Knitting

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Fun with Garter Stitch

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wacing fingers wildflower knitsWhen we’re new knitters, the first thing most of us do is knit something made with garter stitch. And we usually pretty quickly abandon “knit every stitch of every row” because, frankly, it can be kind of boring. But there are reasons to keep coming back to humble garter stitch: it’s fast, it has built-in texture, it doesn’t curl and you can do things to spice it up should you want to.

I happen to be working on a scarf right now (a rare non-book bit of knitting, for a good reason that I’ll share probably later this week) that I’m working in garter stitch with a row of elongated stitches every few rows to make the yarn go further, make the scarf a bit less stifling and to add interest in the knitting and the wearing.

I also just came across this cute Waving Fingers Scarf from Wildflower Knits, which uses regular cast ons and bind offs to make “fingers” of fringe along one edge of the scarf. The sample was worked in Plymouth Kudo (another self-striping beauty), but any self-striping yarn you like (including Noro!) would make quick and beautiful work of this easy scarf.

How do you feel about garter stitch? Spill it!

[Photo by Wildflower Knits.]

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Comments

  1. Hi Sarah!
    Just wanted to add that this is a great project for beginners because they get lots of practice casting on and binding off! Thanks for posting!
    Kennita

  3. There is so much to recommend about garter stitch – in addition to the list of positives you’ve already written I would add that garter stitch projects are fabulous for when you just want some “stitch therapy”. I just love pieces with big runs of knit stitch – time to zen out (zone out) and sort through the day.

Have you read?

Christmas Stocking Knitting Patterns for Your Pets

I’ve shared a lot of Christmas stocking knitting patterns over the years (see posts 1, 2, 3 for example) but what if you want to knit a stocking for a non-human member of your family. If you’re looking for Christmas stocking knitting patterns for your cats or dogs, this is the post for you.

These large paw print stockings are perfect for either dogs or cats, so they’re great to knit if you have both. They are worked in the round using DK weight yarn, and the stocking measures about 17 inches/43 cm from the top to the heel. You can get the pattern from nicolaluke.

The K4 Project has a super cute Kitty Christmas stocking pattern, which is worked in worsted weight yarn. They also have a dog version, or you can buy both and get a discount if you have both dogs and cats to knit for. Both projects have two patterns, showing how to work the stockings flat or in the round.

Put your dog into a Christmas scene with this stocking pattern from ifanhourChild. It shows a dog in a dog house in the snow, and has room for the dog’s name at the top. It’s worked flat using worsted weight yarn and the pattern includes charts for many small and medium dog breeds (there’s a separate listing for bigger dogs) so you can stitch a dog that looks like yours.

Annie’s Woolens has both dog and cat stocking knitting patterns that are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. You can change up the colors to suit your pet if you want, and they come with an alphabet chart for personalization. Or you can stick with holiday colors and buy a kit to make the dog or cat stocking.

Waiting for Santa Paws is a pattern from Kate Agner on Ravelry that would be cute for a dog or a cat. It looks like a leg with a paw print on the bottom part of the foot and more paw prints running around the top of the leg. This is a great option if you don’t want to mess with a heel turn because it doesn’t have a heel, because dogs and cats don’t have heels so why would their stockings?

Book Review – 20 to Knit: Tiny Christmas Toys to Knit

Book Review – Knit Christmas Stockings

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