Celebrate Knitting with March Mayhem

Just in case you don’t follow Mason-Dixon Knitting (and you absolutely should) I wanted to let you know that the sports-inspired celebration of the best knits of 2017, aka March Mayhem, is open for voting as of today (March 15).

The big four categories of knits this year are yokes (so many yoked sweaters in 2017!), neck and shoulders (shawls and cowls), sweaters and projects using mini skeins.

The best of the best will be chosen in rounds of voting — just like basketball games — until one project remains from each category and, ultimately, a winner is declared.

Even if you don’t take part in the voting this is an excellent way to learn about some really great patterns. The links above will take you to a roundup of the designs for each section of the bracket.

Which design will reign supreme? We’ll have to wait until the end of the month to find out!

[Photo: Mason-Dixon Knitting.}

Looking to buy your Yarn online? Check out these online yarn specials.

Specific to knitters, you can join our Knitting Patterns Only group to get, well, knitting patterns, ask questions and gain inspiration for what to knit next.

Check out these books dedicated to Knitted Cowl Patterns still looking for more cowl patterns? Check these out on Etsy.

Next Pattern:

Sometimes I feel like knitters get intimidated to try new things because they think they need to start with a big project. Your first time working in the round doesn’t need to be a sock, and your first colorwork doesn’t need to be a sweater, for example. You can find little projects that use the skills you want to learn to build your confidence before you move on to something that requires more time commitment.

This adorable knit bunny, for example.

The colorwork bunny from Knit Picks was designed by Amy Munson and is a kind of bowling pin shaped bunny complete with a knit hat, contrasting inner ears and a little stranded colorwork on its body. Note that the ears are attached the the hat not the bunny, but you could stitch them to the bunny if you’d rather.

It’s worked from the bottom up and also has a tiny pompom tail you can’t see in the picture but it’s a really cute touch. There are a variety of little fair isle patterns to choose from to make the best bunny for you.

The bunny comes out about 8 inches tall (or just over 20 cm) and use several colors to complete the colorwork, depending on the design you choose.

You can purchase the pattern by itself from Knit Picks, or make a kit that includes sport weight yarn in all the colors you need for your creation. There are gray and brown options for the main body of the bunny, but of course if you’re using your own yarn you can make it whatever color you like.

Once you’ve tried colorwork (maybe also working in the round and shaping if those are skills you haven’t used before) in a little project like this you’ll be ready to take on something bigger in no time.

Check out the pattern on Knit Picks.

[Photo: Knit Picks]

Next Pattern:

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