Get Some Texture with the Pass the Honey Knitting Pattern

I love a good stockinette stitch pattern because of the classic look and the fact that I don’t have to pay a lot of attention to what I’m doing.

But I’ll admit I’m a sucker for a good textured knit, too. They make the knitting more interesting, and the look is a little more special. I always feel more of a sense of accomplishment from a project if it has some kind of technique to it more than stockinette stitch. I also feel like something with special details like a fun texture makes it look more like I made it, if that makes sense.

The Pass the Honey cardigan by Joy Friedman for Knit Picks is a pattern like that. This long-line cardigan uses a mock honeycomb stitch pattern to give a look that’s reminiscent of honeycomb. The pattern is rated intermediate but it’s not difficult once you get the hang of the pattern.

The cardigan is worked flat in one piece from the bottom up to the armholes. It includes faux seams at the sides, and after the top parts are worked, you knit the sleeves in the round. There’s a wide ribbed edging on the open fronts.

The pattern is available in nine sizes, ranging from 38 to 70 inches in circumference. Using the same yarn as used in the sample (Knit Picks Brava Worsted Tweed) the smallest size can be made for about $25 worth of yarn, and the largest size is about $40, making it a pretty good value for a big project.

You can download the free pattern (email signup required) from Knit Picks.

[Photo: Knit Picks.]

One of the fun things about knitters is that we will use a holiday theme on any kind of project. From Easter bunny socks to Christmas sweaters, there’s no combination of holiday motif and knitwear genre we won’t combine.

Case in point: Halloween cowls.

This fun cowl from Sweet Vireo Designs features large carved pumpkins and little cats and skulls. It uses two colors of DK weight yarn and I love the multicolored yarn for the background color on this one. And the braids! So cute.

Spooky Season by Jocelyn Tunney (also on Ravelry) uses fingering weight yarn in two colors to make a design with crescent moons and eyes. There are two circumferences and two heights available so you can make it a neck hugger or a slightly bigger project if you like.

Make more moons with the Broom Riding Cowl from Vanessa Ewing Knits. This two color pattern looks extra fun with a multicolored yarn for the colorwork, but you can use a solid as well. It calls for DK weight yarn but there is also a fingering weight version if you have some yarn in your stash you want to use.

Jinx Made has another fun Halloween cowl, this time covered in skulls. South Philly Skulls uses DK weight yarn and comes in two lengths, and there’s also a matching hat pattern, both of which can be found on Ravelry.

The Ghost Stories cowl from Melissa Knit Wear is a two-color cowl with ghosts of different sizes on the body. It uses DK weight yarn, and average sized skeins will allow you to get two cowls out of two skeins. It also calls for stitch markers to help you keep your place in the chart.

Or stitch up a cowl with a giant bat on it. The Nightling Cowl from Jen Immer uses DK weight yarn in two colors and has moons and a large bat on it. This pattern can be found on Ravelry.

How about spooky trees? The Weirwood Cowl from Andrea Krüß-Anders is inspired by the weirwood trees in the Game of Thrones books, and is worked in two colors of fingering weight yarn. You can find this free pattern on Ravelry.

If a bandana cowl is more your thing, try Cowloween from Tellybean Knits (on Ravelry). This colorful design is worked from the top down and features pumpkins, ghosts and candy colored stripes, and is worked in a light fingering weight yarn. There are kid and adult sizes available.

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