Knitting Patterns – Knit Costumes for Halloween

After reading Knit Your Own Moustache I started thinking about different ways you can add knitting to costumes for Halloween or any occasion that might call for dressing up. And of course there are a lot of options out there.

Here are a few.

A crown is a great addition to a lot of different costumes. I have instructions for a custom-fit crown over at About; you can also find a cute felted one at Lion Brand Yarn’s website.

Knitty has been a great contributor to the knit costume world through the years. I have always loved the Hallowig by Meagan Reardon, and Jennifer Tallapaneni’s angel wings known as Allete are pretty gorgeous, too.

This kid’s chainmail hauberk is amazing, as is the knitting chain mail hood for men (that one’s a PDF, by the way). If you have a little geek in your family, you’ll want to check out the Baby Link outfit, which you could also see as a baby Robin Hood, I suppose.

More adorableness for little kids includes this knit ladybug pattern from DROPS and the knit lamb by Margot Stevens (Ravelry download). These sweet cat ears are pretty excellent, too, and kids will love them for dress up all year.

I cannot get over the vintage men’s bathing suit pattern translated by Vintage Purls (or the bravery of this male model!).

And sometimes you just need a quick little knit addition to make it’s own costume or to add to other stuff. For those instances I offer the Viking hat, brain slug, fu manchu, steampunk hat and witch hands. You’re welcome.

Looking for more Halloween Knitting patterns? Check these out on Etsy.

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Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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