Knitting

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Book Review: Nordic Knits

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The knitters of Norway, Sweden and Iceland are known for making garments that are warm and colorful, but you don’t have to be of Nordic heritage to enjoy these designs. Nordic Knits by Sue Flanders, Helene Magnusson and Janine Kosel takes knitters of all backgrounds through classic patterns and fun designs inspired by these classic knitwear traditions.

The book covers a little bit of the history of knitting in the Nordic region, then has patterns divided into sections for Norway, Sweden and Iceland, with 44 patterns in all.

The Norwegian patterns were inspired by objects found in museums that feature not only knitting but also spinning, embroidery, weaving, felting, even the designs on handmade boxes and the process of nalbinding, which predates knitting. You’ll find simple knit and purl patterns, a hat fit for a nisse (Norwegian elf), felted and embroidered bags, and colorful hats, mitts and sweaters.

The Swedish section draws on regional knitting traditions such as Gotland’s colorful mittens, twined knitting from around Darlana and the Bohus knitting cooperative. There’s a long stocking cap worked in a single color with texture at the bottom, and a set of hat, scarf and long mittens with simple stripes and colorwork. A child’s sweater has a dala horse woven onto the front, and a coordinating horse garland pattern can also be made as a toy for a little one.

There are also lots of colorwork hats, mittens and sweaters, as well as a lacy shawl showcasing “all things Swedish” in motifs of hearts, Swedish flags, Santa Lucia candles and buns, even Swedish meatballs!

The Icelandic knits aim to bring a contemporary twist to traditional designs. The photo on the cover shows the slouchy hat and matching scarf, inspired by a pair of mittens from the Westfjords region (there’s a mitten pattern, too). There are some lovely projects heavily embellished with surface embroidery, a cozy looking cape with a vining leaf pattern, and of course a lopi sweater, among other projects.

I love the klukka skirt, a design inspired by the Icelandic petticoat, which provided an extra layer of warmth. This version has a pretty faded chevron design and is shaped with increases as well as changing needle sizes.

The inspiration for the designs is also shown, which adds a meaningful connection to the past and a reminder of the knitters who have come before.

This is a fun book for learning about and knitting from these knitting traditions, and offers some great projects you can knit for yourself or anyone you want to wrap in traditional warmth. 

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 44 patterns. Published 2022 by Voyageur Press. Suggested retail price $24.99.

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Patchwork Blanket Knitting Patterns

Any time of year is a good time for stash busting, but if you can combine it with knitting a blanket that will keep you warm when it (finally!) gets cooler that’s even better. Let’s take a look at some fun patchwork blanket knitting patterns. 

If you want to keep it super simple, you can just make blocks of garter stitch and sew them together, like the beginner’s patchwork baby blanket from Mini Baa Baa or the color block blanket from Make and Do Crew. Both projects are worked in strips and sew together, with the baby version calling for two strands of DK or light worsted weight yarn held together and the larger one using bulky yarn. 

Add a little more texture with the mixed blocks of the cottage quilt throw from Mama in a Stitch. This one combines garter stitch and seed stitch and uses worsted weight yarn. She used a crochet join to make the chains on top of the blocks, but you can join them however you like. It calls for eight colors but you can use what you have, and there are three size options. 

Get a real sampler style patchwork blanket with this design from Knit Sew Make. It calls for worsted weight yarn and has four size options. All of the patterns just use knit and purl stitches so this one is still pretty easy for beginners. 

If you want a more complex colorwork project that will keep you entertained all season, try the Peace by Piece blanket pattern from Needle and Feather. This one is made up of two color colorwork blocks and calls for worsted weight yarn. You can choose to use just a few of the blocks and repeat them more often, or make multiples of the whole set. 

The knitted patchwork recipe from Martine Ellis (free on Ravelry) uses mitered squares in fingering weight yarn, so it’s perfect for using up all your leftover sock yarn and mini skeins. This one is a tutorial more than a pattern so you can make your blanket as big as you like or keep going until you run out of yarn. 

Susan B. Anderson’s 100 Squares blanket (find it on Ravelry) has a lot of mitered squares, too, but they’re arranged in fun ways and includes some quilt inspired designs as well. This one also is a bit of method more than pattern but it sure looks like a lot of fun for using all the leftovers. 

Of course you can totally improvise a patchwork blanket using the yarn and stitches you like, but I hope these patterns inspire you to look at your leftover yarn in a new way.