Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

Add Interest to Your Knitting with Knit Pleats

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knitting pleats book
The winner is spierssusan.

Knitting Pleats is an older knitting book that I reviewed quite a while ago, but I hung onto it because the concept is so fun and intriguing.

The book explores how to make permanent folds — aka pleats — in knit fabric by knitting for a while, picking up some stitches and working them together with the live stitches to fold the fabric.

It’s a really interesting technique to play with, and it can be used in all sorts of ways, from making a bag that folds to shaping a shawl or adding interest to a top. (Check out the patterns on Ravelry.)

If you’d like to win this book, leave a comment on this post by the end of the day Sunday, March 26. I’d love to know if you’ve ever worked with knit pleats before (I haven’t!) and what you might use them for. If I were keeping the book, I’d knit the Concertina Bag and Silver Darts, for sure.

Thanks for visiting, commenting and sharing, and good luck!

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Comments

  1. So many of the patterns are very interesting! I would love to win a copy!
    Thank you for sharing.

  2. If I were to win this book, I would definitely make the Ribbons and Ties sweater. It can be old fashioned or new age. I really love that one and also the Silver Darts.

  6. Never thought to knit pleats, what a new and brilliant concept! I would knit the Lipstick Glamour, sharpen my skills and then design some more tops for my daughter. She is a Double D and so it is often very hard to find something that either does not look stretched to death round the top and fits the rest of her or fits around the top and hangs like a sack around the rest of her body. Pleats may be the answer to give that extra room.

  7. So creative. I love the Wings Butterfly shawl. I am always trying to stretch my imagination when I knit a garment by either adding embellishments such as. beads, fringe or flowers. Pleats would be so cool and original in a creation. Would love to share this with my fellow knitters.

  8. I love knitting and this is very interesting. I think I may try to do this for my granddaughter for graduation. I think she would love it. I don’t do to much pattern work for I have had many operations on my eyes, I lost all sight but now have a limited amount back, but I think I will still have to try this and see if it comes out for me. Thank you for the chance in winning this book.

  9. I think elements of architecture (building in ridges, folds) is fascinating. It turns fabric into a sort of origami.

  10. How serendipitous. I just saw a wicked cool pattern for a pleated hat and I’ve never worked pleats before. Now seeing this, I see there is so many more fun things to do with them.

  12. Oh my gosh I. Would live to work these up. The are so elegant and I’ve never seen pleats bit definitely sparks one’s imagination.

  13. I haven’t knitted pleats, but it looks such a fun technique! I love the Silver Darts T.

  14. Very cool! I haven’t tried this technique yet, but I’m up for it! Thank you for sharing.

  15. I’ve never seen this technique before, and it has me absolutely fascinated!! The main project I fell in love with was the Borderline Pleated Trim Jacket, but would also love to try the Eve’s Ribs Sweater in a solid yarn or two solid colors, and the Butterfly Shawl was really quite unique, since I love making shawls!! The shawl on the cover is quite different, too, but I would have to tweak that pattern slightly, if I got good enough with the pleating technique, since I don’t care much for bobbles!! Thank you for offering such a wonderful, new and unique giveaway, that not many people will have in their collection!!

Have you read?

Knits with Sheep

It felt like it had been a while since I’d done a roundup of knitting patterns involving sheep, and if search is any indication, that is true. I found a roundup of patterns for knit sheep from a few years ago, but the only one with v I could find is from 2015. So it’s definitely time to revisit this fun genre of knitting patterns.

This all started with a headband. Alyssa Kaat’s Icelandic Sheep Headband (free on Ravelry) to be specific. Ravelry showed it to me as a pattern highlight and I couldn’t resist taking a closer look. It’s worked with two colors of worsted weight yarn and alternates sheep with stars around your head.

Another great sheepy headband is this one from Loch Fyne Crafts on Etsy. These sweet little sheep are worked in bulky yarn and you can make the background look like field and sky or work it in a solid color.

Or make a headband (or a hat, cowl, or all three) covered with a flock of sheep with this set of patterns from New Age Knitting CA. These pieces also use the field/sky coloring, but you can use whatever colors of worsted weight yarn you like.

Speaking of hats, there’s also the sheep hat from Lynann Knits Designs. The sample was worked in Icelandic wool to make the sheep and the hat extra fuzzy and warm, but any worsted weight yarn will work.

There’s also the Wandering Sheep hat from Kat Hudon (on Ravelry), which features a fun collection of speckled sheep that can be worked in different yarn weights to make different sizes of hats for kids and adults.

And lest you think sheep need to be knit in traditional stranded colorwork, check out the Rebel Sheep Mob blanket by Deborah Moore. This one is worked in mosaic knitting using fingering weight yarn. In mosaic knitting you’re only working with one color per row so it’s pretty easy. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

I can’t possibly share sheep knitting patterns without mentioning the amazing Black Sheep Shadow Shawl by Mark Jamieson. Shadow knitting is a technique I want to do more of, but it involves working two rows alternating in two different colors and the pattern emerges when you look at the design from an angle. It’s so cool and the sheep on this one are amazing! It’s not a beginner project but well worth the work. You can find it on Ravelry or at the designer’s website.