Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

Get a Little Nordic Knitting in Your Life

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Traditional nordic knits

I’m sending this one to Patty.

This time of year might seem a little silly for knitting hats, mittens, gloves and socks in the Nordic tradition, but hear me out. These projects tend to be kind of small, so they’re great for travel knitting, and even if you’re a slow knitter, if you start now you’ll have a good supply of warmth-bringing knits (or holiday presents) before the weather turns cold again.

Traditional Nordic Knits: Over 40 Hats, Mittens, Gloves, and Socks by Johanna Wallin helps to keep the techniques and colors of Nordic knitting alive with small-scale projects that are full of color (two colors, anyway) but are unintimidating for learning the skills.

From the press release:

The classic Nordic knitting tradition is a widely-respected — and increasingly popular — source of exquisite patterns and design inspiration all over the world. Now, with Traditional Nordic Knits, get a glimpse into the rich history and heritage of this beloved cornerstone of needlecraft. 15 time-honored Scandinavian patterns become over 40 different projects, gracing mitten, gloves, hats, and socks through designs suitable for all levels of experience. Each project is accompanied by an example of a historic knitted item and a fascinating explanation of the pattern’s background and origin. With over 80 full-color photographs, this book will make a stunning addition to any knitter’s library.

Projects on Ravelry

If you’d like to get your hands on this piece of knitting history, leave a comment on this post before the end of the day Sunday, June 11. I’d love to know if you knit with the seasons or if you knit the same kinds of things all the time. I’m pretty much a knit anything at any time kind of person (right now I’m working on a sock and a crocheted [!] scarf).

Thanks for visiting, commenting and sharing, and good luck!

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Comments

  1. Hi, I love nordic knitting. I pretty much knit anything no matter what the season if I see something I like i’ll knit it 🙂 Thanks for sharing

  2. I don’t always change projects or yarns with the seasons, but I’m certainly putting aside the on-piece throw I’m knitting in all wool until next fall. I might get some work done on it when the air conditioning is turned up later in the summer. Right now, I’m working on a smaller blanket done in squares and with cotton, which happens to be seasonally appropriate for where I live.

  3. I mostly knit small things, and live in a temperate climate, so my knitting is not seasonal. Right now, I’m working on a Christmas stocking. Before that, it was several hats, and a couple of toys.

  4. I tend to knit sweaters and blankets in the cooler months and switch to socks, accessories and toys as the weather warms up!

  5. As I knit many birthday presents I tend to knit what is needed and not according to time of year. I do try to avoid knitting big blankets in the summer though. That’s really TOO hot!

    from rainy VT,
    the Vermonster

  6. I knit hats socks and mittens year round. Currently bwirking in wool socks for hubs and a new hat for winter

  7. I do knit with the seasons as working with wool in South Carolina is usually too hot, but right now I am making a Fair Isle cowl and the wool yarn is so soft, it is a joy to knit. Plus, it is a small project so not too bad.

  8. The seasons don’t really affect the type of knitting I do, at least not in the summer. In the fall I might knit.a few more cowls if my neck gets cold. I am currently knitting a long sleeved pull-over out of a buffalo/merino yarn, which I hope to finish soon so I can start a wool cardigan.

  9. I knit/crochet all kinds of things year round. I like to have something going all the time to relieve stress and make items for Christmas gifts.

  10. I don’t change projects to fit the season, just whatever I find that I want to knit. Right now I am working on a crocheted baby afghan.

  11. I knit in life’s seasons, currently all projects are for the birth of our first grandchild.

Have you read?

Knit a Sweet Hood Covered with Flowers

I happen to live in the Northern Hemisphere, but I know we have a lot of Southern Hemisphere friends, too, who are heading into the cooler months as we are warming up. Whichever one of the seasons you’re in, you might want to  stitch up this sweet little hood.

This pattern by saskie&co is called snug hood and it uses two colors of yarn to make a close-fitting pixie style hood (almost a balaclava but it doesn’t cover your face, though there is a neck covering portion to keep you a little warmer). You can use the fingering weight wool and mohair held together that are called for in the pattern, or use a single strand of DK weight yarn.

The neck portion and the edging around the face are worked in ribbing in a single color, while the body of the hat includes an allover colorwork flower pattern. The project is worked both flat and in the round and there is colorwork that is knit flat, which means you’ll have to purl in colorwork (which some people don’t like; also, you can’t see what you’re doing as well on the back of the work).

The pattern comes in one size and the colorwork is charted. Testers noted this is a quick and easy project and a great way to learn some new skills (chart reading, working stranded colorwork flat) if you’ve never tried those things before. They noted the hood is cute, comfortable and warm, and a few said it didn’t take as much yarn as the pattern suggests, so bear that in mind if you’re trying to use stash.

Speaking of the pattern notes, check out all the cute color variations in the projects on Ravelry. From pink and red to blue and white to gray and cream, there are lots of great options to think about.

You can buy this pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: saskie&co]