Knit Yourself a Puzzle Cube

I say this a lot, but I love it when people knit things that surprise me, make me think or make me laugh. This one kind of does all three! It’s not a new pattern but I think it’s worth taking a look at, and it would be a super fun stash buster to keep on your desk as a fidget.

It’s also a great conversation starter because this is the knit version of the Soma Cube (which also happens to be the name of the pattern), which was invented by Piet Hein in 1936 while he was listening to a lecture about quantum mechanics.

There are seven different pieces of various shapes that can be fitted together to make a cube. But the really cool thing is that there’s not just one way to put it together, there are in fact 240 different solutions! So you or your kids or anyone who happens by can play with it over and over and come up with different ways to make the cube.

It looks like this project is made with worsted weight yarn, though the pattern page on Ravelry actually doesn’t say. It looks like people have used fingering weight, DK and worsted weight yarns, which would make cubes of different sizes but the pieces should fit together all the same. There are even a couple of crochet versions!

I was looking at different projects and one person commented that it’s worthwhile to knit the pieces in the order they are given in the pattern because some of the later pieces are “strange and bewildering.” Which sounds like something I absolutely want to sign up for!

Despite the weird shapes there’s not a whole lot of finishing on each piece. The designers used polystyrene beads to fill their blocks, but you could also cut pieces of foam to fit.

The pattern is available on Ravelry.

[Photo: Pat Ashforth & Steve Plummer]

Knit Toys Made Out of Squares

Halloween Toys to Knit

Next Pattern:

Many times when I write these posts I will say something like “you can use any yarn you want” or “this would be a great stash-busting project.” That’s just how my mind works. And my stash, too, since I probably have sweater quantity of two or three yarns at most, but tons of singles and odd balls and leftovers.

Blankets are generally a really good way to use up those bits, but in this case, I think you’re going to want to plan it out a bit better.

Looking at photos of the Color Study Blanket from Purl Soho, it looks like it’s made with two yarns held together, and that block in the center is worked with one of each color from the adjoining sides to make a mixed up color.

But that’s not actually how it’s done. This is three separate colors (four, really, with the neutrals in the corners) chosen form a yarn with an expansive palette so they play off each other. The project calls for a worsted weight superwash wool, which is a great choice for a blanket that’s both warm and washable.

This pattern was originally designed by Laura Ferguson and was updated by Hiromi Glover. It is worked in one piece in garter stitch intarsia, which is a great way to learn the intarsia technique if you don’t already know it. It comes in crib or throw sizes.

Despite the introduction to this post, I am going to go ahead and say that, yes, of course you could do this blanket with scraps or odd balls or even just choose five colors that don’t blend together so easily. But I really do love the look of the color play, and I think it would be worth your time to find colors that play well together to get a similar effect.

This pattern is available for free from Purl Soho.

[Photo: Purl Soho]

Next Pattern:

Have you read?