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.

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Knitwear designers can get inspiration from almost anything when it comes to re-creating a color scheme, an image or a texture in stitches. Sometimes the inspiration isn’t always obvious in the finished project, but sometimes it’s more literal.

That’s the way it is with the Tin Ceiling Blanket from Purl Soho. Not just because the inspiration is in the name, but if you’ve ever seen one of these old ceilings you can see that the design of the blanket is quite similar to the pattern of the tin tiles.

This is also a good example of the idea that you don’t have to use fancy stitch patterns or lots of color to make a big impact with your knits. This single-color blanket (designed by Gianna Mueller and inspired by a washcloth and towel set designed by Sandi Rosner) is made completely with knits and purls, other than slipped stitches at the beginning of rows to make neater edges.

The pattern is written out row by row, but there’s also a chart, which means this project is a great opportunity to practice reading a chart where you can check your work against the written pattern if you need to.

It comes in two sizes, a crib blanket and a throw. The yarn used in the sample is an organic cotton sold by the cone, which is a great way to get a large quantity of yarn and have fewer ends to weave in. In fact, you can knit either size of the blanket with just one cone of yarn, which isn’t inexpensive but makes you a great, sturdy, heirloom quality but still washable blanket you’ll use for years to come. (Of course you can use any sport weight yarn you like to make this blanket.)

Check out all the details and grab the free pattern from Purl Soho.

[Photo: Purl Soho]

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