Little Things to Knit to Make Winter Better

I know it hasn’t been actual winter in the Northern Hemisphere for that long, but as soon as we get past the holidays the weight of how much winter we have left to deal with starts to get to me. That means it’s time to knit up a little something that’s useful and pretty, like tissue covers, hot water bottle cozies and tea cozies.

Grab your brightest yarns to add a little cheer to your house for the coldest part of the year!

These little tissue holders are perfect for making it a little easier to find your tissue pack in your bag or on your desk (if your desk is as messy as mine!). The free pattern from kmkat uses sock yarn, so it’s a great way to use those little bits left from other projects.

If you use a hot water bottle to add a little warmth this time of year, why not stitch up a pretty cover for it? This one from Olga Beckmann (find it on Ravelry) uses super bulky yarn so it stitches up in no time, and includes a pretty cable that’s easy enough to do without a cable needle.

You can also knit your bottle a Fair Isle sweater with this design from Laura Penrose (also on Ravelry). It’s worked with two strand of fingering weight held together (or a DK held on its own) and fits a 2 liter bottle.

You can come up with your own embellishments or just knit it plain with this basic hot water bottle cover from Stitches by Artgaze. It calls for three strands of DK weight yarn held together (which comes to a super bulky gauge worked on size 17 US/12mm needles) and is worked in the round.

Now that your water bottle is cozy, how about your teapot? I love this beehive cozy from Knitting Pattern World. It uses chunky yarn and a fun welting pattern that gives it a beehive look. There’s even a little bee to stitch for the top!

The Teapot Turtleneck is a free pattern on Ravelry from Suzanne Resaul that uses worsted weight yarn and an easy ribbing stitch so it can stretch to fit teapots of different shapes.

Another freebie is the Tea Mitten pattern from Elisabeth Kleven on Ravelry, which uses DK weight yarn and is worked from the bottom up in the round in a ribbed pattern with a button flap worked much like a thumb gusset on a mitten.

While we’re keeping tea warm, why not also make your tea bags cozy? This little project from Julie Tarsha (available on Ravelry) is perfect if you carry tea bags in your bag and don’t want them to get squashed or lost. It calls for a tiny bit of worsted weight yarn and a little button to close it.

This free knitting pattern falls in the category of cute but maybe not essential, as well as a nice way to use some yarn left over from another project.

The Briggs St. Fruit Hammock from Mycah Knits is beginner friendly because it’s a big rectangle worked in stockinette stitch on larger needles than the yarn would usually call for (size 11 US/8 mm for DK weight/weight 3 yarn) to provide more air flow around the fruit.

The idea behind a fruit hammock like this is both that it saves you counter space since it’s meant to be mounted under a cabinet and that air flow around the fruit helps prevent moisture from getting trapped below the fruit, which should keep it fresh longer. They’re also just cute and keep your fruits or veg accessible so hopefully you will eat more of them.

This pattern also includes I-cord handles, which is how you hang the hammock, and you’ll need to be able to pick up stitches for them, but that’s the only beyond beginner skill required in this project.

It only uses about 25 grams of yarn, so this is a perfect project for using a little something left over from another project. It would also be cute with stripes, so you can use odd balls from several projects. Or make the I-cord with a contrasting color to add a bit more fun if you like.

The designer does recommend using acrylic yarn for this project because it shouldn’t stretch out of shape with use and is easy to wash should your aspirations for eating fruit outstrip your reality. But they also provide tips for testing the stretch in a yarn you want to use and adjusting the pattern to account for that.

I don’t have a space in my place for this but it is super cute and a fun way to add knitting to the home, which I’m always a fan of.

You can grab the free pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Mycah Knits]

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