Book Review: Urban Knit Collection

Kyle Kunnecke’s Urban Knit Collection was originally published in 2016 but has been reissued in a new, updated edition.

The 18 knitting patterns inspired by urban life are the same as they were in the original, but I missed it the first time (or have no memory of it, so either way it’s new to me) so let’s take a look together.

The sweaters in the book are knit flat in pieces and have five or six size options. I like the Arabella Pullover, with an allover chevron lace reminiscent of Art Deco architecture and textured sleeves. The Savoy Cardigan, with colorwork swirls and stripes and low buttons, is also fun.

In addition to sweaters, there’s a chapter on wraps and scarves and one one on knit accessories like mitts and hats. The allover colorwork and intricate designs of the D’Amour Wrap would provide a fun challenge to knitters (the book emphasizes the difference between hard and time consuming, and also offers tips for working big projects with lots of charts).

The Ritz cowl uses colorwork and a repeating pattern of beads for extra sparkle. Check out all the patterns on Ravelry.

I don’t fully understand why certain things are given the amount of space they are (or where they are) in the book. For instance there’s a section on color bleeding, and many pages devoted to locking yarns when doing stranded colorwork, before being introduced to any patterns or other knitting techniques, and only 8 of the patterns use stranded colorwork.

There are more instructions for specific knitting techniques like cast ons, bind offs, increases and decreases, grafting and mattress stitch, short rows and shaping in colorwork to name a few.

It should be noted that while this is a new edition of the book, the patterns have not been updated to reflect yarns that might not be in production anymore (such as Brooklyn Tweed and Classic Elite yarns) or offer suggestions for substitutions. It seems like that would have been an easy thing to update rather than just reprinting the patterns without those modifications.

Still, the book is full of colorful patterns and detailed cables representing iron grates, subway maps and other urban inspirations.

About the book: 16 pages, paperback, 18 patterns. Published 2025 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $29.99.

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork.

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn.

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look.

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me.

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round.

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.

Have you read?