Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

Fun Tops to Knit for Summer and Fall

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cool knits to get you through summerEven though I’m starting to get in a fall mood, the weather is hardly cooperating with that feeling. We’re actually having the hottest week we’ve had all summer, and while I’m certainly not complaining, I’m not exactly in the mood for knitting a warm wooly sweater, either.

That’s why I love this little roundup from Loop Knits featuring four tops — two tank tops and two cool sweaters — that you can knit and wear right now and still use as the seasons change.

Any of these would be great knit in cotton now or even in wool for a garment that will take you through the end of summer into fall.

Are you still knitting for summer or have you moved on to fall pieces? I’d love to hear what’s on your needles.

[Photo “Otherside” by Melanie Berg, via Loop Knits.]

Specific to knitters, you can join our Knitting Patterns Only group to get, well, knitting patterns, ask questions and gain inspiration for what to knit next.

Looking for Yarn online? Check out Lionbrand our preferred source for purchasing yarn online.

Looking for Fall patterns to Knit? Check out these Fall knitting patterns we found on Etsy.

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Make Your Knitting Machine Scarves Better

I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve shared any patterns for our circular knitting machine users. I know these devices aren’t for everyone but even though I much prefer knitting by hand, it is kind of fun to crank things out on these machines.

One of the most common early projects for a circular knitting machine is a scarf. Which makes sense, because it’s just one long tube and you can make it as long as you like.

One problem that comes from knitting scarves on the circular knitting machine, though, is that it can be hard to know how to finish the ends of the tube so that it looks like a finished scarf and not a tube of knitting.

If you’re not a knitter or crocheter, the most basic way to finish a circular knitting machine scarf is just by cinching up the ends and maybe adding a pompom to each end to cover up any hole that might still be visible at the end.

But if you have a little knitting or crochet skill or are willing to learn, there are a lot of different options for closing up the ends of a scarf. And this would also be true if you hand knit a tube scarf!

I recently wrote a post over at Our Daily Craft that includes five different ways to close up the ends of a tube scarf:

  • the simple cinching method mentioned above
  • sewing the stitches together
  • three needle bind off
  • grafting
  • crochet bind off

Grafting is my favorite because I feel like it gives the cleanest, closest to a seamless look. If you’re a knitter you may already know how to do it but even if you don’t it’s not that hard to learn.

Do you knit tube scarves by hand or machine? I’d love to know how you like to finish them!