With the days getting shorter and nights colder, stitch Joanne Smith’s toasty throw and save on your heating bills as you hook ■ Caron Simply Soft (100% acrylic, 170.1g/288m), 2 balls of each: Pagoda

Using 5mm needles and yarn A, cast on 31 sts. WORK IN PINE ZIGZAG STITCH Row 1 (RS): Sl 1 kwise wyib, Sl 1 pwise wyif,*LT; rep from * to last st, K1. Row 2 (WS): Sl 2 pwise wyib, *RPT; rep from * to l

■ Any lace-weight cotton yarn in white ■ A 1mm (US 12/6) hook ■ 4 beadable earring hoops, 40mm ■ 4 fishhook-style earring hoops ■ 4 jump rings, 3mm ■ Needle-nose pliers ■ Spray laundry starch or white

Notes Unless otherwise specified, use a long-tail cast on for all pieces, and mattress stitch to sew the seams. You only need a few metres of yarn for each full set of baubles. If you don’t have baubl

Your very first step (to be done well in advance) is to decide on the theme you’d like for your Christmas table this year. What colours would you like? Do you want it to feel traditional or modern, pl

YOU WILL NEED ■ Rowan Cotton Glacé (100% cotton, 50g/115m) 2 balls of each: Yarn A Bleached (726) Yarn B Dawn Grey (831) Yarn C Midnight (868) Yarn D Twilight (829) 1 ball of Yarn E Winsor (849) ■ Sma