Knit a Dress without Knitting a Swatch

You might not know this about me, but I’m a stickler for gauge when it comes to knitting garments. It’s hard for me to get gauge (I actually just did swatches for a sweater and it took me three tries to get it right!) and I know how easily a little difference in gauge can make a huge difference in whether your sweater fits.

But I also understand how appealing the prospect of not knitting a gauge swatch is for a lot of knitters, whether you’re someone who “always gets gauge” or you just hate doing it.

When it comes to garments, patterns that work for any gauge allow you to just start knitting with the yarn and needles that you want to use, but they typically involve lots of math and/or trying things on once it’s big enough so you can figure out how the rest of the pattern needs to go so it will fit you. I’ve done this with top-down sweaters before, and in the case of the Mamaki pattern by Nicola Susen you can do it with a dress.

The pattern suggests you’ll need about 1.7 times the amount of yarn you would need for a sweater in order to make a dress with the same kind of yarn, so if you have yarn you’ve used before to make a sweater that can give you a place to start for yardage requirements. Or you can make it a total stash buster and use all the leftovers of a single weight of yarn that you have.

(I did something sort of like that last year when I decided to turn the scrap yarn sweater I was knitting into a tunic. But I did start with a sweater pattern I’d knit before, and I did check my gauge and do the math for increases I needed to cover my hips.)

If you want to make your own dress or tunic on the fly (you could totally use this same pattern to make a sweater, just knit to the length you want), check it out on Ravelry. This is a fun one to look at all the different versions people have made, too. A lot of the pattern notes are in German but the pattern is available in both German and English.

[Photo: Nicola Susen]

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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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