Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Have Any Patterns for the Pattern-a-Day Calendar?

by

knitting pattern calendarI’m sure you’ve seen those knitting (and crochet, and other craft) pattern-a-day calendars at your local bookstore or yarn shop. As you can imagine, it takes a lot of patterns (365, maybe? actually, it’s more like 100, as some patterns fill multiple days) to fill one of those, so the publishers are always eager for submissions. The submission period is open for the 2014 calendars, but won’t be for much longer.

In fact, the deadline was today for any patterns that wanted to be considered for inclusion in the photos on the cover of the calendar, but you have until August 15 if you want to submit a pattern — or several — to be included. All the details can be found right here, but you have to send good-quality, full-color photos (digitally or by some other means) as well as the pattern and a form that includes all the basic pattern info and your permission to publish it.

Designers of the three best patterns in the calendar will also be awarded cash prizes (up to $500), and you’ll get a free copy of the calendar for each of your patterns that is accepted, as well as the ability to link to your website in the calendar.

Have you ever submitted for or been published in one of these calendars? Spill it! I might try this year if I can come up with something that won’t take me away from my book knitting for too long!

[Photo by Accord Publishing.]

Comments

Have you read?

Beyond Basic Pumpkin Knitting Patterns

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork. 

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn. 

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look. 

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me. 

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. 

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.