Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Log Cabin Knitting Patterns

by

When it comes to meditative knitting, I’m not sure there’s much better than log cabin knitting. You start with a garter stitch square, then add a few stitches and knit another strip, pick up stitches along the sides and knit some more and so on. You can make small squares or go on forever to cover a bed, a couch, the world with log cabin knitting. 

I learned how to knit log cabin blocks from Ann Shayne and Kay Gardiner, who I feel like really popularized log cabin knitting back in the mid-oughts. (Their log cabin baby blanket pattern is available for free and you can find the link on Ravelry.)

But there’s a lot more to log cabin knitting than blankets. I mean, I love a good log cabin blanket and it was one, specifically Meet Me at the Cabin by While They Dream, which uses my favorite colorway of Lion Brand Ferris Wheel yarn, that got me thinking about log cabin knitting just now. But let’s take a look at some other options. 

I’m sure I’ve shared them before, but no log cabin knitting post would be complete without talking about Karen Templer’s log cabin mitts, which are free on her website. These pretty modular mitts are shown worked in three colors, but you could make each square a different color if you like, too. 

A log cabin style scarf would also be fun, and this one would go quite well with the mitts if you worked them in the same colors or not. This design from Hey Jude Knits uses a multicolored yarn to make it easier, and uses other shapes like mitered squares to make the modular design. 

I’m also delighted by the Walled Garden Vest by Sonja Bargielowska, available on Ravelry. This cropped, worsted weight vest has a split hem and a folded rib collar. It’s available in 10 sizes and I definitely want one now that I know it exists. 

From there it’s a quick jump to a sweater, like this one knit up in tons of texture from Knit Collage. Here the front is worked from the center out, while the back has stripes and is joined to the front as you knit it. The sleeves are striped and worked in the round once the body pieces are done. The pattern has nine sizes. 

OK, and one more blanket because this one makes me smile, too. Add stripes to your log cabin pieces to bring even more color to the party, as in this log cabin baby blanket from The Knitting Niche. It uses chunky yarn though you could do the same thing with different weights and just knit to the size you like, to cover baby or anything else. 

 

Have you read?

Add Mushrooms to Your Knits with these Fun Knitting Patterns

A few years ago I wrote a post that was full of patterns for knit mushrooms, but I don’t think I ever did a post that was knitting patterns with mushrooms on them, so today’s the day. 

I love the Fungi Beanie from Jacki Bean, which calls for worsted weight yarn and uses duplicate stitch to add the mushrooms and other details. I think the colors she used for the design are tonal/multicolor so it doesn’t use as many colors as it looks like, but you can use whatever red, green, brown and white yarn you have in your stash for those details. 

How about some mushroom socks? The Magic Toadstool sock form Stone Knits includes a ring of mushrooms around the leg, contrasting heel and toe and a little more colorwork at the toe for extra cuteness. As shown it uses four colors and comes in three sizes. 

Or there’s the Fairy Ring Socks from Katie Green, which have mushrooms of two sizes on the legs, plus a bit of wavy grass. They have a contrasting cuff, heel and toe and some colorwork flecks in the body of the sock as well. This one is available in eight sizes to fit everyone from a baby to an XL adult. 

This trippy cowl from Hunt Hand Knits looks like a lot of fun to knit. The Fungus Among Us Cowl is shown using four colors of DK weight yarn, though you can do it with as few as two if you’d rather. 

Stitch some mushroom mittens with this cute pattern from Holly C Watson. This design uses three colors, and it’s shown with a self-striping yarn on the mushroom caps, which makes the colors change without you having to do any work. The pattern is charted but it’s a pretty easy repeat. The mittens are one size. 

If you don’t feel like knitting mushrooms but still want to give your project a touch of the forest, the Toadstools Cardigan from Julie Taylor may be what you’re looking for. It’s stitched as a plain cardigan worked in DK weight yarn and sized for newborns up to 4 years old. The mushrooms are added with embroidery and the pattern includes the design, which you can trace onto water soluble stabilizer to stitch the mushrooms onto your sweater. Or anything else you want. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.