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

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.

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