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]

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.

Have you read?