I feel like a lot of the posts I’ve been writing lately have been for relatively easy, kind of meditative, knit it while you’re watching TV or when your brain is tired but you need to do something with you hands kinds of patterns.
I think that’s what everyone needs at the beginning of a new year. It’s certainly what I’m looking for. Thus all the sharing of patterns like that.
I love Benjamin Matthews’ patterns because a lot of them are like that. They’re pretty and fun to knit and he uses texture in interesting ways so they don’t look plain but they’re still generally pretty easy.
The Matchstick Shawl is one example. This triangular shawl combines garter stitch and slipped stitches to make an easy but luscious fabric (that Malabrigo yarn certainly doesn’t hurt, either). The result is probably more interesting than you think garter stitch can be, but it’s still an easy enough knit that you don’t have to pay it that much attention if you don’t want to.
And of course the beauty of triangles is you can make them any size you want, or work until you run out of yarn. And you don’t have to use worsted weight yarn because you can just work to the dimensions called for or the size you want, bearing in mind that you’ll need more yarn if you use a lighter weight or want to make the project bigger.
You can grab a copy of this shawl on Ravelry.
If you’re looking for more garter stitch projects, check out the Sandstone Scarf (an excellent beginner knitting project), as well as this roundup of easy garter stitch knitting projects. Garter stitch is great for any time of year but I especially love it at the beginning of the year when your brain just needs to relax!
[Photo: Benjamin Matthews]
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