How to Use a Lifeline in Knitting

If you’ve been knitting for a while (or a LONG while, like I have) you may understandably feel pretty confident in your skills. If you are like me, this might cause you to be a little cocky when it comes to trying new things, sure that not only will you get it on the first try, but it will also be easy for you.

Sometimes this will work out fine, and sometimes karma will come back to get you.

You can probably guess what kind of project I’m talking about right now.

I offered to knit a special project for someone, using a stitch pattern I probably never would have chosen, and while it probably shouldn’t have been as hard as it was, I just kept messing it up. And because it was a pattern full of yarn overs and slipped stitches, when I messed up I’d have to rip all the way back because every time I tried to pick up stitches I just messed it up more, or started knitting again on the wrong row and messed up the stitch pattern.

I was humbled.

Also, I was reminded of the knitter’s best friend in situations like this: the lifeline.

A lifeline is just a piece of yarn or thread that you run through your stitches, just below the needle, on a row you know you’ve worked correctly. If or when you make a mistake in a future row, you can easily rip back to that row that you know is correct without any fear of dropping stitches or losing yarn overs or other fancy stitches.

This is a great thing to do when you are learning a new to you technique like cables, lace or brioche. (The pattern I was struggling with was a brioche variation.) It gives you a little insurance that your mistakes won’t be fatal, and it helps you keep track of your progress, which can be super motivating when learning new things.

Check out how to use a lifeline over at Our Daily Craft. I’d love to hear your stories about using a lifeline, especially if you have a “should have used a lifeline” story, too!

Next Pattern:

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.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

Leave a Reply