Knit Matching Socks and Sweater with Black Cats

I feel like I write about cats a lot, but looking back there don’t seem to me as many posts on the subject as I thought there were. (I did find a cat sweater and a pair of socks to get you started.) I am a sucker for cats in craft projects, particularly black cats, because we have a black cat and a tuxedo cat in the household.

So when I saw the Shadow Socks from The Petite Knitter, I knew I needed to add them to my to-knit list (and share them here!). The socks include two color corrugated ribbing, lots of little bits of colorwork, and a band of black cats standing in front of the moon(s) around the leg.

They’re inspired by a tuxedo cat named Shadow, who you can see in some of the photos.

They’re worked in the round from the cuff down and use a chart for the colorwork and afterthought heels. You can work them with opposite colors on the cuff, heel and toe or make them match if you’d rather.

The socks come in four sizes and the pattern coordinates with Nocturnal, a top down mock turtleneck with the same corrugated ribbing at the neckline and other edges, and the same kinds of colorwork patterns found on the socks.

The sweater calls for DK weight yarn and has a circular yoke. It comes in 10 sizes, with a chest measurement ranging from 36 to 80 inches (or 91 to 200 cm) and is meant to be worn with 4-7 inches/10-18 cm of positive ease.

Both designs use three colors of yarn. The sock pattern is available in English, Spanish and French, while the sweater pattern is in all of those languages as well as Korean.

You can purchase the sock pattern and/or the sweater pattern directly from The Petite Knitter’s website.

[Photo: The Petite Knitter]

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.

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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