• Home
  • Suggest A Craft
  • DIY Newsletter

Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

  • About CraftGossip
  • Our Network
    • Bath & Body Crafts
    • Candle Making Ideas
    • Crochet Ideas
    • Cross Stitch
    • Edible Crafts
    • Felting Patterns
    • Glass Art
    • Home & Garden Ideas
    • Indie Crafts
    • Jewelry Making
    • Kids Crafts
    • Knitting Patterns
    • Lesson Plans
    • Needlework
    • Party Ideas
    • Polymer Clay
    • Quilting Ideas
    • Recycled Crafts
    • Scrapbooking
    • Sewing Patterns
    • Card Making
    • DIY Weddings
    • Not Craft Ideas
  • Giveaways
  • Roundups
  • Store
  • Search

Giveaway: 150 Scandinavian Motifs

October 12, 2015 by Sarah White

150 scandinavian motifs

Congratulations to Karey and Kim!

I feel like fall and winter are great times for color knitting. Maybe because stranded knitting makes double-thick projects that are extra warm, or maybe just because we all need a little more color in our lives when it’s cold and grey outside.

Whatever the reason, it seems like the right time to give away this awesomely inspirational book. 150 Scandinavian Motifs by Mary Jane Mucklestone is in fact exactly what it sounds like: a collection of charts for color knitting inspired by Scandinavian knitting patterns.

There are four actual projects in the book as well, but it’s really adding the charts to other projects that makes this book so much for.

It’s great because it includes large photos of colorwork swatches as well as the chart for each motif in black and white and two different color combinations so you can see how different patterns can look using different colors.

I actually have two extra copies of this book, and they will go to two randomly selected people who comment on this post before the end of the day Sunday, Oct. 18. My husband’s birthday is this week, so I’d love to hear about the best present you ever received. (Or something great you gave someone else.)

Thanks for visiting, commenting and sharing, and good luck!

Next Pattern:

  • Book Review - 200 Fair Isle Motifs: A Knitter's Directory
  • Jorid Linvik's Big Book of Christmas Knits: Over 70…
  • Scandinavian Style Knit Napkin Rings
«
»

Comments

  1. Mary Helene says

    October 12, 2015 at 11:31 am

    Happy Birthday to your Husband, my birthday is the 17th. All of my favorite gifts are handmade. I have several beautiful knitted hats from my sister.

  2. Jantje says

    October 12, 2015 at 11:33 am

    The best presents I ever got , are the clothes, mittens, scarfs, my mother made with all her love.

  3. MacCupcake says

    October 12, 2015 at 11:55 am

    I am not a knitter but love all things Scandinavian! My dad was born in Sweden, making me a first gen American, but love my Swedish roots!

    The best present I ever received? Well after nothing from husband and son for birthday or mother’s day for nearly 15 years, I was presented with a 2+ karat solitaire diamond set on a platinum band! It is absolutely gorgeous and kinda does make up for all the ‘forgottens’! It was something that I always wanted and I call it my ‘mother’s ring’ (since a diamond can be considered June’s birthstone too).

  4. Karey says

    October 12, 2015 at 11:57 am

    I just finished crocheting an Avengers baby set for our soon-to-be Godson since the parents are doing an Avengers themed baby room. The mom said it was the best baby gift ever!

  5. Helen King says

    October 12, 2015 at 12:43 pm

    Happy Birthday to your husband. Not for my Birthday , but the best present I have ever received was my daughter, an only child. This sounds like an amazing book! Thank you for the chance to win.

  6. amchart says

    October 12, 2015 at 12:47 pm

    A baby on Christmas. That was pretty great!

  7. joyce says

    October 12, 2015 at 1:10 pm

    One of my best presents was a big screen tv from my son to connect up to my laptop so I can read emails better.

  8. Angel says

    October 12, 2015 at 1:15 pm

    One of my best presents was being able to sleep in, breakfast in bed and a day off of housework.

  9. Kitten With A Whiplash says

    October 12, 2015 at 1:38 pm

    If you had asked me this when I was 3, I might have said a bottle of bubble soap. Now I’m almost mumble mumble mumble, and there have been so many wonderful presents over the years, many greatly loved but sadly forgotten, I couldn’t possibly pick one, so I’m going to stick to my bubble soap answer.

  10. Jeannette Olton says

    October 12, 2015 at 3:19 pm

    Happy Birthday to your husband! My best gift was a jewelry box from my daughter with an insert in the lid of a poem she hand wrote for me.

  11. Denyalle says

    October 12, 2015 at 3:22 pm

    I’ve had this book on my wishlist for forever! One of the best gifts I’ve received in recent history is a power detail sander from my on laws for my woodworking 🙂

  12. Tracy says

    October 12, 2015 at 3:36 pm

    The best gift question is a toughie. My most loved gift would probably be the (stuffed animal) bunny I had when I was little. “Bun” went everywhere. One of the best gifts I think I’ve ever given was tickets to an Aretha Franklin concert for my mom & I to go together. She doesn’t need or want stuff, she’d much rather spend time together and spending time together with Aretha was fabulous! Thanks for the giveaway chance, I’ve been coveting this book for a while and just haven’t caved yet.

  13. yolanda v says

    October 12, 2015 at 4:43 pm

    One of the best gifts I ever received was from my daughter when she was a little girl. A small box with a letter. a gumball ring, stickers, and a $1 bill. I cried. It was so sweet. Ives kept it intact for years…

  14. cwknitnut says

    October 12, 2015 at 4:45 pm

    My best present was tickets to see the Celtic Dancers!

  15. Karen says

    October 12, 2015 at 4:57 pm

    Ahhh…the last time I knitted was a pair of Norweigien gloves – – OMG…THAT WAS 35 YEARS AGO. No that I’m retired I’d love to design another pair based on designs in this book. Thanks!

  16. Kim says

    October 12, 2015 at 7:35 pm

    Happy birthday to your husband! Best present: a bunny rabbit!

  17. Lee says

    October 12, 2015 at 8:32 pm

    I hope your husbands birthday is great! I am an Oct bday person too! My best gift was a surprise trip – to San Juan! it was awesome! thank you!

  18. lmnwkcc says

    October 12, 2015 at 8:45 pm

    Happy Birthday to your husband and what a thoughtful gesture!

  19. lmnwkcc says

    October 12, 2015 at 8:46 pm

    Special birthday cake is the best gift in our family

  20. Lovi says

    October 12, 2015 at 8:48 pm

    I hope he has a great birthday! My favorite gift was a trip to NYC to visit my best friend!!

  21. Jeanne says

    October 12, 2015 at 9:00 pm

    My most useful, recent gift is a full spectrum task light. I am now able to focus light on my work without lighting up the whole room.

    The most memorable gift was a Boye Needlemaster set from my father who considered me, at age 18, an expert knitter. This was over 30 years ago when this was the best gift ever.

  22. Kylie C says

    October 12, 2015 at 9:25 pm

    My favorite gift I gave was a quilt for my sister since she was the last in my family I hadn’t made one for. She dropped hints about it for months ahead of time but I played dumb and she was completely surprised.

    My favorite gift that I’ve received is my great-great-grandmother’s singer treadle machine from my grandmother.

  23. MelodyJ says

    October 13, 2015 at 2:59 am

    The best present I ever got was a puppy when I was six years old. Even handmade can’t beat that.

  24. Elena says

    October 13, 2015 at 4:09 am

    Happy birthday to your husband! The best gift I’ve received was a ticket to the swimming-pool for the whole day: swimming, eating and swimming again – that was great.

  25. lindarumsey says

    October 13, 2015 at 4:22 am

    My best present has been a Daylight lamp so i can keep knitting and crafting through the long dark winter nights!

  26. caro says

    October 13, 2015 at 8:09 am

    Happy birthday! 😀
    The best present I received was 2 years ago for my birthday. My mom offered me a ball winder and a swift as well as loooooots of super beautiful and colorful yarns and a set of strait needles and double pointed ones! And that’s how I started falling in love with knitting! 😀 (I was crocheting for a year or so before that, but since I started knitting i feel like doing it everyday and my crochets feel a little left out I think :p)
    have a super nice day!

  27. karen powell says

    October 13, 2015 at 9:56 am

    so amazed at this technique of knitting, they have such detailed patterns. my nanny knit me two sets of mitts in this style and i cherish them.

  28. Mary Romanson says

    October 13, 2015 at 10:12 am

    from Mary

    I’m really interested in your give-away book. Recently I learned fair isle knitting and knitted a beautiful snowflake sweater. . .my first experience with steeking. Your book would give me ideas to design my own projects. Can’t wait to begin my journey through the Shetland Isles. I think you should take your husband there for his birthday celebration!

  29. Patty Manders says

    October 13, 2015 at 10:35 am

    My sewing machine–a gift from my MIL when it wasn’t even Christmas or my birthday or any kind of special occasion! This looks like a wonderful book just brimming with inspiration of all sorts.

  30. Brenda J Moore says

    October 13, 2015 at 11:31 am

    My d.i.l has become quite the 0erson with the needles- self taught and not shying away from tough pattern selections.
    A lovely gift, would be this book!

  31. Donna H says

    October 13, 2015 at 2:20 pm

    Oh, it’s my husband’s birthday week too. How funny! My best birthday present was a Barbie mobile home (received many years ago). I loved that thing 🙂

    I love the patterns and inspiration in this book. Thanks for this great giveaway!!

  32. Chantel Lee says

    October 13, 2015 at 3:07 pm

    My birthday was yesterday! I’ve had many wonderful gifts throughout the years, but I got a fabulous one yesterday. My nephew who’s staying with us for a few months gave me a letter in which he tells me what a wonderful person and auntie I am. Since I haven’t been feeling good about myself lately, it was just what I needed.

  33. geri actor says

    October 13, 2015 at 7:42 pm

    Best present: at age 13, a complete record set of the Beethoven Symphonies (against my Mom’s better wishes….).
    Thanks for the giveaway!

  34. Bonnie Smith says

    October 13, 2015 at 10:48 pm

    For years my husband would ask what I wanted for a present. And for years my response was, somewhat jokingly, to write me a love letter. For our 25th Wedding Anniversary, he and my daughter wrote me a song. She performed it for us the night of our Anniversary. It was an amazing gift!!

  35. Dot says

    October 14, 2015 at 12:48 am

    My best gift was a Navajo Yebechai blanket from my husband. It was one we’d admired but decided we couldn’t afford. He went back and got it, and hung it on the wall with a year’s worth of greeting cards pinned to it: Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, Happy Halloween, Congratulations on Getting Your Driver’s License, Easter, Valentine’s, and so on!

  36. steffi says

    October 14, 2015 at 4:40 am

    my best gift ever was seeing and touching snow on my birthday! might not sound special for someone having birthday in winter, but my birthday is in mid june, which makes it impossible to have a snowy birthday in the northern hemisphere! so this year I packed my things and traveled up north to Northern Norway, up a mountain…and I had snow for my birthday 🙂

  37. bjcobb says

    October 14, 2015 at 3:17 pm

    For my 60th birthday we tried to get 60 people to help pack meals at Feed My Starving Children. I got the gift of friends and family joining me there……… followed by a big box of birthday cards from all over that my daughter had solicited from family and friends who couldn’t make it.

  38. Rebecca says

    October 14, 2015 at 4:12 pm

    Awesome giveaway!

    The best present I received was a letter from my Dad on my 16th birthday, telling me how proud he was of the woman I was becoming and how special I was to him.

    Twenty-five years later, I still carry it in my wallet.

  39. Greta says

    October 14, 2015 at 8:29 pm

    Probably the first quilt I made, which I gave to my mom. It felt very special!

  40. Sheila says

    October 15, 2015 at 11:46 am

    Best gift is hard. It was my birthday last week and the best present I got was a big check from my parents. Best gift I’ve given recently was some chocolate cupcakes I made for a friend a few years ago, seriously yummy, made from http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2007/07/you-are-owed-chocolate-cake/

  41. susansmoaks says

    October 15, 2015 at 2:53 pm

    the best present i ever got was a nice dress from my husband, i love it, i wear it all the time.

  42. Peggy R says

    October 15, 2015 at 10:10 pm

    Happy Birthday to your Husband!! My Sister’s Birthday was this past week as well. Some of the sweetest people were born around this time, and Libras, as we know, are some of the most outgoing, and even-keeled people I know. The best thing I ever received was an afghan that my Aunt knitted for me, and another one that my late Mother crocheted for me. I will cherish them forever. I love to knit shawls for friends and family members who are going through a rough time in their lives or have suffered a loss. It’s my way of giving them a hug, and to let them know I’m there with them. For other friends or family members, I have made baby layettes, complete with the afghan, if they’re expecting. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of this book, since I’ve always wanted to try this type of colorwork. Thank you for making this possible. I apologize for the lengthy answer, but had a lot to get out in response to your question!!

  43. Carmen N says

    October 17, 2015 at 7:53 pm

    Well, I’d have to say the best present I ever received was my engagement ring (almost 20 years ago)!

  44. Ruthann Flor says

    October 18, 2015 at 6:59 pm

    I would love to have this book!

  45. Kelly says

    October 18, 2015 at 7:41 pm

    Hi, the best birthday gift I’ve ever received would have to be my sewing embroidery machine that my gracious husband bought for me. I treasure it because of my passion for sewing, but mainly because it came from him! :))

    kmcaufield@gmail.com

  46. yarnaddicted says

    October 18, 2015 at 9:07 pm

    One of my best gifts was an antique cross-stitched framed sampler stitched in 1920, I love historical needlework!

  47. Léa says

    October 20, 2015 at 9:13 am

    The best gift I ever got was my dog… Love her so much!! She’s 8 now.

Have you read?

Knit a Spiky Balaclava

Not too long ago my daughter and I had a discussion about what a chestnut really looks like. The nut itself is small and brown, of course, but on the tree they’re covered with this weird kind of spiky, kind of fuzzy shell. It’s a wonder anyone ever figured out they were edible.

If you didn’t know that, you might wonder why this project is call Chestnut balaclava, but now you know.

This fun design from Yevheniia Pyroh is covered with spikes just like a chestnut shell, and is even the same color, though of course you can make yours whatever color you like. It uses two strands of fingering weight yarn held together (which it says is fingering weight but you could try a light/DK yarn and see if you get gauge with it if you’d rather).

There are two different design options in the pattern. One is a more fitted balaclava style hat (it doesn’t cover the face but does go around the neck) and a looser fit hood.

It’s worked primarily in garter stitch, with shaping done by knitting and purling in the same stitch and through various decreases (including a knit 3 together).

The pattern is charted but also explained in words. It’s worked flat to the size you want, and then joined into a hood shape with ribbing at the neck. The opening for the face is finished with I-cord.

This hood/balaclava would definitely be a conversation starter and in different colors it might read more dinosaur than chestnut, which could also be fun. The sizing is totally custom so you can make it fit whatever head you’re stitching for.

If you want to try it for yourself (and I’d love to hear about it if you do!) you can download the free pattern from Ravelry.

[Photo: Yevheniia Pyroh]

Balaclava Knitting Patterns

Colorwork Balaclava Knitting Pattern [Knitting]

Categories

baby hat Baby Patterns Beginner Book Reviews cardigan Christmas CraftGossip Giveaways Craft News and Events Free Kntting Patterns Giveaways! Hats Knitting Articles Of Interest Knitting Patterns Knitting Technique & Ideas mittens Quick scarf shawl patterns socks Sweaters

RSS More Articles

  • Easy Ways to Make Your Cross Stitch Better
  • 12 Handmade Masculine Card Ideas for Father’s Day
  • The Perfect Sewing Guide for Making Indian Clothes
  • Minecraft Learning Activities
  • Knit a Spiky Balaclava
  • 12 Scrapbook Layout Ideas using Repeated Shapes
  • Upcycling or Hoarding? Why Your DIY Projects Could Be Doing More Harm Than Good
  • Circle Of Leaves Afghan Pattern
  • Make a Stunning DIY Paper Vase – A Creative and Budget-Friendly Craft
  • How to Make a Rag Quilt – An Easy, Cozy Beginner-Friendly Tutorial

Pick Your Blog

  • Sewing
  • Knitting
  • Quilting
  • Crochet
  • Home & Garden
  • Recycled Crafts
  • Scrapbooking
  • Card Making
  • Polymer Clay
  • Cross-Stitch
  • Edible Crafts
  • Felting
  • Glass Art
  • Indie Crafts
  • Kids Crafts
  • Jewelry Making
  • Lesson Plans
  • Needlework
  • Bath & Body
  • Party Ideas
  • Candle Making
  • DIY Weddings
  • Not Craft
  • Free Craft Projects

Copyright © 2025 · CraftGossip | Start Here | Contact Us | Link to Us | Your Editors | Privacy and affiliate policy