A Couple of Tasty Knitting Patterns

March 15, 2024 by Sarah White

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]

Have you read?

Pencil Knitting Patterns

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.