Irish Knitting Fun for St. Patrick’s Day

I’m pretty sure this is the first time in the history of me having this job that I’ve remembered St. Patrick’s Day was coming before it was even March. (And if the shamrock knitting pattern roundups from the last two years are any indication, that’s certainly true, because they were both published at just about the last minute.)

Since I’m giving you more time this year, I thought it would be fun to look at some more traditional Irish (or Aran-inspired, anyway) knitting projects that are great for St. Patrick’s Day or any time of year.

There are of course a ton of these types of projects depending on what sort of thing you want to knit, so we’re just scratching the surface here. A good search at Ravelry or on a large yarn company website will get you lots more ideas.

Sweaters: Check out the His and Her Aran Knits from Bernat Design Studio (pattern is a PDF), the Aran Texture Twinset from Paton’s, the Men’s Pullover Irish Knit (which looks to be a vintage Bernat pattern) or the Aran Cable Shrug from Crystal Palace Yarns.

Accessories: I love the Aran Gauntlets from AslanTrends (free download if registered with Vogue Knitting), Flory Loughead’s Aran Toque and the Modified Irish Cable Scarf from Knit Purl Addict. This Aran Poncho from Patons, originally published in Canadian Living, is pretty darn impressive, too.

Afghans: Maybe the perfect use of Aran patterning to my mind is a big Aran afghan. Anna Dalvi’s Burridge Lake Aran Afghan is a beauty, worked with a central panel that’s symmetrical and panels on each side that are mirror images. There’s also the St. Patrick’s Day Sampler Afghan, which was originally designed by members of the Aranknit list back in 2000-01. You can see pictures of all the squares on Ravelry.

Looking for knitting patterns for knitted Cardigans? Check out these Knitting patterns we found on Etsy.

Looking for pullover and sweater patterns? Check these books out.

Next Pattern:

I’m trying to include more knits for kids in my posts because I know a lot of people do a lot of their knitting for the little ones in their lives.

This child’s striped vest from Lion Brand Yarn is not only cute and great for kids who might find a full sweater too hot, it’s also an easy project if you’ve never knit a garment before.

Lion Brand rates it as level 2 easy/beginner +, probably just because there’s a little shaping and seaming invovled, but it’s nothing you can’t handle.

The pattern comes in three sizes that are meant to be for ages 6, 8 and 10. The finished chest measurement is 30, 31.5 or 33 inches, which is 76, 80 and 84 cm respectively. This makes the vest a little roomy and makes it easy to slip on over a T-shirt or other top.

It’s worked in two pieces from the bottom up, with the neckband and armhole bands worked in the round after the body pieces are sewn together. One benefit of knitting stripes on a project like this is that it’s easier to make sure your pieces are the same length because you can just count the stripes (it’s also a little easier to seam because you’re always lining up the stripes).

If you’re knitting the smallest size, you only need one skein each of the two colors you choose, and for the larger sizes you will only need two, making this project a pretty good value. The suggested yarn is Color Theory, a worsted weight acrylic yarn that comes in 18 relatively muted colors. Of course you can use any worsted weight yarn you like. Keep it acrylic for easy washing or use wool to make this a warmer garment for kids who live in cooler climates.

You can grab the pattern for free from the Lion Brand website, or get a kit that includes the yarn you need (and needles if you don’t have them already). I think this would be a great basic to knit a kid for back to school in their school colors, or make it holiday with red and green, or whatever colors the child likes.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

Next Pattern:

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