Knit a Wall Hanging that Befits Your Castle

I will admit from the beginning here that this is the sort of knitting pattern only a few people are probably actually going to want to knit. But we can still admire the coolness of other people’s projects, the work and craftspersonship that went into them, without wanting to make them ourselves, so here we go.

I just happened to be looking for patterns on Ravelry around the same time that this pattern was published, otherwise I never would have see it. And that would have been a shame, because it kind of blew my mind.

Sword of Damocles is a double knit wall hanging that looks like a medieval crest you should find hanging in a castle. I mean, maybe you do live in a castle and you need to remind all visitors that their fate is hanging by a thread and you are holding the sword. No judgement.

In any case, this stunning project uses two colors of worsted weight yarn. The designer, Grace Lindley, used black and white, but any two colors with high contrast could also be used.

The wall hanging measures about 19.5 by 41.3 inches, or 50 by 105 cm, including the fringe. If you wanted a smaller one you could use a lighter weight yarn.

The most amazing part of it all is, this is Grace’s first pattern ever. They’re offering it for free in the hope that knitters will provide constructive feedback that will help them write better patterns in the future.

I for one can’t wait to see what comes next.

You can get the free pattern on Ravelry.

Apparently I have double knitting on the brain (or Ravelry has some kind of magic algorithm I don’t know about) because I just recently shared more double knitting patterns if this is a technique you’d like to explore.

[Photo: Grace Lindley]

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time.

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring.

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row.

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves.

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body.

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy.

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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