Knit a Rainbow on Your Sweater

Whether you’re still knitting for Pride, want to commemorate a rainbow baby in your life or you just love the colorful addition of rainbow stripes to anything you knit, the Rainbow Over sweater from The Drunk Knitter is a pretty way to stitch up some color.

The yarn used in the original pattern is actually a rainbow gradient, which makes it super easy to knit because you don’t have to change colors. But this would also be a great use for any rainbow colored mini skeins you have on hand.

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn and is worked from the top down with a circular yoke and bishop sleeves for high drama. You could also shape the sleeves more traditionally if you don’t want all that extra fabric at the wrist.

The pattern comes in 8 sizes to fit chest measurements ranging from 30 to 62 inches or 76 to 157 cm, with zero to 4 inches/10 cm of positive ease. The body is a little cropped but you can always make it longer if you want to. This would be super cute as a dress, too, though of course you’d need a lot more yarn and probably need to alter the pattern to make a tunic or dress.

The yoke has a bit of a textured stitch pattern, while the rest of the body is worked in stockinette stitch, making this a pretty quick and easy knit.

You can find the pattern on Ravelry or on the Drunk Knitter website.

And if you’re looking for more uses for those mini skeins, check out my post all about ways to use mini skeins from advent calendars or elsewhere. And if you are looking at rainbow knitting patterns because Pride is every day, check out my Pride knitting patterns and more general rainbow knitting patterns.

[Photo: The Drunk Knitter]

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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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