Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Bear Ears Hat Knitting Pattern

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I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to resist the cuteness of a hat with animal ears on it. Whether for little ones or even adults, adding ears to a hat just ramps up the cuteness factor, and it’s really not any more difficult and doesn’t take much longer to add ears to the top of a hat.

>>> While you are here, check out these 10 Teddy Bear patterns for Valentine’s day. <<<

When my kid was younger I made hats that looks like bears, cats and bunnies (and of course I made a version of a cat hat for adults, too). Ears are a great little detail that makes a plain hat that much cuter. And there’s something about little kids in hats with ears that seems to make both the kid and the hat extra cute.

This bear ears hat knitting pattern from Fox & Pine Stitches uses super bulky yarn and is sized for newborns, 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-12 months, 1-3 years and 4-12 years (though the same size hat would fit a 4 year old and a 12 year old quite differently; check the head measurement against the child you’re knitting for to make sure it will fit).

This little hat would be so cute to knit for a pregnancy announcement and to use in a newborn photo shoot, or make them for all the kids in your family for super cute holiday photos. And of course you could add the same style of ears to a bulky hat for any age to make coordinating head gear for everyone in the family.

The pattern is available for free from Fox & Pine Stitches.

Looking for more cute projects for baby? Check out my collection of easy baby blanket knitting patterns and a more recent list of baby blanket knitting patterns. (Baby blankets are my favorites, but hats are great to knit for babies, too, and you can always make both for a super sweet and thoughtful gift!)

[Photo: Fox & Pine Stitches]

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Pencil Knitting Patterns

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns! 

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil. 

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn. 

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point. 

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up. 

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.