Get Cozy with This Colorful Shawl Knitting Pattern

I know cozy is a word that we typically use to mean the feeling of wearing our favorite sweater or sitting and knitting in front of a fire. But the act of knitting can be cozy, too, when we’re in the groove or feeling confident in our skills, even when a project isn’t totally simple.

The Harvest Hues shawl from Tamy Gore is, I think, both kinds of cozy. It’s a top down shawl worked in three colors and it has lots of interesting bits for you. We’re talking two-color brioche, some easy eyelets, a bit of colorwork and some stripes.

None of it is super difficult, especially if you’ve done two-color brioche before, but it is satisfying, a way to use your skills without being overwhelming. You know, cozy.

And of course there’s nothing squishier than brioche knitting, especially in worsted weight yarn, which just ups the fluff factor. This is also a good sized triangle so it’ll be great to wrap yourself in warmth when the cold days come back (or if you live somewhere it’s cold right now, whichever).

(Side note: the yarn the designer used in her sample is a combination merino and Devon Zwartbles, which sounds like something out of Dr. Seuss, so I had to look it up. Turns out the Devon Zwartbles sheep is originally from the Netherlands, and it’s a brown sheep with a white blaze on its forehead and two white socks on their back legs, plus a little white on the end of their tails. It produces a “voluminous, bouncy yarn, according to John Arbon Textiles, which made the yarn. So now you know that, too.)

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn in three colors, and calls for a size 7 US or 4.5 mm circular knitting needle to accommodate all the stitches. You can download the pattern from Ravelry.

[Photo: Tamy Gore.]

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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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