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.

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.

Have you read?