A Couple of Tasty Knitting Patterns

Sometimes I feel like crochet beats knitting in terms of whimsy. I know there are plenty of fun and funky knitting patterns with all sorts of subjects, but it just feels like there are so many more options for fun stuff in the category of crochet amigurumi as opposed to knitting.

But every now and then I’ll come across some fun patterns (or make something myself!) that reminds me that knitting can be just as much fun and as silly as crochet is.

Before you go on check out our roundup of cross stitch patterns to celebrate women’s history month.

Case in point: these knit food pillows from Lion Brand Yarn.

First I saw the pretzel pillow knitting pattern, which is a super cute and easy project, worked in bulky weight yarn in the round. It’s just a giant tube, so it’s great practice for working in the round if you need that, and then you twist it, sew it into a pretzel shape and embellish it with beads for the salt. So cute!

Then I noticed there was also a pattern for a macaron pillow (not to be confused with a macaroon pillow), which would be so cute in a girl’s room since these treats are often pastel colors. This design is also made with bulky weight yarn, and while this one is also rated easy there’s more going on in the knitting. Because the pattern is worked in one piece, you’re starting from the center of one side of the cookie, increasing to the desired size, working a bit without increasing for the filling, then you decrease back down on the other side to make the second cookie. Once the cookie is knit, you work the filling as I-cord and then sew it in place.

These fun pillows are almost good enough to eat and would be fun for a dorm room, play room or TV room as well as a kid’s room. Or make one for your pretzel-loving pal.

Both are free downloads from Lion Brand Yarn that you can access at the links above.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

Generally I like knitting patterns where I feel like you can use whatever yarn you have (because my stash is big enough and I want to use it, thanks) and make a successful project. This is one of those times when a special yarn makes the process that much easier.

The Floral Bouquet Shawl from Xandy Peters uses a specific extended color pooling yarn from Feisty Fibers, which allows you to place the bobble flowers with increasing frequency as you knit the project.

It starts with a solid color yarn, then the two color yarn is added in, and you make a bobble whenever you encounter the color pops. This would be hard to replicate with other yarn that doesn’t have the extended color pooling built in.

The background of the shawl is ribbed, making the project reversible.

The shawl uses fingering/sock yarn and comes out to be an asymmetrical triangle that’s 54 inches/137 cm long and 36 inches/ 90 cm deep and 60 inches/150 cm across the top edge.

Xandy says the pattern is for intermediate to advanced knitters. Knowing how to work traditional bobbles would probably help, but there’s a great video tutorial for how to work the floral bobbles so you can practice on other yarn or even incorporate the bobbles into other projects.

The bobbles are five-petaled flowers but they also kind of look like starfish to me, which could be fun on a child’s cardigan or other pattern. They’d also be fun on the leg of a sock or around the brim of a hat for extra whimsy.

The pattern includes photo and video tutorials, and written and charted instructions. It also includes tips on what to look for if you choose to use different yarn for the project, and instructions on how to dye your own yarn to use in the project.

If you want to give it a try, you can find the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Xandy Peters]

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