A Super Simple Sweater for Any Time of Year

One of my favorite ways to use a lot of yarn quickly is to hold two strands of yarn (or more!) together as I knit. This is a great way to give a project a marled look, and it’s not any more difficult than working with a single strand of yarn.

The Kenwood Sweater from Two of Wands for Lion Brand Yarn uses two strands of worsted weight yarn held together for a sweater that’s warm and cozy. But because it’s worked on large needles, it has a bit of airiness to it that makes it nice for cool summer nights on the beach or in buildings with too much air conditioning.

The sweater calls for Color Theory yarn, which was developed by Two of Wands in 18 harmonious colors, so you can choose any two colors you like and they’re sure to look great together.

Of course if you want to make it a stash buster you can use any two worsted weight yarns from your stash. You can even change colors as you run out of yarn for a faded effect. (I did that with this sweater tunic design, and I love the way it turned out.)

This version is worked flat in pieces from the bottom up and features a modified drop shoulder design and crew neck.

The pattern has eight sizes ranging in chest measurement from 37 to 66 inches, or 94 to 167.5 cm, and is intended to be worn with about 7 inches/17.75 cm of positive ease, though you can alter that as you like. I love the cozy, boxy look of this one with the positive gauge, and it would be a perfect first sweater pattern if you’re looking for something quick, easy and fun to start with.

You can download this pattern for free from Lion Brand, or purchase a kit direct from them with all the supplies you need.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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