COCONUTS HOT SPOT – Lately, I’ve been drawing my brows together in frustration as I look for a new space in Bangkok that will allow me to hang out while also picking up a new hobby. It was in the course of this search that I stumbled upon Big Knit Café.
Having spent most of my life in Canada, I’ve grown up wishing some kind soul had taught me how to click the knitting needles together, if only to make my own fashionable (and warm) mitts and scarves. Who would’ve thought that I might find some tutelage in a tropical climate, more specifically, in downtown Bangkok?
The Big Knit is a darling little café down the bend on Sukhumvit 49, across from the Villa Market. Surprisingly, Big Knit is among this soi’s mainstays. It has been spinning wool in the same location for more than four years.
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The café’s concept was actually inspired by the owner’s mother, Khun Wan, who you will probably see hanging out by the front window most days, lifting a coffee cup from a saucer while simultaneously clicking her own knitting needles together in meditative rhythm. The last time I popped in, she was working on something out of a bright yarn of glitter-gold. Khun Wan is friendly and she loves to provide instruction and friendly expertise to newcomers. She’s always happily pointing out which plastic drawer this yarn or that one is gently tucked into.
While the café is admirably neat and tidy, this setup masks a flurry of activity. Big Knit houses every model, fiber and gauge of needle you can imagine and hundreds of different kinds of wool to sink them into. The yarns include, but are not limited to, cotton, bamboo, silk and linen and even exotic yarns like angora and cashmere, all in a rainbow display of colors. Big Knit even houses garment designs, patterns and even a couple shelves of instruction manuals. While the Big Knit does sell some knitting accessories like wood buttons, tape measures and scissor holders, the wool and needles are free for the use of all café customers.
It can be easy to let an afternoon slip by in such a place. The Big Knit recreates the mood of a comfortable living room – it’s warm and bright with lots of natural light and big comfy pillows. There are lots of snacks for munching between knitting breaks such as homemade cakes, coffees, Swiss ice cream and a slight menu of Thai and pasta dishes.
There are lots of cafés in lovely Bangkok, but I have yet to encounter one with quite this level of novelty. It’s slow going, but my dear old dad might even get some socks for Christmas this year.
FIND IT:
The Big Knit Café
88 The Natural Park Building, next to Dental Hospital, Sukhumvit 49
Tel. +662-260-5050
Open daily from 9am to 9pm
Photos: Barbara Woolsey
