Celebrate Fall with Leaf Knitting Patterns

I know it’s not technically fall quite yet in the Northern Hemisphere, but I like to use meteorological fall (which starts September 1) as my marker for bringing out the fall decor and maybe making some new pumpkins and leaves and other fun stuff to decorate with.

We’ll get to the pumpkins soon, but for now let’s take a look at this pile of leaf knitting patterns you can make for garlands, table decor, or whatever else you want.

Bobbi IntVeld made a nice collection of knit leaves for Blue Sky Fibers, which you can now get as a free Ravelry download. The pattern includes oak, birch and maple leaves worked in worsted weight yarn, but you can use whatever scraps you have on hand to make leaves of different sizes and colors.

Make leaves with your super fine leftovers with this pretty oak leaf pattern from Carrie Forrest Dweller Duvall, which you can also find on Ravelry.

Arianna Frasca had free patterns for both small and large kind of oval shaped leaves on her blog. Hers use super fine yarn but you can use what you have here, too, to make leaves of different sizes for a garland or other project.

Noble Knits has a free tiny garland pattern with teardrop-shaped leaves. Theirs is shown with just five leaves, but you can always make it longer or add some of these different leaf knitting patterns together to make a bigger project. It includes a video tutorial or you can enter your email to get the written pattern.

Xandy Peters also has an oak leaf knitting pattern that’s free on Ravelry. This one I have knit before and it’s a lot of fun!

I love the look of these oak leaves knit with multicolored yarn, which makes them look like they’re in the midst of changing colors. You can get this pattern from Elves World on Etsy. They also have an ebook of leaf knitting patterns if you’re looking for more patterns to try.

And while this one is not all leaves, I couldn’t resist sharing the Fall Harvest Charm Set from Susan B. Anderson, which is available for purchase on Ravelry. This tiny collection includes a leaf, pumpkin, acorn and pinecone, all worked in super fine yarn.

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Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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