Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Check Out the We Are Knitters Collection with Ella Emhoff

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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]

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Pencil Knitting Patterns

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns! 

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil. 

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn. 

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point. 

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up. 

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.