Knitting with Cocoknits in Tuscany

Friday 6-14 June 2025

Join us in northern Tuscany for an 8-night/9 day ‘terroir' knitting retreat with Cocoknits from 6-14 June 2025. We stay in the hills just north of the elegant city of Lucca on a historic 17th century Tuscan estate where we’ll soak up the property’s rustic charm, eat authentic Italian food and knit a beautiful Cocoknits sweater pattern using recycled natural yarn purchased from Italian wholesaler of handmade yarns, Borgo de’ Pazzi.  

We meet in Florence and travel by coach to Prato to meet Borgo de’ Pazzi owner Carlo Signori, a pioneer of recycled yarn production.  In the area around Prato 22,000 tonnes of rags annually are saved from landfill and are sorted, reduced to fibre and repurposed into yarn that is 100% natural and sustainable.  You’ll choose the yarn for your knitting project from a range of 80% wool/20% cashmere recycled yarn in a sports weight as well as a range of 100% natural yarns in a choice of different weights. 

Our first night is spent at the Montecatini Palace Hotel in Montecatini Terme, a thermal spa destination popular since the time of Ancient Rome. The hot springs and salty-sulphate waters are ideal for therapeutic baths and mud treatments and you can visit the thermal complex and beautiful park and  landscaped gardens.  After breakfast the following day we take the historic funicular dating from 1898 up to Montecatini Alto, a charming medieval hilltop village with sweeping views over the valley, nice restaurants and independent shops.  Following lunch and a look around we continue onto our home for the week, Villa Boccella and the Dependence two classic Tuscan villas standing side by side in a private 50 acre estate.

Both villas are delightfully appointed with simple bedrooms and ensuite shower rooms while old stone floors and walls painted with pastoral scenes lend grandeur to the downstairs living spaces. The grounds comprise 50 acres of gardens, forests and olive groves with a series of interconnecting off-road walks enabling guests to explore the estate on foot. On warm days you can take a dip in the large solar heated swimming pool or knit at the long table in the garden under the sun canopy.

With 4.5 days of guidance and tuition from Cocoknits’ founder Julie Weisenberger and expert knitter Tracy Russell included, you’ll quickly get to grips with the Cocoknits top-down seamless knitting method pioneered by Julie.

Other activities planned during the retreat include a day trip to Lucca, a charming town famous for its perfectly preserved defence wall - which you can walk or cycle around - and 100 churches. The historic centre, which has remained intact over the centuries, is authentic and delightful. From the Roman amphitheatre to the Guinigi Tower as well as many other architectural gems in between, a visit to Lucca is a memorable experience. On another day we visit Tenuta di Tramonte, a neighbouring estate and one of the oldest in the area which has its own organic wine and olive oil production. We’ll sample their oils and wines during a tasting with platters of local cheeses and meats as well as a glass of the legendary limoncello.

This is the perfect retreat for you if you love exploring new cultures, sampling local cuisines and knitting with yarn produced in the area we are visiting.  Please be aware that this is an immersive “terroir” knitting retreat and you will be required to buy the yarn for your knitting projects from Borgo de’ Pazzi which we visit on the first day of the retreat.  

Eight days knitting with friends in the Tuscan countryside in early summer - what is there not to like?

“My learning experience more than met my expectations! Julie and Tracey were engaging and helpful. I enjoyed that it was help as needed without a classroom setting”

Jamie J, United States

YOUR ARTISTs

BOOK YOUR PLACE

Cocoknits knitting retreat in tuscany

For full terms and conditions please click here