Gift Knits You Still Have Time for

We are coming down to the wire on Hanukkah and Christmas, but there’s still time to do some gift knitting if you want to. It’s not ideal, but there are a lot of quick knitting projects out there that can be great gifts, or part of a gift, and we’ll talk about a bunch of them over the next few days.

Yarnspirations suggests that you can get a lot of gifts done in the little time that’s left by using your arms as needles. They say you can arm knit a blanket (plain or in holiday colors) in three hours or less, while a scarf or cowl can be made even more quickly. (If you don’t know how to arm knit yet, I just published an arm knitting tutorial over at About, as well as a pattern for a super-simple cowl you can knit in about 10 minutes.)

Love Knitting has a great roundup of quick knit gifts on its website; some of my favorites are the Scrunchy, Slouchy Slipper Socks from Lion Brand Yarn and the Eco Ewe from Rowan, which would be perfect for the fellow knitter in your life.

Speaking of gifts for knitters, be sure to check out the yarn basket ornament knitting project from Red Heart. This cute little knit basket designed by Scarlet Taylor includes tiny balls of yarn and little needles sticking out. Too cute! (I actually have one that was given to me and I keep in my office all year.)

Also check out my collection of quick knitting patterns over at About. Some of my favorites include the simple Roll Brim Hat, which doesn’t look so simple in a multicolored yarn; and the Drop Stitch Soap Sack, which is a great gift to mass produce and give along with a really nice bar of soap and other spa goodies.

Are you still knitting holiday gifts? I think I have one more cowl and a scarf to do, plus little knit things for my daughter’s teachers. I’d love to hear what you’re working on!

Looking for more Christmas themed Knitting patterns? Check out some of our favorite Knitting patterns on Etsy and

These Christmas Knitting Pattern Books on Amazon

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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