Check Out the We Are Knitters Collection with Ella Emhoff

Ella Emhoff is a designer and textile artist who also happens to be the daughter of the Second Gentleman of the United States. Her designs are whimsical and often use lots of scraps so they’re super colorful and fun. She actually collects yarn leftovers from friends and other projects to make simple dresses and other projects that are a happy riot of color, and how nicely they all seem to turn out is inspiring me to try to knit something with all my random little odd balls. Stay tuned.

She’s teamed up with We Are Knitters to present a collection of kits that are a little less colorful, but still super cute and wearable.

There are four designs to choose from:

A granny square crocheted bonnet
The Isa skirt, which has a drawstring waist and a slightly flared hemline
The Beanie tank set, which includes a stockinette stitch, racerback, cropped tank top and a ribbed bandeau you can wear on top
The Baxter sweater, shown here, a cropped, boatneck sweater worked in stockinette stitch in pieces with a tiny split hem on the sides

The Baxter sweater is my favorite of the collection. It’s worked in cotton yarn on size 8 US knitting needles, and it definitely looks like something I would like to wear. I wish it were possible to just buy the patterns since I already have plenty of yarn, but these projects would be fun to get for a friend as a gift, or give as a gift to yourself!

You can check out the full collection at We Are Knitters here. If you don’t already follow her on Instagram, her posts are a lot of fun (she has a personal account and one that is more knitting focused, but they both have a fair bit of knitting content).

[Photo: We Are Knitters]

Next Pattern:

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.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

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