Add a Little Lace to Your Sweater

I don’t know why I think of lace knitting as being for spring and summer, but I do. I guess it’s because those holes let in a little more air, which is decidedly not something we want to happen when it’s cold outside.

But as the weather warms I always feel a pull toward lace knitting. If you’re new to knitting lace, or just don’t want or need to knit a lace shawl, knitting a sweater with eyelet elements is a great place to start, or a way to get some lace in your life that’s not too frilly (not that we’re against frilly!).

The Gem Sweater by Irene Lin is a great project in this genre. It’s worked with a sport and lace weight yarn held together to make a worsted weight, or you could just use worsted if you’d rather. If you’re new to lace this is a great way to start because you don’t have to use the little needles that often go with traditional lace.

The sweater itself is worked from the top down and features an allover diamond lace pattern. The pattern is available in 7 sizes that range in chest measurement from 50 to 74.75 inches, or 127 to 190 centimeters. As you might guess from those measurements, it’s designed to have a lot of ease. The sample shown, for example, has 17.5 inches, or 44 cm, of positive ease, but of course you don’t have to have that much if your chest measurement is 50 or above.

This would be a great sweater to knit and wear during those transitional seasons when you need an extra layer but maybe not a super heavy one. I think it would be cute over a summer dress, too, at the beach or anywhere you need some more warmth on an otherwise warm day.

You can grab the pattern from Ravelry; it’s available in English, Japanese and Korean.

[Photo: Irene Lin]

Twisted Lace Headband Knitting Pattern

Knit a Lace Shawl for Cooler Weather

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Once you get past the rush of the holidays, it’s time to focus on yourself and your home and what’s going to make you feel good for the rest of winter. For me, that’s having a homemade blanket in every room. I’m currently working on a granny stitch crochet blanket, but I wanted to share some cozy knit blanket patterns with you in case you’re on the lookout for something great to knit yourself or someone you love.

I have really been enjoying log cabin projects lately because they’re a great way to use stash and I love the connections between knitting and quilting. This log cabin scrap blanket pattern is free from Very Pink, and it includes a video tutorial if you haven’t done log cabin knitting before. It’s worked in garter stitch and has blocks that are connected by borders in a single color.

Speaking of scrap busting (since that’s on my mind all the time, but particularly when New Year’s resolution time rolls around), the Hue Shift Afghan by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence is worked in a huge array of colors in garter stitch mitered squares. The pattern has options for working with sport weight or worsted weight yarn, and the blanket is worked in quarters and then sewn together, but the individual squares in each section are worked off each other for minimal finishing. Get the pattern from Knit Picks.

If you’re looking for an easy pattern that has a lot of texture, this quilted knit throw from Mama in a Stitch is a great choice. It uses chunky yarn in a single color to make a simple knit and purl pattern that looks like diamonds. The designer notes that a lighter colored yarn is helpful for making the stitch pattern stand out, but you can try whatever color you like.

Or go even simpler with the Bella Vita blanket from Christaco Design. This one uses super bulky yarn (or make it a stash buster by holding two strands of worsted weight yarn together). The pattern has a seed stitch border and allover knit and purl pattern, and includes sizes from baby blanket to California king.

If instead you want a project that will challenge you and occupy your mind as well as your needles, try the Aran texture cable afghan knitting pattern from Pattern Professionals. This gorgeous design features panels of cables and other textured stitches, and the pattern is originally form the 1970s. It uses worsted weight yarn and each pattern strip is worked individually and sewn together (though you could combine them into one big panel if you’d rather).

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