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.]

Any time of year is a good time for stash busting, but if you can combine it with knitting a blanket that will keep you warm when it (finally!) gets cooler that’s even better. Let’s take a look at some fun patchwork blanket knitting patterns.

If you want to keep it super simple, you can just make blocks of garter stitch and sew them together, like the beginner’s patchwork baby blanket from Mini Baa Baa or the color block blanket from Make and Do Crew. Both projects are worked in strips and sew together, with the baby version calling for two strands of DK or light worsted weight yarn held together and the larger one using bulky yarn.

Add a little more texture with the mixed blocks of the cottage quilt throw from Mama in a Stitch. This one combines garter stitch and seed stitch and uses worsted weight yarn. She used a crochet join to make the chains on top of the blocks, but you can join them however you like. It calls for eight colors but you can use what you have, and there are three size options.

Get a real sampler style patchwork blanket with this design from Knit Sew Make. It calls for worsted weight yarn and has four size options. All of the patterns just use knit and purl stitches so this one is still pretty easy for beginners.

If you want a more complex colorwork project that will keep you entertained all season, try the Peace by Piece blanket pattern from Needle and Feather. This one is made up of two color colorwork blocks and calls for worsted weight yarn. You can choose to use just a few of the blocks and repeat them more often, or make multiples of the whole set.

The knitted patchwork recipe from Martine Ellis (free on Ravelry) uses mitered squares in fingering weight yarn, so it’s perfect for using up all your leftover sock yarn and mini skeins. This one is a tutorial more than a pattern so you can make your blanket as big as you like or keep going until you run out of yarn.

Susan B. Anderson’s 100 Squares blanket (find it on Ravelry) has a lot of mitered squares, too, but they’re arranged in fun ways and includes some quilt inspired designs as well. This one also is a bit of method more than pattern but it sure looks like a lot of fun for using all the leftovers.

Of course you can totally improvise a patchwork blanket using the yarn and stitches you like, but I hope these patterns inspire you to look at your leftover yarn in a new way.

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