Knit a Snake for the Year of the Snake

Lunar new year is here and it’s the year of the wood snake. If you want to celebrate with knitting, here are some fun snake knitting patterns for you to try.

Stitch up a snake dishcloth or add it as an afghan square to a blanket you knit up this year. This free pattern from Daisy and Storm uses a single color and purl stitches to make the snake design. The pattern is charted but there are also line by line instructions if you need them. It calls for DK or light worsted yarn but you can make it with regular kitchen cotton and you’ll get a slightly bigger cloth.

Make a snake with stripes to bust your stash or make a single colored snake if you’d rather with this pattern from Sarah Ann Thompson. It calls for worsted weight yarn and you can make it as long as you like, or go until you run out of oddballs. Does that ever happen? You can grab this pattern for free on Ravelry.

Or try the snake knitting pattern from Natty Knits on Etsy, which uses bulky yarn and it made to coil, so you work it in different sections to make it stack up on itself. So cute!

There’s also Stanley Snake from Fluff and Fuzz, which is made to be striped with all your DK weight odd balls, but you could make it a solid color if you’d rather. It’s a pretty simple knit that’s worked flat with a little shaping for the head.

Louise Walker’s snake scarf (on Ravelry) would be another fun one to do in lots of colors to use up your stash of bulky odd balls, or work in two colors as shown. It’s worked in two pieces that are seamed together for extra coziness, which also means you could lightly stuff it or add a layer of fleece for even more warmth if you want.

The adorable snake charmer sweater from Marit Krogstad (buy it on Ravelry) has a sweet spotted snake running across the body and down one sleeve. It’s sized for kids (ages 3/4 to 9/10) and calls for DK weight yarn. The pattern is available in English and Norwegian.

Stash Busting with Knitted Toys

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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