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Knit a Fun Starfish for Summer

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knit a starfish with this cool patternNow that it’s June it’s time to think about summer knitting projects, and this starfish project from Just Crafty Enough is a really fun one.

This project uses a fun construction method, where you knit the legs first and the join them and work toward the center.

It’s super cute and could be worked in any weight of yarn for a little trinket or a big pillow-sized delight.

Thanks for sharing, Kat!

By the way, do you call it a starfish or a sea star? I’d never heard that second term until my daughter started watching “Sesame Street.”

[Photo via Just Crafty Enough.]

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Comments

  2. I hadn’t, either. I guess it’s more technically correct because it’s not really a fish? Leave it to Sesame Street to question my learning.

  3. ‘Tis a sea star, one of the echinoderms, related to sea urchins and sand dollars. It’s also interesting that they have filtered sea water instead of blood…as long as we’re getting educational 😉

    Nice post on the pattern, thanks. Looks like it could also be done without legs for a sand dollar.

Have you read?

Knit a Great Button Down Shirt

Just about anything you can make in fabric you can make in knitting, but there are some styles that you just don’t see that often translated into knitting. 

For example, a button down collared shirt. This is a classic design, of course, and it looks great in a knit version, but it’s just not something you see much of. 

Noma Ndlovu’s Guglethu shirt is the pattern to try if you want to knit your own button down shirt. This one is inspired by cashmere tops (though the sample was made out of yak yarn, not cashmere, and uses two strands of lace weight yarn held together) and includes lots of high-fashion details like double-knit cuffs, collar and shoulder seams. 

It has a patch pocket on the front and 10 buttons including the button band and the cuffs. 

The designer says you can also use a DK weight yarn held singly if you’d rather, and that the shirt looks good in a variety of yarns. There is another version on Ravelry that uses Berroco Remix Light, which is a mix of nylon, cotton, acrylic, silk and cellulose fibers. It has a more relaxed look but it still really pretty. 

The pattern has 12 sizes, with a full bust measurement ranging from 32.35 to 72.25 inches, or 82 to 183.5 cm. The designer suggests 2 to 6 inches, or 5 to 15 cm, of positive ease when you pick your size. I could totally see knitting one that’s even bigger to wear more like a jacket, because I do that a lot with button down shirts I already own.

I love all the details on this shirt, which isn’t necessarily difficult to knit, but might introduce you to some things you’ve never knit before (like those cuffs with the plackets, or a shirt collar like this). 

To learn more about this shirt and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself, head to Ravelry. 

[Photo: Noma Ndlovu]

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