Knit a Whole Set of Ribbed Garments Out of Your Dreams

I started to share one of these patterns before, but when I saw it was going to be a whole set I knew I needed to wait until they were all released to share because otherwise I’d just have to keep sharing them over and over.

The Boston series from Magdalena Parker (these are all Ravelry links, by the way) started with the skirt, which is a curve hugging, shapely skirt worked (like all the pieces are) in a wide 6 by 2 ribbed pattern. There’s narrower ribbing at the waistband to make a foldover elastic casing, and at the bottom edge. It’s worked in the round from the top down is sport weight yarn and comes in 10 sizes. It’s suggested you pick a size 4 inches/10 cm smaller than your actual hip measurement.

This one was released with the coordinating sweater, a top down crew neck that’s meant to be worn with about 12 inches/30 cm positive ease, which is a nice contrast with the skirt. These all call for luxurious cashmere yarn, but you can use something a little more budget friendly if you like.

Those two pieces alone would be plenty to make a great outfit or be worn separately, but now there’s also a V-neck sweater and a crew neck vest and V-neck vest. Ease on the vest is considerably less, with about 2 inches/5 cm of positive ease suggested. That makes it possible to wear the vest as a tank top if you want.

So basically you could knit this whole set and have a zillion options for mixing and matching. I only wish there were a bundle so you could buy several of the patterns at a discount!

This designer as it turns out seems to love to make sets, so if you want to be matchy matchy check out their other designs, some of which include socks, hats or even pillows. So fun!

[Photo: Magdalena Parker]

A Little Ribbed Tank Knitting Pattern [Knitting]

Bold Ribbed Shrug Knitting Pattern [Knitting]

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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