Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Knit Holiday Socks for Any Time of Year

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While these socks from Mirella Moments are officially called holiday socks, I don’t see any reason why you can’t knit them any time of year.

Sure, with the red and white colors the designer chose, they do have a bit of a candy cane, winter holiday feel. The varying width of the stripes up the leg and a little bit of a chevron thrown in too will keep it interesting to knit (and give you a tiny bit of practice with both reading a chart and working stranded knitting, if those are skills you want to learn).

The toe is simply shaped with decreases to make a round toe, and you finish it off with grafting.

The pattern uses a heel flap and gusset, so it’s pretty easy even if this is your first pair of socks. They are worked from the top down and the designer used a set of five double-pointed knitting needles for their project, but if you have knit a few and know that you like a different configuration of needles you can use whatever you like.

If you haven’t knit socks — or not many socks — before this is a great pattern because it also has a lot of photos to help you along. And you’ll get all the basic skills you need to take on any other sock knitting pattern you might like to try.

These are sized for women, and they would make great gifts, for the holidays or any other time. Mix it up with any two colors you like, or make two pairs with reversed colors for even more fun.

You can find this free pattern on the Mirella Moments website.

And if you’re looking for more easy sock knitting patterns, I have a roundup of easy socks here. Or if you want to knit socks for a guy, check out these men’s sock knitting patterns.

[Photo: Mirella Moments]

 

Waves Socks– Free Knitting Pattern
These cozy Waves Socks are a lovely choice if you want a handknit sock pattern with a little texture but nothing too fussy. The gentle scallop stitch creates a soft wave effect, making them pretty enough for gifting but still practical for everyday wearing. They’re worked in light worsted weight yarn, so they knit up a little faster than fine sock yarn socks too.

Ladies Lace Top Socks – Free Knitting Pattern
These Ladies Lace Top Socks are a sweet step up from a basic handknit sock, with a delicate lace cuff that adds just the right amount of pretty. The rest of the sock is worked mainly in stocking stitch, so it’s a nice project for knitters who are ready to try sock shaping without making the whole thing overly complicated. A lovely handmade gift idea, especially if you use a soft 4-ply sock yarn.

Have you read?

Pencil Knitting Patterns

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.