Another Bit of Comfort Knitting

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]

Fall will be here before we know it, and that means there are holidays coming right behind where we might be entertaining at home. It’s always fun to have a hand knit touch in your home for other people to see, and if you’re going to be in the kitchen all day you might as well have some nice knit dish cloths to use.

I love this little plaid hand towel from Darling Jadore. Use a little bit of leftover cotton yarn from another project for the plaid portion. It looks like the horizontal stripes are worked as you knit and the vertical stripes are done with duplicate stitch, making this a quick and easy project even newer knitters can make.

Combine garter stitch and an easy eyelet pattern worked sideways to make the Annette Dish Towel from Cluck Cluck Boots, which is meant to be reminiscent of flour sack towels. It calls for DK weight yarn and you can work it in one color or two (or even three!).

Add a little more texture with this set of kitchen towels from Whileberry Creative. They’re mostly worked in garter stitch with borders in easy knit/purl patterns, and you can work them in sport or worsted weight yarn.

Two of Wands Shop has another cute allover knit and purl pattern they call the Seersucker Textured Tea Towel. It’s an easy repeating pattern worked in worsted weight yarn, and there’s a chart in the pattern you can use, but don’t have to, if you want to practice knitting from a chart.

The Classic Cloth dish towel from Handmade Home by Connie is another one that can use a little leftover yarn in a contrasting color, or you could color block it our use stripes throughout the pattern. This one uses worsted weight yarn and another easy repeating knit purl stitch pattern.

If you like to hang your towel on the oven handle or elsewhere but it’s always falling off, try the Stay Put kitchen towel from Fancy Step Knits. This project is worked in garter stitch and includes a hole partway through so you can pull the towel through itself over a rod or handle. Stripes are optional but a nice addition.

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