The first time I used the Berroco site, before I came to work here, I was amazed by the great photos of yarn in the yarn boutique. You can see every strand and practically feel the yarn. The big purple button gets you to the yarn boutique. Then scroll down to see all of the yarns arranged alphabetically. Click on the yarn of your choice to get more information. Now, here's the best part for me, if you "click to enlarge" you can REALLY see the yarn, life size in some cases. We've recently redone many of our shade cards, such as Peruvia™, so be sure to check them out, too.

KnitBits Archive  |  We keep an online archive of KnitBits. Find the big green KnitBits button, click to browse and you'll see past KnitBits listed chronologically. About 8 months ago we started including a reference photo to make finding a specific past issue much easier. I, for one, love it!

Free & Preview Patterns  |  We have so many patterns to choose from, and we add more almost every week. You can see all of our free patterns and preview all of the patterns from our booklets right on the Berroco site. In order to make your search for the perfect pattern easier, all are cross referenced in multiple ways. Start with the big red "Free Patterns" button (yes, for both free patterns and preview patterns found in Berroco books and booklets) and select from the many categories in the Berroco pattern library. Search by season or yarn, pattern type, skill level and more.

New This Season  |  The newest group of patterns is always labelled "New This Season." The photo in the center of our home page changes every week, but you can always click on the words "New This Season" to access the most current booklets and yarns.

WIN THE COMPLETE SPRING 07 PATTERN COLLECTION  Are you up for a fun test? It's time for a new treasure hunt. We have a series of 9 questions, each question leading to a page on our web site containing the next question. Get to the end and you can enter to win a set of our nine newest booklets. Start with the question below. Good Luck!

QUESTION #1
Find the web page that answers the following question:
[ What Berroco yarn comes in a 174 yd hank? ]

Contest rules: Fifteen free sets containing nine instruction booklets each will be awarded. Winners will be selected randomly from individuals who correctly respond by email received before midnight (EST) April 9th, 2007. Must be a resident of US or Canada. Employees of Berroco are not eligible.

Two silhouettes from our Booklet #260 Crochet.2 were so popular we decided to bring you knitted versions as well. Karole, knit in Boho™, is an easy pullover with 3/4 sleeves and a split neckline. Kia Kia is a dramatic circle vest knit in simple lace sts in Boho®Colors. Don't worry, there is no difficult decreasing in the lace patterns. Either pattern can be made with Boho or Boho colors.

Happy Surfing,

Norah Gaughan Design Director