Free Knitting Pattern: Squishy, Sentimental Scarf

This is not the sort of knitting project that you really need a pattern for, but Make It Handmade’s post about her Squishy Sentimental Scarf is a great reminder that all the little odds and ends left over from favorite projects could — and should! — be combined into a project that can keep us or a loved one warm and serve as a reminder of all the great knitting we’ve done in the past.

I love horizontal scarves like this that use a whole bunch of little odd balls — my Horizontal Scarf is like this but you don’t even have to weave in the ends because you knit with each strand for just one row and leave tails at each end for fringe. I love that scarf so much (and I gave it away, so I really need to knit another one!) that I started on a shawl worked in the same manner, but I didn’t get that far, and I stole the needle out of it for some reason, but that sure would be a fun project for the winter!

What do you do with your sentimental yarn scarps? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo via Make it Handmade.]

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Stitch dictionaries are a fun way to learn new-to-you knitting stitch patterns or to take a deep dive into a particular technique. Debbie Tomkies offers 100 cable stitch designs and thoughts on how to incorporate them into projects in her Cable Knitting Stitch Dictionary.

Each stitch pattern is shown in a large swatch photo and with written and charted instructions. Any special stitches are included on the page. The stitches are rated on a difficulty scale of 1 to 3, and the pattern notes also indicate how many extra stitches you should add to a project if you’re going to work this cable (since cables pull the fabric closer together you need to compensate for that) as well as how many stitches and rows are in the repeat if you want to design a project yourself.

The cables are arranged into sections: classic cables, combinations, all-over panels, creative cables, motifs and panels and cabled edges and borders.

It’s fun to flip through the designs to think about projects you can add a single cable or two to or make with an allover cabled design. Or you could make swatches of different cables and sew them together into a pillow cover or a throw.

At the back of the book there’s a section on general cable knitting techniques, reading charts, working swatches and avoiding errors (though it mentions working the wrong number of rows between cable turns, it doesn’t share how to count rows between cables to avoid this mistake).

It also talks about how to design your own cables, combine cables in a project, choose the right yarn and needles and determine how many more stitches you need to cast on when working cables instead of stockinette stitch. There’s also a glossary of symbols and abbreviations you may find in cable knitting and other patterns.

The book provides a good overview of things you can do with cables, as well as some fun things you might not have tried like infinity cables and horizontal cables. It’s a great book for a designer who likes to work with cables or a knitter who wants to play with different stitches in their projects.

About the book: 176 pages, paperback, 100 stitch patterns. Published 2024 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $26.99.

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