Didn’t Make it to Rhinebeck? Learn about the “It” Sweater of the Season

The New York State Sheep and Wool Festival, known in knitting circles as Rhinebeck, is pretty much the fiber-related gathering of the year. It always falls around my husband’s birthday, so I’ll probably never get to go, but I love seeing pictures and hearing stories from the event.

Kay Gardiner from Mason-Dixon Knitting indulged my desire for Rhinebeck-news when she reported on the must-knit sweater of the season based on her trend-spotting at the festival. She said she saw lots of Birkin sweaters, designed by Caitlin Hunter, and that the design looked great on a lot of bodies and in a range of colors.

Its a top-down, circular yoke sweater with bands of floral motifs on the yoke. The original was worked in pastels, but there’s a black and white version, too, that comes off a lot more geometric and visually striking. It’s all about what you like and apparently this is a garment for many moods.

The pattern runs $7 and is available on Ravelry.

Have you ever been to Rhinebeck? If you were there this year, did you notice this sweater? I’d love to hear all about it!

[Photo: Jonna Hietala via Ravelry.]

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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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