Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Book Review: The New Knitting Stitch Dictionary

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I am a sucker for stitch dictionaries. I’ve pared down my collection over the years, but I still have more than a few, and I love to look through them for inspiration for designs (though admittedly most of what I knit is still garter, stockinette or ribbing, but I do love to have options!).

I hadn’t actually picked up a new stitch dictionary in a while, but The New Knitting Stitch Dictionary by Lydia Kl?s caught my eye at the library the other day so I decided to take a look.

This book has 500 knitting stitch patterns, from the basic to anything but. They’re organized into a few different categories to make it easier to find what you’re looking for (assuming you are looking for something in particular):

  • Knit-purl patterns
  • Cable and traveling stitch patterns
  • Aran, Alpine and Celtic patterns
  • Lace and dropped stitch patters
  • Nupps and flower and leaf patterns
  • Brioche and multi-row patterns (still not entirely sure what that means)
  • Decorative edgings
  • Stranded colorwork and intarsia
  • Patterns using special techniques not covered elsewhere (this includes things like mosaic, illusion knitting and knitting with beads)

Each stitch pattern is shown in a photo and with a chart explaining how to work the stitch. Charts are shaded to indicate the repeat and shown in different colors where different colors are used.

Some of the colors in the charts and in the knitting itself are so similar it’s a little hard to decipher what color is being used, and the text explaining the special stitches used is rather small, especially as the patterns get more complex. If I were working from this book I’d probably take a photo of the chart on my phone so I could zoom in better (and yes, I do feel a million years old typing that!).

This book offers a good collection of lots of different kinds of stitch patterns, so whether you’re just starting your collection or you already have a bunch of stitch pattern dictionaries like I do, this one is worth checking out.

About the book: 336 pages, paperback, 500 patterns. Published 2023 by Stackpole Books. Suggested retail price $27.95.

Have you read?

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.