Have You Knit Your Christmas Sweater Yet?

Did you know that Dec. 8 is Christmas Jumper Day? What better reason to start knitting a holiday sweater (even if you might not be finished with it in time for the holidays this year?) I’ve never knit a Christmas sweater but I did once knit and ugly Christmas sweater bra, which is a story you might want to know.

You can choose your own adventure when it comes to your Christmas sweater with the Winter Doodle Sweater from Jamie Lomax. Jamie provides lots of different motifs that you can add to your garment — 51, in fact, ranging from holly and snowflakes to reindeer, coffee cups and pine cones. You can add designs just to the yoke or all over your sweater as you like. It’s worked in DK weight yarn and has sizes with garment chest circumference ranging from 30 to 72 inches (76 to 183 cm) and is meant to be worn with 2-6 inches/5-15 cm of positive ease. You can find the pattern on Ravelry.

Knitting Pattern World on Etsy has another cute option with a range of little motifs to knit, though the pattern picks the designs for you. This one includes trees, Santas, snowmen and hearts. Finished measurements range from 96-144 cm or 37.75 to 56.5 inches, with six sizes available.

Make sweaters for the whole family with the Merry Christmas Sweater from Hobbii. This one has six sizes for women, as well as options for men and children, so you can make one for most everyone on your list (two years up to a chest measurement of 59 inches/150 cm). They’re worked from the top down using worsted weight yarn and rated for intermediate knitters. The design by Intreccidiceci is free on the Hobbii website.

This holiday lights pullover from Grey Owl Knits by Sarah on Etsy is so cute and a great way to use brightly colored leftovers from other projects. The retro lights are so cute and an easy shape to knit. It uses DK weight yarn and has a finished chest size ranging from 32 to 68 inches, or 80 to 170 cm, and should be worn with 2-4 inches/5-10 cm of positive ease.

Decorate your Christmas sweater with beads (or real ornaments if you want to go uglier) with the O Christmas Tree sweater pattern from Yas Knits. The muted colors give this one a retro look, but you can use bolder colors if you like. It’s worked in chunky yarn and the beads are worked in as you knit. Instructions for doing that are included. The pattern comes in three sizes, ranging from 98 to 122 cm/38.5 to 48 inches and is meant to have a roomy fit.

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.

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