Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

A Super Simple Sweater for Any Time of Year

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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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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.