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A Few “Best Of” Pattern Roundups

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eyelet cowlSince I was at home with a preschooler a lot longer than I meant to be over the holidays and beyond, I’m a little behind on year-end roundups, so I thought I would share a few of the favorite pattern collections that have hit my email box recently.

Lion Brand Yarn has put together a collection of its 10 most popular patterns. I love the pint-sized Colorplay Hoodie and the Entrelac Cowl (I’ve been meaning to knit something like that for a while). The most popular pattern was the District 12 Cowl Wrap inspired by “Catching Fire.”

Red Heart’s Best of 2013 includes videos and tutorials, so you can learn how to knit with Sashay (something I still need to do) and then make the most popular pattern, a Sashay scarf. I also find it really funny that one of the most popular patterns was Angel Baby, which is an eyelet baby blanket that’s a really old pattern — I knit it for a “baby” who is now 7 years old!

Yarn Market did a countdown of 30 popular patterns, many though not all of which are free. But the Gold Rush Fan Stitch Cowl pattern, which came in at the top, is a free pattern worked in feather and fan in a locely yarn from Crystal Palace.

And Yarnspirations has a roundup of five afghan patterns and five cowl patterns you might want to check out. I’ve had my eye on that Southwest Geometric Blanket for a while, and the Spiral Cowl is pretty, too.

Last but not least, if you haven’t seen it already, is my roundup of most popular patterns from About Knitting. That cowl pictured above is mine.

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Comments

  1. Thanks, Sarah, for sharing these links for free patterns! With the beginning of the new year, I’m trying to lay out my knitting projects for the next few months. Some of these free patterns will definitely make the list 🙂

    Thanks again! I also have some free patterns on my website at http://purl3agony.hubpages.com/

Have you read?

A Whimsical Sock Pattern to Blow Your Mind

You probably know by now if you’re a regular reader (and if you’re not, welcome!) that I love a knitting pattern that’s a little silly or a little different from the usual. Classic patterns are great, too, but sometimes you just want to make something with a bit of whimsy. And when it’s super functional, too, that’s even better.

That’s the case with the Bananen-Socken pattern from Susanne Shahin. These banana socks are one of those patterns no one seems to be totally sure where it came from, and this free pattern on Ravelry explains how she makes them based on how she learned it.

It’s a sock that’s curved and when not on a foot it looks rather like a banana. There’s no heel, and you can use whatever number of stitches you need to make it fit your foot. If you’ve knit enough socks to know how many stitches you like you can just use that number, or the pattern notes include sizing charts to help. (It needs to be multiples of 2 for the ribbing.)

After working a traditional cuff, the body is made with ribbing on the back and welts (or what the pattern calls horizontal ribbing) on the front, which is what gives it the curved shape. There’s no heel, but there is toe shaping, but for the leg and the foot you just keep working the same pattern as long as you like.

I’m a little skeptical about how these socks will feel with ribbing on the bottom of the foot, but I’m definitely intrigued and will probably give them a try. 

The pattern notes are available on Ravelry in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish. If you head to the pattern page you can see a photo of what it looks like on a foot, and it just looks like a normal sock.

Have you ever knit banana socks or do you want to now? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: Susanne Shahin]