A Comfort Knit That’s Just for You

As I write this we’re kind of in the thick of holiday preparations, that mad rush toward the end of the semester, finals and school holidays and actual holidays and the end of the year and wouldn’t it be great to get a moment to do something that’s just for you?

That’s what I was thinking about when I came across the pattern for the Tied Wrap from Lion Brand Yarn.

It’s just a giant triangle of garter stitch, with stockinette stitch ties to make it easier to wear (you could absolutely make these I-cord instead and you’d never have to purl at all).

Even better, it’s worked on super bulky yarn, and it’s just a one row repeat from the second row until the bind off. Easy, meditative, perfect me-time knitting for when you get a second to sit down in this busy season or you want to knit in front of the latest Hallmark movie.

Of course this project would be a great gift, too, and it’s easy enough that a new knitter can make it, and a knitter with a little speed behind them might even still be able to make it as a holiday gift for someone.

I urge you not to do that. Most people we want to knit for aren’t really worth it. They won’t appreciate the things we make nearly as much as we will.

And after having survived almost this whole year, don’t you deserve a little treat?

The pattern in available for free from Lion Brand Yarn, but you can also get a kit from them that includes the yarn (and needles if you need them). But if you’re got a stash of Lion Brand Hometown Yarn, or anything else super bulky, you can of course use that. You could even hold a couple of strands of worsted weight yarn together if that’s what you have on hand. Do what you like!

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

For the past few years I’ve taken part in a Christmas in July blog hop that encourages people to get a jump on their making for holiday gifts.

I love to use yarn I already have for these projects in the hope that people will consider what they already have that they can use to make projects for themselves or to give as gifts.

This year it was a couple of knit baskets made using partial balls of yarn left in my stash from other projects.

They use the same basic pattern but the first one is made with two colors of bulky yarn, and the second used two strands of worsted weight yarn held together, which made the gauge about the same, but I cast on fewer stitches to make a smaller version.

The bottom of the basket is square, though you can make them rectangular if you’d rather. Then I just knit up the sides in rounds until I was about to run out of yarn. This gave both baskets rather short sides — maybe more like a tray than a basket — but you can keep knitting as long as you like to make the sides of your basket as tall as you want.

They’re worked in seed stitch, which keeps the edges from curling and adds a nice texture to the baskets.

Of course this also allows you to use even more odd balls from your stash. I’d love to make a big one someday combining lots of different yarn. I mean, I’d probably use it to store more yarn, but that’s a fine thing to do.

As it is, these little trays are great for sitting on your desk or bedside table to hold little things that always seem to appear there. I like to use one to hold the supplies for whatever project I’m working on, things like little scissors, my tape measure, a crochet hook, etc.

And they would make good gifts on their own or as a container to hold some other goodies if you like.

You can find the free pattern for these stash busting baskets over at Our Daily Craft.

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