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:

The felted slipper craze that began last year doesn’t seem like it’s fading away. The Sailor Slippers, often striped knit and felted slippers made with super bulky yarn, because the project of the moment late last year (check out more knit slipper options in this post all about sailor slippers) and they’re still consistently popular with knitters.

Which makes sense because they are fun and fast to knit, and seeing them go from this giant thing to something that actually fits a foot feels a little magical.

I have always loved felting (in fact my first book was about felting knitting) and it’s always fun for me to see people rediscover this technique.

If you’ve knit enough plain slippers to fit all the feet you know, maybe it’s time to stitch up some tabi style slippers instead.

Maymade Knits has designed these cute tabi ballerina slippers, made with bulky yarn and felted. They’re worked flat at first and then in rounds, and are available in 10 EU sizes (the Internet tells me add 31 to your American shoe size to get your EU size). The designer says the slippers are meant to have a close fit and you should choose a size a little smaller than your foot for the ideal fit.

The pattern includes a video tutorial along with the written pattern.

You can grab this pattern on Ravelry. The same designer has her own version of the striped felted slipper as well, called Sarah’s Striped Slippers. These are worked in super bulky yarn and have a contrasting foot and a striped body. These are knit flat and seamed and there are 7 size options available. Check that pattern out here if you’re looking for a more traditional slipper shape. They also look roomier so you can wear them with socks if you like.

[Photo: Maymade Knits]

Next Pattern:

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