Book Review: Conscious Crafts Knitting

Knitting is more than a way to make things, though it is great for that. It’s also a great way to relieve stress, connect with other people and express yourself.

Knitters Sicgmone Kludje and Vanessa Koranteng, founders of the Black Girl Knit Club, explore the benefits of knitting and share 20 simple patterns for your home and accessories for you to wear or make as gifts in Conscious Crafts: Knitting.

The book goes over the basics of learning to knit and emphasizes mindfulness and positive thinking as you work on your projects. It’s sprinkled with affirmations amid the knitting patterns, which use simple stitches like Garter, Stockinette and Moss Stitch.

Some of the patterns are variations on a basic theme such as bath mat worked in a single color and the same project worked with stripes.

Patterns include mats for mugs and your desk, a washcloth, a plant cozy, a blanket, a cushion cover and a wall hanging. Accessories for yourself include a headband, fingerless mitts, a scarf, snoods and a couple of bags.

The photos that accompany the knitting instructions are somewhat small. If you are a completely new knitter it might be hard to see exactly what’s going on in some of them. But if you have a little knowledge of the basics, the patterns in this book are simple, soothing and fun to knit.

About the book: 144 pages, hardcover, 20 patterns. Released April 2022 by Leaping Hare Press. Suggested retail price $18.

Next Pattern:

I’ve shared a lot of Christmas stocking knitting patterns over the years (see posts 1, 2, 3 for example) but what if you want to knit a stocking for a non-human member of your family. If you’re looking for Christmas stocking knitting patterns for your cats or dogs, this is the post for you.

These large paw print stockings are perfect for either dogs or cats, so they’re great to knit if you have both. They are worked in the round using DK weight yarn, and the stocking measures about 17 inches/43 cm from the top to the heel. You can get the pattern from nicolaluke.

The K4 Project has a super cute Kitty Christmas stocking pattern, which is worked in worsted weight yarn. They also have a dog version, or you can buy both and get a discount if you have both dogs and cats to knit for. Both projects have two patterns, showing how to work the stockings flat or in the round.

Put your dog into a Christmas scene with this stocking pattern from ifanhourChild. It shows a dog in a dog house in the snow, and has room for the dog’s name at the top. It’s worked flat using worsted weight yarn and the pattern includes charts for many small and medium dog breeds (there’s a separate listing for bigger dogs) so you can stitch a dog that looks like yours.

Annie’s Woolens has both dog and cat stocking knitting patterns that are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. You can change up the colors to suit your pet if you want, and they come with an alphabet chart for personalization. Or you can stick with holiday colors and buy a kit to make the dog or cat stocking.

Waiting for Santa Paws is a pattern from Kate Agner on Ravelry that would be cute for a dog or a cat. It looks like a leg with a paw print on the bottom part of the foot and more paw prints running around the top of the leg. This is a great option if you don’t want to mess with a heel turn because it doesn’t have a heel, because dogs and cats don’t have heels so why would their stockings?

Book Review – 20 to Knit: Tiny Christmas Toys to Knit

Book Review – Knit Christmas Stockings

Next Pattern:

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