Knit a Pretty Blossoming Wrap for Spring

Sometimes it can be hard to figure out what to knit, and what knits to wear, when the weather starts changing. The good news is that spring is relatively unpredictable, and can go back and forth between warm and cold in the same week, or even the same day.

If you’re heading into spring (or fall) where you live, now’s a great time to make a shawl. This one, the Blossoming Wrap from Purl Soho, is especially nice because the textured stitches look like spring blooms on a branch (or maybe fall berries?).

The arc-shaped shawl, designed by Hiromi Glover, is worked in a bulky weight superwash wool yarn, which makes it quick to knit and easy to care for. Of course you can use whatever bulky yarn you have on hand, or even use a lighter weight yarn and just make the project bigger (the stitch multiple is included in the pattern so it’s easy to do just that).

The pattern repeats are surprisingly easy to work, and the texture is made with popcorn stitches, which are a little less fiddly than bobbles because you don’t have to turn the work to finish them.

Instructions are given both fully written out and with a chart so you can make it in whatever way is easiest for you.

You can find this pattern at Purl Soho.

Looking for more fun shawls to knit for spring? Here are a few I’ve shared in the past: Vibrance a triangle worked with sock yarn | a garter stitch triangle with textured edging | Adrift, an allover eyelet rectangle | Scrappy Bias, a great project for using up all your leftover bits or unused mini skeins

Summer shawls are great for those days when it’s more warm than not, so if you want to get a jump on a project you can use when it’s warmer, check out my collection of summer shawl knitting patterns, too.

[Photo: Purl Soho]

As we get into the part of the year with a lot of food-forward holidays, it might be time to start thinking about knitting some new things for your table. While a few of these are more fall/Thanksgiving focused, just changing up the colors would make others work for Christmas, or keep it neutral and use them all year long.

What got me started thinking about this was the lovely and simple Fresh Bread Dishtowel, a free pattern from Purl Soho. Worked in a lovely cotton and linen blend, the towel is mostly stockinette stitch with a bit of texture on the borders.

You could use this same kind of pattern to make anything from placemats to a table runner, but let’s look at some specific patterns for those kinds of projects as well.

The easy moss stitch table runner from Glass Bird Knits is beginner friendly can can easily be modified to fit your table (or, again, to make placemats instead of or in addition to a runner). This version is worked in macrame cord, but you could also use bulky yarn.

Emielle Design has a garter stitch runner pattern that’s made with braided cotton cord for a lot of texture without a lot of work. But be sure to take a lot of breaks when knitting with cord because it can be rough on your hands!

I also love the diamond pattern on the Hamilton Table Runner from Wyndlestraw Designs. It calls for a DK weight cotton and linen blend yarn and comes in three sizes with different widths and lengths. The pattern has both written and charted instructions.

Amy Marie’s Table Pumpkins (on Ravelry) is a fun mosaic knitting pattern that would be great to use as a table runner through the fall and for Thanksgiving. It uses a worsted weight cotton yarn in two colors, and you can make it as long as you like for your table.

The no cable knit placemats from Yarn Culture Studio have a fun faux cable look that would be great for the table through the fall and winter.

Or here’s another pattern from Wyndlestraw Designs, this time for an easy knit and purl stitch placemat pattern that looks different but still good on both sides. It calls for worsted weight cotton and comes in two sizes for placemats, but also has instructions for coasters, a hot pad and a table pad all using the same stitch.

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