Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

KnitBits: Amazing Knitting, and Some Too Good to Believe (April Fool’s Edition)

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knitting gorilla april foolsI know I’ve seen this one before, but the Wonder Woman sweater was recently featured on Boing Boing, so it’s worth mentioning again. Designed and knit by Natalie Bursztyn, it’s a free pattern on Ravelry, and it’s amazing.

While this story is about manufactured socks, it’s still a great story for textile lovers. Once there were 120 sock mills in Fort Payne, Ala., but cheap labor elsewhere has closed most of them. Gina Locklear wanted to keep her family’s mill open, and she’s doing it by producing organic cotton socks made entirely in the United States. Pretty cool.

I’m sad to share that knitting handbag maker Jordana Paige is closing up shop. She has a few bags left and will be officially closed once they are gone. She hasn’t announced what her next adventure is, but we wish her well.

This is an old post and a longish read, but the post on Infotropism about the relationship between knitting and programming is a good one. It’s not just about reading and writing code, but the technical, engineering and math skills that are involved in making a project your own. Good stuff.

And because it’s April Fool’s Day, we also have news of a gorilla caught knitting at the National Zoo and the Mason-Dixon Knitters are opening a side business selling subscription boxes for empty-nest moms to make their houses more like homes (including incomplete decks of playing cards and Doritos to grind into the carpet).

[Photo via Top Crochet Patterns.]

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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.