Book Review: Knit Yourself Calm

Now more than ever I think most of us who knit or do other fiber arts are aware of their mental health benefits. We see a reduction in stressful feelings, an ability to control something, which can be powerful, and physiological benefits like decreased blood pressure can come from regular crafting time.

Knit Yourself Calm by Lynne Rowe and Betsan Corkhill came out several years before the pandemic, but its prescription of simple projects to help you calm down and skill-building patterns when you need more of a challenge is a great one for our times.

Despite the title the book doesn’t actually go into a lot of detail about why or how crafting is beneficial as a stress-reduction technique. It is mostly a collection of different kinds of projects for different times — when you need something quick and easy, portable, to work on with a group (or, these days, individually and one person can put the pieces together), big projects and projects for learning new skills.

You’ll find patterns like washcloths, a ribbed scarf and Garter Stitch pillows, simple hats and socks, a patchwork blanket, stripe shawl and cabled fingerless mitts, to name a few. You can see a few of the patterns on the cover on Amazon, or there’s a flip-through preview on the publisher’s website.

Most of the project are suitable for newer knitters who are ready to move on from the basics, and there are instructions for all the techniques needed. If you’re not a new knitter but you like solid patterns with cute design elements but that don’t need a lot of thought put into them, these are good options for you as well. None of the projects totally wow me, but they’d be fine as comfort projects when you just need to run something nice through your needles.

About the book: 112 pages, paperback, 16 patterns. Published 2017 by Search Press, suggested retail $15.95.

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Looking for more amazing shawl patterns? Check out these Knitting patterns we found on Etsy.

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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

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