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]

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time.

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring.

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row.

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves.

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body.

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy.

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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