Get Sporti with this Gender-Neutral Knit Collection

Knit fabric made with ribbing is magical. It’s super stretchy, of course, and while it can be clingy it does so in a way that’s super comfortable.

Ribbed projects automatically look kind of sporty, and that’s the idea behind the Sporti collection by Jacqueline Cieslak.

This pattern in two parts is actually three different pieces. There’s a sweater that can be knit to full length or cropped to a shrug (or really any length in between) and a coordinating tank top that can be worn with the shrug or sweater or on its own.

Both projects call for fingering weight yarn, which makes them lightweight and easy to wear and layer with.

The patterns are size inclusive and include gender-neutral sizing, so you can choose the fit you like without being labeled as men’s or women’s sizing.

The sweater/shrug has nine sizes to fit an upper chest circumference of 30 to 62 inches (75 to 155 cm) and has options for wide and narrow shoulders. There are lots of tips in the pattern for getting a good fit and what to do if you are between sizes. There are also instructions for optional bust darts if you need them.

The tank top has the same size options and optional bust darts. Both projects are worked from the top down so you can try them on as you go for a custom fit. Because they are ribbed you will want to choose a size with at least some negative ease to get a good fit.

I love patterns like this that offer lots of options because you can knit them over and over in different ways, and make them match or not. The patterns are both available on Ravelry (sweater|tank) and if you buy them at the same time you can get 50 percent off the tank top pattern price.

[Photo: Jacqueline Cieslak]

Fall will be here before we know it, and that means there are holidays coming right behind where we might be entertaining at home. It’s always fun to have a hand knit touch in your home for other people to see, and if you’re going to be in the kitchen all day you might as well have some nice knit dish cloths to use.

I love this little plaid hand towel from Darling Jadore. Use a little bit of leftover cotton yarn from another project for the plaid portion. It looks like the horizontal stripes are worked as you knit and the vertical stripes are done with duplicate stitch, making this a quick and easy project even newer knitters can make.

Combine garter stitch and an easy eyelet pattern worked sideways to make the Annette Dish Towel from Cluck Cluck Boots, which is meant to be reminiscent of flour sack towels. It calls for DK weight yarn and you can work it in one color or two (or even three!).

Add a little more texture with this set of kitchen towels from Whileberry Creative. They’re mostly worked in garter stitch with borders in easy knit/purl patterns, and you can work them in sport or worsted weight yarn.

Two of Wands Shop has another cute allover knit and purl pattern they call the Seersucker Textured Tea Towel. It’s an easy repeating pattern worked in worsted weight yarn, and there’s a chart in the pattern you can use, but don’t have to, if you want to practice knitting from a chart.

The Classic Cloth dish towel from Handmade Home by Connie is another one that can use a little leftover yarn in a contrasting color, or you could color block it our use stripes throughout the pattern. This one uses worsted weight yarn and another easy repeating knit purl stitch pattern.

If you like to hang your towel on the oven handle or elsewhere but it’s always falling off, try the Stay Put kitchen towel from Fancy Step Knits. This project is worked in garter stitch and includes a hole partway through so you can pull the towel through itself over a rod or handle. Stripes are optional but a nice addition.

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