Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

Want a Creative Kid? Teach ’em to Knit!

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As the mom of a toddler and a creative person myself, I’m always looking for ways to encourage creativity in my little one. So when I saw a link to a story on Huffington Post about tips for fostering creativity in children, I clicked on it and was happy to find one of the suggestions from author Ken Rabow was to teach kids to knit or crochet.

This is huge these days with kids in their teens and twenties. There are knitting raves and flashmob knitting — it’s just a great thing that’s being re-invented. Yarn-bombing around telephone poles. Knitting cellphone covers, wine bottle covers, dog coats and more. This ain’t your Granny’s knitting!

Leaving aside the fact that I hate the phrase “not your grandma’s knitting” and the fact that just because it’s cool isn’t the only reason to do it, I do agree with him. Making your own things out of string is really amazing, creative and empowering for young and old alike, and it’s a great skill to teach kids (which we actually just talked about the other day).

Did you learn to knit when you were a kid? Do you think you’re more creative now because of it? Spill it!

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Felted Bag Knitting Patterns

I feel like felting is a knitting genre that deserves a resurgence. My first knitting book (which came out in 2008, eek!) was all about felting, but I don’t feel like there are a lot of felting knitting projects out there these days. I really like the technique as an easy way to make a thicker, more durable knit fabric, and it’s actually perfect for knitting bags.

The ZZ Bag from yamagara recently caught my eye and got me thinking about felted bags, and maybe remaking one of the bags that was in that book. This one has a fun zigzag pattern and is worked in worsted weight yarn. You can find the pattern on Ravelry.

A lot of the other knit and felted bag patterns I could find were older, but that doesn’t make them bad patterns. I’ve always loved the booga bag from Black Sheep Bags (the pattern is on their website but the photo is broken so you can also check it out on Ravelry). This is a fun one because you can use all your leftovers or a self-striping yarn (the original was made with Noro) to give it a colorful look that’s super easy to knit. 

An envelope purse is another easy shape to knit, and this version from Lavender Hill Knits on Etsy comes in different sizes for younger girls and teens or adults. The small version is worked with one strand of worsted weight yarn, while the larger uses two held together.

The Japanese knot bag is a classic, and a felted version is a lot of fun. You can find this pattern from Cindy Pilon on Ravelry and knit one for yourself using bulky yarn. I also love her bag The Curve, which is also on Ravelry and has a fun rounded shape and contrasting handles.

And there’s also the amazing stained glass bag from Knitting Dream, which also uses a Noro yarn, but you could use wool scraps on the different fans to give it a unique look. There are two size options to choose from and it’s not as tricky as it looks.