Help Build the World’s Biggest Stocking to Support Children of Fallen Soldiers

Yarnspirations is looking to build the largest knit and crocheted Christmas stocking, three feet at a time, in order to support the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation.

The idea is that knitters and crocheters will buy Caron United, the acrylic, made in the USA yarn that already supports that foundation, whip up 3 foot by 3 foot blankets, mail them in and have them added to the stocking.

If you use Caron United, 15 cents from the purchase price of each skein goes to the foundation (though they will accept blankets made in any worsted/medium weight yarn) and when the stocking is done the finished blankets will be donated to military charities. They also prefer blankets worked in red, white or green for the holiday theme, but other colors will be accepted.

The Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation provides scholarships and educational counseling to the children of fallen soldiers.

Learn more about the project, get patterns and find out where to send your finished blankets at the project FAQ page. What a great way to help others this holiday season.

[Photo via Yarnspirations.]

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

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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