Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

BIPOC in Fiber Launches Crowdfunder for Website

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Jeanette Sloan has been at the forefront of discussions of diversity in knitting and the list of POC designers and crafters on her website has proven a valuable if rather low-tech resource both for consumers who want to support BIPOC designers and for knitting companies and event producers who want to be more diverse in selecting who they work with.

She’s teamed up with Lorna Hamilton-Brown (whose dissertation was about dispelling the myth that black people don’t knit) and website designer Alyson Chu to launch a dedicated website for BIPOC in fiber that will include a directory, profiles, support and more for designers and yarn crafters of color.

The project has been on Crowdfunder for just a few days and has already surpassed the goal of £20,000 raised. The money will go to producing the website and compensating people who are producing content for the site and rewards for the campaign.

This will be such a great resource for knitters, yarn companies and those who hire designers and teachers, and is another way to bring more attention to the diversity of the knitting and crafting world.

[Photo: BIPOC in Fiber.]

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Patchwork Blanket Knitting Patterns

Any time of year is a good time for stash busting, but if you can combine it with knitting a blanket that will keep you warm when it (finally!) gets cooler that’s even better. Let’s take a look at some fun patchwork blanket knitting patterns. 

If you want to keep it super simple, you can just make blocks of garter stitch and sew them together, like the beginner’s patchwork baby blanket from Mini Baa Baa or the color block blanket from Make and Do Crew. Both projects are worked in strips and sew together, with the baby version calling for two strands of DK or light worsted weight yarn held together and the larger one using bulky yarn. 

Add a little more texture with the mixed blocks of the cottage quilt throw from Mama in a Stitch. This one combines garter stitch and seed stitch and uses worsted weight yarn. She used a crochet join to make the chains on top of the blocks, but you can join them however you like. It calls for eight colors but you can use what you have, and there are three size options. 

Get a real sampler style patchwork blanket with this design from Knit Sew Make. It calls for worsted weight yarn and has four size options. All of the patterns just use knit and purl stitches so this one is still pretty easy for beginners. 

If you want a more complex colorwork project that will keep you entertained all season, try the Peace by Piece blanket pattern from Needle and Feather. This one is made up of two color colorwork blocks and calls for worsted weight yarn. You can choose to use just a few of the blocks and repeat them more often, or make multiples of the whole set. 

The knitted patchwork recipe from Martine Ellis (free on Ravelry) uses mitered squares in fingering weight yarn, so it’s perfect for using up all your leftover sock yarn and mini skeins. This one is a tutorial more than a pattern so you can make your blanket as big as you like or keep going until you run out of yarn. 

Susan B. Anderson’s 100 Squares blanket (find it on Ravelry) has a lot of mitered squares, too, but they’re arranged in fun ways and includes some quilt inspired designs as well. This one also is a bit of method more than pattern but it sure looks like a lot of fun for using all the leftovers. 

Of course you can totally improvise a patchwork blanket using the yarn and stitches you like, but I hope these patterns inspire you to look at your leftover yarn in a new way.