Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Enter Dad to Win a “Cable Knit” Sweater Vest

by

Dads in cliche are known for their terrible jokes, and their hoarding of cables and other technological bits and bobs that no one really knows the use of or if they’ll ever be needed again.

Staples is giving a few lucky dads a chance to make their dad joke dreams a reality. Through June 10, 2024, anyone who takes cables to a Staples store for recycling can enter to win a cable knit sweater vest, complete with real cables woven in.

Cables, cords and other tech are eligible for this giveaway, and everyone who recycles gets an instant $10 off coupon for a purchase of $30 or more, so you can shop for a less punny gift while you’re there. Or get some new cables. Who am I to judge?

After you do your recycling, head to the Staples website with your receipt to enter to win the vest. There will be a total of five winners.

I know this doesn’t really have a lot to do with actual knitting, but this is a funny idea for the person in your life who loves puns, or to make for a white elephant gift exchange. You could add cables to your cables on all sorts of projects. I also like the idea of this as a last-minute Halloween costume: just add some cables and cords to a purchased sweater, vest or hat to make it “cable knit.”

Also I’ve crocheted with clothesline before, which is almost like a cable, so you could try knitting with some of those cast-off cables and cords, too, to make a full accessory (I’m thinking a bangle bracelet) or even a larger garment. Taking the idea of cable knit vest to a whole different place!

Is this something you would wear? Or try to make yourself? I’d love to hear your ideas for crafting with cables and cords!

[Photo via Staples]

Have you read?

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.