An Easy Sleeve for Summer Sweaters

I enjoy knitting sweaters and tops, but I will admit that I’m not a huge fan of knitting sleeves. For one thing, I always seem to knit one a few rows longer than the other, even when I’m counting carefully. For another, getting the sleeve to fit into the armhole is not always an easy feat.

Lately I’ve been knitting top-down style sleeves on just about everything. You pick up stitches all the way around but then work short rows across progressively longer sections of the top of the sleeve to form the cap that goes over the shoulder. Then you join in the round and work the rest of the sleeve down as long as you need it to go.

But this idea from Jordana Paige is also intriguing. She calls it the Magic Sleeve and says it works for drop shoulder, modified drop shoulder and set in sleeve patterns. It starts with picking up stitches and knitting flat for half the armhole width, and then is worked in the round for the remainder. You have to sew up the underarm seam when you’re done but it’s pretty simple and makes a nice little casual sleeve for a summery top.

Looking for more summer top knitting patterns? Check these out.

How do you deal with sleeves? I’d love to hear your favorite methods.

[Photo via Jordana Paige.]

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Why should the fireplace get all the fun? Instead of knitting stockings this year, why not whip up a pair of Christmas themed socks? These Christmas sock knitting patterns are lots of fun to make and you can wear them to holiday gatherings for years to come.

For our friends in the southern part of the world, there are the Christmas in July socks from the Kiwi Lodge – Kylie (Ravelry link). These shorty socks are covered in Christmas trees and have bright pink heels and toes for a tropical feel. There’s also an option to make a longer sock if you celebrate somewhere it’s colder.

Twin Stitches Designs (Ravelry) has a fun pattern with mix and match colorwork motifs you can use to build your own cozy Christmas socks. From the sample socks I see Christmas puddings, trucks hauling trees, Santa belts, ornaments and a couple of different borders. There may be more patterns included but the listing doesn’t say. Make a pair that matches or use different motifs on each foot for extra holiday cheer.

If you want to stick to Christmas puddings on your holiday socks, check out this cute pattern from Stone Knits. These lovely socks feature a band of puddings around the leg and a bit of holly by the toes.

These vintage holiday light socks from Grey Owl Knits by Sarah are classic looking and lots of fun at the same time. I love this color combination but of course you can make your lights and stripes whatever colors you like or have on hand. They’re worked using stranded knitting.

And if you’d like even more of a mix of patterns for your socks, try Barbara Ceglédi’s Christmas Chaos socks, a free pattern on Ravelry. The pattern includes 25 little motifs you can choose from, ranging from snowflakes and Christmas trees to elf hats, reindeer and hearts.

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