Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Knit a Sweater with Shocking Stripes

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As much as I love my classic sweater designs, I also really like to see sweater knitting patterns that bring in a bit of a twist.

The Shocking Stripes sweater by Tori Yu starts as a pretty standard looking, top down, crew neck, circular yoke sweater worked in sport weight yarn.

But then the stripes come in.

These stripes are shocking not just because of their brilliant color (the yarn company calls it Yollo) but also because you’ll be surprised how easy they are to knit. They look like stranded colorwork done with slipped stitches, but it’s actually a broken seed stitch pattern that’s simple to execute.

The pattern is written for nine sizes, ranging from 36 inches to 68 inches in actual finished sweater size. The design is intended to be worn with about 6 inches of positive ease.

You can of course use any colors that you like on this one, and there are some great examples on the pattern page or Ravelry using two more muted colors, or mixing it up so all the stripes are not the same color.

But if you love the colors of the sample shown (the main color, which looks a little beige to me, is called dusty rose, which is a such a fun throwback name!) you can buy a kit from the yarn company she worked with, The Wandering Flock. The kit with the same colors is available on Etsy, or you can check out their Baby Paca yarn in other colors. I think this rust one would be great for this project as well.

Whether you buy the kit or use your own yarn, the pattern is available for purchase from Ravelry.

[Photo: Tori Yu.]

Have you read?

Adorable Ghost Knitting Patterns

Adding a bit of knitting to your fall decor is a lot of fun, whether it’s knit pumpkins or a bunch of adorable knit ghosts like these.

Knit ghosts can be super simple like this free ghost knitting pattern from Trixie Zynch on Ravelry. Using about 50 yards of worsted weight yarn, they’re worked from the bottom up and are super cute as a pair. 

This fuzzy little ghost from Forest Knitting Toys is holding a pumpkin and wearing a witch hat, though of course the accessories are optional, as is the fuzzy yarn. The main yarn is chunky and the ghost measures about 10 cm/4 inches tall. It’s worked in the round. 

Another fuzzy ghost in more of a Pacman style is this ghost plushie form South Stitch Girls. It’s worked in the round with bulky yarn and includes a sweet little bow you can make in whatever color you like. 

The ghost doll from Edith Grace Designs has little arms and a curl at the top of its head. The body is worked flat using DK weight yarn and you could also work it in glow in the dark yarn for extra fun. The body and head are worked in one piece with the arms knit separately. 

The Grim Grinning Ghosts from Susan Claudino are super cute and you can knit them in any yarn and gauge you like to make ghosts of different sizes. These are worked in the round with the body done in one piece and the arms are knit separately. The ghosts shown were knit in sock yarn, DK and worsted weight yarn. You can find the pattern on Ravelry.

Make a ghost with funny striped legs with this ghost shelf sitter design from Claire Fairall Designs. It’s worked in three colors of DK weight yarn, and the letters spelling out boo are made with strips of garter stitch sewn into shape.