Explore Houndstooth Knitting with this Fun Hat Pattern

I don’t know why this hat pattern reminds me of Wednesday Addams. I guess it’s because of the black and white motif, which is commonly seen in a lot of her wardrobe, including her iconic checkerboard vest.

Of course you can knit houndstooth in any colors you like, but the high contrast of black and white makes it easy to see the pattern, both while you’re knitting and when you are wearing the hat. And if you’re a fan of SEC football, black and white houndstooth will always evoke Bear Bryant.

In any case, this pattern uses charts to show you how to do the colorwork, but they are easy to read and follow even if you’ve never read a chart before. You’ll quickly get the pattern repeat and be able to complete this cozy hat.

The pattern from Yarnspirations is rated for intermediate knitters because of the colorwork and needing to read the chart, but it’s really easy once you get the hang of it. The only potential issue is if you haven’t worked a lot of stranded colorwork before, you need to make sure that your floats are loose enough that the hat will still be stretchy enough to fit a head when you are done.

Because some of the floats and lengthy, too, you might want to catch the floats on the back as you go so the strands don’t get too long on the inside of the hat.

If you need help with the basics of stranded colorwork, this post from Tin Can Knits covers all the basics, including how to read a chart, how to deal with two colors on the same round, dealing with floats and trapping the color you’re not working with across the back, among other things. It’s a great overview of everything you need to know to knit this hat or any other simple stranded colorwork knitting pattern!

[Photo: Yarnspirations.]

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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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