Knitting

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Free Christmas Stocking Pattern from Vickie Howell

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fair isle stockingThe fun knitwear designer Vickie Howell has been kind enough to offer a free knitting pattern for a Fair Isle Christmas Stocking over on my page at About.com and I wanted to make sure you all knew about it, too.

The Fa-La-La Fair Isle Stocking is worked in four colors and uses three little charts to decorate the leg of the stocking. It features and afterthought heel and the heel and toe are shaped the same way and closed off with a three-needle bind off. It’s always nice when you don’t have to do any grafting!

And if you’re a fan of Vickie’s, stay tuned; I’ve got a great giveaway coming next week.

[Photo by Vickie Howell.]

Looking for more Christmas themed Knitting patterns? Check out some of our favorite Knitting patterns on Etsy and

These Christmas Knitting Pattern Books on Amazon

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Go Back to the ’90s with this Set of Knitting Patterns

If you want to feel personally attacked by a collection of knitting and crochet patterns as I was, check out the “90s Mod Inspired” pattern lookbook from Yarnspirations. 

It’s actually a great collection of patterns for folks who want to stitch up that Y2K look again (or for the first time). There’s an oversized, striped grandpa cardigan! A (crocheted) plaid messenger bag! A boxy argyle vest, and a rolled hem sweater the likes of which I bought in a store in the ’90s and knit a replica of later. 

There’s also a section of “Prep School” patterns (think “Clueless,” they’re even called things like “As if” and “Betty”) including a granny square tie and crocheted wrap skirt, and a knit cabled pullover, beret and cardigan with blocky stripes. Other sections include casual collegiate, punk and mod, and academia. 

Some of the patterns repeat among the sections but there’s a nice selection for people who want a little throwback for their back to school and fall wardrobes. 

Since I had this sweater, we’ll take a closer look at the Caron Cropped Stripy Sweater. The one I knit from a pattern of my own devising in the mid ’00s was tonal blues, but this one calls for two colorways of Colorama Haze, a fuzzy self-striping worsted weight yarn. 

The pattern comes in six sizes, with chest measurements ranging from 39 to 60 inches (that’s 99 to 152.5 cm). Clearly that’s a lot of ease at the lower sizes, since the smallest size is meant to fit an actual chest measurement from 28-34 inches, or 71-86.5 cm. 

The sweater is a modified drop shoulder worked flat in pieces and seamed. That means the stripes probably won’t match around the body but it’s still a classic look. This one does have ribbing at the neckline, where the original sweater I owned and my re-creation had rolled hems throughout, but you can do it either way depending on your preference. 

Do any of these projects remind you of clothes you might have worn or knit in the past? I’d love to hear about it!