Book Review: Magical Knits from the North

If you like your knitting with a touch of the mystical, you’ll love Magical Knits from the North by Katinka Sarjanoja and Meri Mort. This collection of 19 knitting patterns includes socks, mitts, hats, a couple of sweaters, shawls and more with a mythological, magical inspiration.

Each pattern in the book is accompanied by a poem (or spell, if you want to keep the magic going) based on the Finnish-Karelian oral tradition preserved in Finnish folk music. They call on the maker to meditate on the recipient of their work and add good wishes for them as you knit.

The patterns are colorful and detailed and would probably be best for intermediate to advanced knitters. All of the patterns include colorwork and some involve several pages of charts. Most of the patterns (including one of the sweaters) come in only one size, while a few have two sizes.

Some of my favorites include Euphoria, above-the-knee socks that feature a snake slithering up the leg; Valkyrie, a shawl covered with feathers; Messenger, little fingerless mitts worked in three colors with moths on the backs of the hands; Will-o’-the-wisp, socks decorated with trees and delicate spirits of the night forest; Thought and Memory, a pair of mittens decorated with ravens; and Bee Sting, ankle socks with bees on the top of the feet and a honeycomb design on the bottom.

As of this writing the book hadn’t been released and was not yet on Ravelry, but if I find it there I’ll share a link so you can see the patterns.

The patterns were also designed with the environment in mind and mostly use local Finnish yarn (as well as other plastic free options), which means you’ll need to do some work to find substitute yarns unless you happen to live in Finland. All the information you need about each yarn is included so you can make thoughtful substitutions based on what’s local to you.

If you love the idea of adding a bit of magic to your makes, and particularly like projects with animal motifs and lots of colorwork, you’re sure to enjoy this collection.

About the book: 144 pages, hardcover, 18 patterns. Published 2024 by David & Charles, suggested retail price $24.99.

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

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