Knit a Basket to Use Up Some Stash

Baskets are a perennial trend in home decor, but especially this time of year when we’re all trying to get a little more organized.

With this pattern for a geometric basket from purl3agony, you can use up some of your yarn stash to make a place to store other things (maybe tiny balls of yarn?).

It uses two different kinds of yarn in her version, but you could always make stripes to use up odd balls if you want. A plastic bowl in the bottom gives it stability, and you could work the same kind of project in different sizes to suit different needs and cover different sized containers.

The base is worked in one piece from the center out, then the sides are picked up and worked in the round, which makes it easy to adjust the size.

Do you have any knit baskets? What do you use them for? I have a giant crocheted basket that’s more like a bag because the sides are floppy that’s always full of some kind of kid stuff. It’s great!

[Photo via purl3agony.]

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time.

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring.

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row.

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves.

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body.

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy.

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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