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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?

Add Mushrooms to Your Knits with these Fun Knitting Patterns

A few years ago I wrote a post that was full of patterns for knit mushrooms, but I don’t think I ever did a post that was knitting patterns with mushrooms on them, so today’s the day. 

I love the Fungi Beanie from Jacki Bean, which calls for worsted weight yarn and uses duplicate stitch to add the mushrooms and other details. I think the colors she used for the design are tonal/multicolor so it doesn’t use as many colors as it looks like, but you can use whatever red, green, brown and white yarn you have in your stash for those details. 

How about some mushroom socks? The Magic Toadstool sock form Stone Knits includes a ring of mushrooms around the leg, contrasting heel and toe and a little more colorwork at the toe for extra cuteness. As shown it uses four colors and comes in three sizes. 

Or there’s the Fairy Ring Socks from Katie Green, which have mushrooms of two sizes on the legs, plus a bit of wavy grass. They have a contrasting cuff, heel and toe and some colorwork flecks in the body of the sock as well. This one is available in eight sizes to fit everyone from a baby to an XL adult. 

This trippy cowl from Hunt Hand Knits looks like a lot of fun to knit. The Fungus Among Us Cowl is shown using four colors of DK weight yarn, though you can do it with as few as two if you’d rather. 

Stitch some mushroom mittens with this cute pattern from Holly C Watson. This design uses three colors, and it’s shown with a self-striping yarn on the mushroom caps, which makes the colors change without you having to do any work. The pattern is charted but it’s a pretty easy repeat. The mittens are one size. 

If you don’t feel like knitting mushrooms but still want to give your project a touch of the forest, the Toadstools Cardigan from Julie Taylor may be what you’re looking for. It’s stitched as a plain cardigan worked in DK weight yarn and sized for newborns up to 4 years old. The mushrooms are added with embroidery and the pattern includes the design, which you can trace onto water soluble stabilizer to stitch the mushrooms onto your sweater. Or anything else you want. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.