Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Alt Fiber and Free Felted Stocking Pattern

by

Alt Fiber, by Shannon Okey takes knitting with cotton and bamboo clear into another universe to experiment with the likes of corn, soy, hemp, even seaweed, and many more unusual fibers.

The different qualities of each of these fibers is discussed as well as suggestions for patterns based on each type of fiber’s uniqueness.

Nettles, pineapple and silk are explored as is milkweek, ramie and banana.

Got access to a cattail swamp? You guessed it. Spin it with a longer staple fiber and you have a most unique product.

The book also includes a section on natural dyes, plant based dyes and overdying.

On to the patterns; 25 of them including sweaters, coats and jackets, stoles, scarves and wraps, mittens, hats and socks. So the next time your dig out the pesticides to deal with those unmanageable dandelions, grab your wheel instead and watch a whole new world open up!

And, I found the cutest, rustic style Christmas Stockings. A free pattern from Knitting At Knoon, here:

http://www.knittingatknoon.com/stockingpatt.html

Enjoy!!

Have you read?

Knit Little Fish to Use Your Yarn Scraps

I rarely understand why something becomes a trend in crafting. Gnomes and geese are both cute I guess, but I never thought we’d be making them for all seasons. (See, for example, this collection of gnome knitting patterns, or these knit geese.)

Another one I don’t totally understand is sardines or little fish more generally. Sure, they’re cute, and the shape is fun, but I had no idea when I was sharing this pattern for a fish-shaped pouch last year that it would become a hugely popular pattern that people are still searching for on the site. It is pretty cute, though, so if you weren’t around then or don’t remember you should got check it out. 

Recently another fishy knitting pattern crossed my monitor: the little knit fish from Classical Songbird Designs. 

Just as the name suggests, these fish are little, about 4.5 inches or 11 cm from end to end. They look like little sardines and take about 12 yards of sock yarn to make. 

You can even make a two-tone fish and use just 6 yards of each color. 

This sounds to me like just about the perfect use for the yarn that’s left over after knitting a pair of socks, or a mini skein or several that have been sitting around unused in your stash. 

The fish are knit flat in one piece, which makes it easy to stitch on the eyes with more yarn or embroidery floss before stuffing, and you can stitch up the sides while you stuff (though it’s not a very big piece so you could probably stitch and then stuff, finishing with the end of the tail). 

Because I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one wondering, I measured an Altoids box and as the pattern is written the fish are a little too big to fit in it (the box is about 4 inches/10 cm long). But you could make the fish a little smaller if you want to make a box of them. Or just make a fishy bag to put them in!

You can grab the free pattern for the little knit fish at Classical Songbird Designs. 

[Photo: Classical Songbird Designs.]