Add Some Doodles to Your Cowl with this Fun Arctic Pattern

It feels like winter gets sucked up in Christmas trees and elves and doesn’t leave enough time for adorable winter animals, snowflakes and the like. But today we’re going to focus on a pattern that’s decidedly winter but not necessarily a holiday pattern, and you can make it any way you like.

Arctic Doodles by Jamie Lomax is one of her doodle series of patterns, which we’ll talk about more in a minute. The doodle patterns allow you to mix and match different little colorwork designs so you can make a totally unique project. In this set of designs you’ll find polar bears, snowflakes, trees, moose, walruses and more. The cowl pattern itself comes in three different sizes and you can mix and match any of the designs you like, in whatever colors you like, to make a project the size you want.

It uses DK weight yarn and you can grab the pattern on Ravelry.

In addition to the Arctic doodles, though, Jamie has a whole series of interchangeable pattern motifs that you can use to make a project on a particular theme or just mix and match the ones you like.

For example there are monsters and other Halloween motifs; fall-themed designs like a fox, fall leaves and pumpkins; a floral set with flower motifs and butterflies; even a Rhinebeck set of patterns that include sweaters, socks, hats, rabbits, sheep and more in honor of the famous wool festival.

Once you’ve bought a pattern that includes the general instructions for making the cowls, you can by any of the motif sets as an expansion pack, which is less expensive than buying the full pattern again.

This idea is so much fun (and a great way to use your yarny leftovers, of course) and I’m sure she’s going to keep making them with different designs in the future so you’ll want to check back and see what other fun she has in store.

[Photo: Jamie Lomax]

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Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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