Knitting News: A Survivor Sweater, Inmates Knit for Charity and a Legacy of Knitting

The Oklahoma City bombing happened 20 years ago on Sunday, and one woman who was injured by the blast has knit a special sweater that holds the memories of those who were lost and what has happened since.

Priscilla Salyers fell five stories and was trapped in rubble by the bomb, and though recovery workers found her yarn basket, she didn’t knit again until during Timothy McVeigh’s trial. The large cardigan she created includes a depiction of the memorial and the Survivor’s tree, a fence design on the back complete with charms, a teddy bear for the children who died and a heart for each person who died, including two of her co-workers.

The sweater has been touring around the country with a former police chaplain, but Salyers says she has some more details she’d like to add.

Female prison inmates in Maine are learning to knit and using donated yarn to make blankets and teddy bears. The projects are then given to Bikers Against Child Abuse, where they can help kids who need comfort. Women in the program, which is new to the Alfred facility, say they like being able to create things and share with others even while behind bars.

And finally, the New York Times has a piece about a woman encouraged to take up knitting by a friend while she was undergoing treatment for cancer. The author, Christina Baker Kline, resists the idea and is reminded of her mother, who taught her to knit and also is the reason she no longer does so. It’s an interesting read about legacy and what becomes important and why. You should check it out.

Looking for more Knitting patterns for Teddy Bears? Check it out here.

Next Pattern:

If you’re looking for a sweater knitting pattern that uses up some of your stash and allows you to make just the sweater you want, the Marlina Rib by Shay Johson might be just the thing.

It’s worked with two strands of fingering weight yarn held together to make a DK weight gauge, so you can use the same two yarns throughout or change one or both regularly for an even more colorful look.

The pattern has options to make it either a crewneck or a henley style with buttons, tapered or relaxed sleeves, and a straight hemline or a split hem with buttons (which sounds so cute if you do the henley with split hem and match the buttons on both parts).

It’s also knit from the top down so you can make the body and the sleeves as long as you want. There are 10 sizes available in the pattern, with a chest circumference ranging from 32 to 68 inches, or 81.5 to 172.5 cm. It’s meant to be worn with 4-6 inches/10-15 cm of positive ease at the chest.

The pattern page on Ravelry includes tons of measurements and yardage estimates so you can make sure you’ll get a good fit for your body before you even buy the pattern. Shay also shows a few variations of the sweater so you can see how different options look before you decide how you want to put them together.

The stitch pattern is 1×2 ribbing, which is really easy to do and gives a look almost like fisherman’s rib that’s relaxed and easy to wear.

This sweater looks like a great option for people who are somewhat new to sweater knitting or those who love to have lots of customization options (because it’s like getting multiple sweater patterns in one!).

Check out all the details and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself at Ravelry.

[Photo: Shay Johnson]

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

Leave a Reply