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]

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.

Have you read?