Knit Up Some Quick Handwarmers from Blue Sky Alpacas

Speaking of easy cable knitting patterns (as I was yesterday), here’s another great, free, quick, exceptionally useful project that’s great for holiday knitting or just for you if you happen to work in a cold office and want to keep your hands warm in a stylish way.

LoveKnitting has a free pattern for cabled handwarmers from Blue Sky Alpacas. They feature a single large cable down the center back of the glove, and the rest of the pattern is ribbed, so they should fit a range of sizes and be pretty darn quick and easy to knit.

And Blue Sky Alpacas’ yarn is just lovely, so this is a great excuse to try it out if you haven’t already (or use some heavy worsted from your stash; I won’t tell).

LoveKnitting requires free registration to download patterns, but it’s a small price to pay for all the cuteness they share.

[Photo via LoveKnitting.]

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time.

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring.

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row.

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves.

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body.

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy.

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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