Add Chevron Stripes to a Sweet Vintage Sweater

You probably know by now that I am really trying to use my yarn stash, and that I have a lot of odd balls that don’t necessarily easily make a garment on their own. I’ve been thinking about just going through my stash from one end to the other and making myself use whatever I find, but I also love big projects that can use a lot of stash, and different colors of stash, all at once.

That’s a great thing about the Vintage & Variety sweater from Caitlyn Turowksi. This worsted/aran weight pullover is worked in a colorwork chevron stripe pattern, with raglan sleeves and a V-neck worked from the top down.

You can make it with as many or as few different colors as you want. Make it a sort of retro rainbow as shown, or use all your stash of a single color to make an ombre effect.The pattern page shows the design worked in three colors or 12 colors, and you could do something in between by repeating some of the colors more or less often if you want.

There’s also an option for working it in a single color, which would make the chevron really subtle but would still be fun to knit.

This is one where you’ll want to look through all the different projects on the pattern page on Ravelry if you can to see if the colors other people used spark any ideas for what you can pull out of your stash to work with.

The pattern come sin nine sizes, with a finished bust measurement ranging from 32 to 64 inches, or 80 to 160 cm. You can decide how much ease you want; the three-color version in the project notes has no ease, while this colorful version is a little more relaxed.

As you might have guessed, you can find the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Caitlyn Turowski]

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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