Henley Sweater Knitting Patterns

The type of sweater I’ve knit most often is a standard raglan, but my favorite kind of sweater to wear is a henley. (I went on and on about how much I love henleys, and the Achoo sweater in particular, in a previous post. I finally knit it last year and I do really love it.)

It’s not a style I see in knitting all that often, and it’s not one I’ve designed myself, but I do think they’re great and I want to knit more of them. So I decided to gather a few good looking (to me anyway) henley sweater knitting patterns to inspire me, and maybe you, to try this comfy, relaxed and easy-wearing style.

The Everyday Henley from Knits by Autumnnn on Etsy is a great basic henley with raglan sleeves. It’s worked with worsted weight yarn and has sizes ranging from 32 to 48 inches in the chest (that’s 88-122 cm) and is meant to be worn with 5 or 6 inches (13-15 cm) of positive ease.

Another one of my favorites is Driftwood by Isabell Kraemer on Ravelry. This worsted weight, striped henley has a deep placket and is available in five sizes. It’s a free pattern on Ravelry.

If you’re looking for a lighter weight sweater (which the Achoo I mentioned above is, too), try the Highline Henley from Tori Yu. Available on Ravelry, this one is a top down, dropped shoulder style with allover stripes in either two or four colors and worked in DK weight yarn. It has a cropped length and roomy sleeves, and is meant to be worn with 8 to 10 inches/20-25 cm of positive ease. The finished bust measurement ranges from 40 to 72 inches, or 101.5 to 183 centimeters.

Amy Gunderson has a great henley for guys called Lumber, though of course women could wear it, too. It uses worsted weight yarn and is worked flat in pieces from the bottom up. It has saddle shoulders and is meant to be worn with no to slightly negative ease. Finished chest measurements range from 35.5 to 63 inches. The pattern is available on Ravelry.

Another great style for guys (or anyone else) is the Big Horn Henley from Lovely by Lee on Etsy. This boxy sweater has a waffle stitch pattern and is worked from the bottom up. Actual sweater measurements range from 34 to 70 inches and it’s meant to be worn with 2-4 inches of positive ease. It has two collar options and you can add elbow patches if you like.

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Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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