Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Knit an Easy Scarf Using Helical Knitting

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Last month I shared a collection of helical knitting patterns and mentioned that I was learning more about helical knitting this year and had been working on a scarf using the technique that wasn’t ready yet. 

It took me a full six weeks to knit the six foot long (1.8 meter) scarf, but it was so satisfying I didn’t even mind it that much. 

I decided that I wanted it to be a stash-busting project and that each section would be in rainbow color order, using various oddballs and changing yarn whenever needed within that color section. 

For the “second” color I chose black, a skein of Big Twist that was one of the last things I bought at Joann. I like the contrast between the black and the other colors, and it’s nice to have one harmonious secondary color throughout, though of course you could use odd balls for both colors to make it even more scrappy. 

I didn’t pay a ton of attention to yarn weight on this project, though most of it is worsted/medium weight. There’s a little bit of heavier yarn in there, too, and maybe a bit that’s a little lighter, too. This scarf can take all kinds. 

And despite it taking kind of a long time to knit, it’s actually pretty fun and easy to do. It was good TV knitting, which you might not expect when first learning helical knitting, but as long as you put a stitch marker where you need to slip your stitches you don’t really need to pay attention otherwise. 

You can find the pattern for the helical scarf on my website, as well as a tutorial for how I do helical knitting. If you try this technique I’d love to hear about how it goes for you! I really enjoyed it and expect more projects of this sort coming in the future. 

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Beyond Basic Pumpkin Knitting Patterns

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork. 

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn. 

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look. 

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me. 

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. 

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.