Irish Knitting Fun for St. Patrick’s Day

I’m pretty sure this is the first time in the history of me having this job that I’ve remembered St. Patrick’s Day was coming before it was even March. (And if the shamrock knitting pattern roundups from the last two years are any indication, that’s certainly true, because they were both published at just about the last minute.)

Since I’m giving you more time this year, I thought it would be fun to look at some more traditional Irish (or Aran-inspired, anyway) knitting projects that are great for St. Patrick’s Day or any time of year.

There are of course a ton of these types of projects depending on what sort of thing you want to knit, so we’re just scratching the surface here. A good search at Ravelry or on a large yarn company website will get you lots more ideas.

Sweaters: Check out the His and Her Aran Knits from Bernat Design Studio (pattern is a PDF), the Aran Texture Twinset from Paton’s, the Men’s Pullover Irish Knit (which looks to be a vintage Bernat pattern) or the Aran Cable Shrug from Crystal Palace Yarns.

Accessories: I love the Aran Gauntlets from AslanTrends (free download if registered with Vogue Knitting), Flory Loughead’s Aran Toque and the Modified Irish Cable Scarf from Knit Purl Addict. This Aran Poncho from Patons, originally published in Canadian Living, is pretty darn impressive, too.

Afghans: Maybe the perfect use of Aran patterning to my mind is a big Aran afghan. Anna Dalvi’s Burridge Lake Aran Afghan is a beauty, worked with a central panel that’s symmetrical and panels on each side that are mirror images. There’s also the St. Patrick’s Day Sampler Afghan, which was originally designed by members of the Aranknit list back in 2000-01. You can see pictures of all the squares on Ravelry.

Looking for knitting patterns for knitted Cardigans? Check out these Knitting patterns we found on Etsy.

Looking for pullover and sweater patterns? Check these books out.

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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