Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Double Knitting Patterns

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One of the skills I want to use more this year is double knitting. This is a technique that uses slipped stitches in a particular way to make a double-sided fabric.

You can use it with a single color, or with a different solid color on each side, like in this knit bandana from Ozetta on Etsy, which uses two colors of fingering weight yarn to make a pretty little reversible accessory.

But most commonly this technique is used for colorwork, because the cool thing about it is the colors reverse when you knit with two colors on each side. That makes for really fun projects that are reversible in a different way.

A lot of double knitting projects are for scarves, and that’s a great place to start because it gives you lots of practice (and lots of ground for detailed designs, as we’ll see).

If you’re totally new to double knitting, a project like the Dottie Scarf would be a great option for you. It has just a little bit of colorwork so you can focus on your technique, and it makes a super cozy scarf as it’s worked in worsted weight yarn. You can get the pattern from Originally Lovely on Etsy.

You can also try knitting a bit of double knitting as the base of a reversible hat. Carissa Browning’s Niefling hat has a double knit brim that transitions into reversible two-color brioche. This is another good way to practice because it’s just a solid color on each side of the double knitting. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

Ready for more of a challenge? J Hummingbird Designs on Etsy has this lovely dahlia scarf, which really shows off the difference when the colors are reversed.

But of course you don’t have to use the same pattern all over your project. Hearts and bears decorate this lovely baby blanket from Loani Prior. I love the rainbow stripe on one side and the solid color on the other, but you can use two contrasting colors instead if you know the colors of the baby’s room.

Go on a journey with a cat with the Catventure Scarf from Lisa Hannan Fox on Ravelry. This two-color design follows kitty as they go from the house, claw on a tree, play around and finally come home in the evening.

And I’m pretty sure I’ve shared this one before, but no talk of double knitting projects would be complete without sharing the Star Wars Double Knit Scarf from Jessica Goddard. This one is on Ravelry and it pretty much speaks for itself. It’s also free, so grab it when you’re up for a galactic challenge.

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Patchwork Blanket Knitting Patterns

Any time of year is a good time for stash busting, but if you can combine it with knitting a blanket that will keep you warm when it (finally!) gets cooler that’s even better. Let’s take a look at some fun patchwork blanket knitting patterns. 

If you want to keep it super simple, you can just make blocks of garter stitch and sew them together, like the beginner’s patchwork baby blanket from Mini Baa Baa or the color block blanket from Make and Do Crew. Both projects are worked in strips and sew together, with the baby version calling for two strands of DK or light worsted weight yarn held together and the larger one using bulky yarn. 

Add a little more texture with the mixed blocks of the cottage quilt throw from Mama in a Stitch. This one combines garter stitch and seed stitch and uses worsted weight yarn. She used a crochet join to make the chains on top of the blocks, but you can join them however you like. It calls for eight colors but you can use what you have, and there are three size options. 

Get a real sampler style patchwork blanket with this design from Knit Sew Make. It calls for worsted weight yarn and has four size options. All of the patterns just use knit and purl stitches so this one is still pretty easy for beginners. 

If you want a more complex colorwork project that will keep you entertained all season, try the Peace by Piece blanket pattern from Needle and Feather. This one is made up of two color colorwork blocks and calls for worsted weight yarn. You can choose to use just a few of the blocks and repeat them more often, or make multiples of the whole set. 

The knitted patchwork recipe from Martine Ellis (free on Ravelry) uses mitered squares in fingering weight yarn, so it’s perfect for using up all your leftover sock yarn and mini skeins. This one is a tutorial more than a pattern so you can make your blanket as big as you like or keep going until you run out of yarn. 

Susan B. Anderson’s 100 Squares blanket (find it on Ravelry) has a lot of mitered squares, too, but they’re arranged in fun ways and includes some quilt inspired designs as well. This one also is a bit of method more than pattern but it sure looks like a lot of fun for using all the leftovers. 

Of course you can totally improvise a patchwork blanket using the yarn and stitches you like, but I hope these patterns inspire you to look at your leftover yarn in a new way.