Looking Ahead to 2014

Lion Brand Yarn has released its predictions for the state of knitting in 2014. Based on the recent arm knitting trend, they call for more huge knits, as well as more yarn that does the work for us and more personalization of projects.

Pantone says we’ll be seeing orchid everywhere next year, and this pretty purple is a great shade for knitting and other crafts.

Another big trend Lion Brand and others are predicting is the increasing popularity of knit hats. Which makes sense, because hats are usually pretty quick and easy to knit, simple to personalize with different colors and patterns, and you can knit up a bunch to suit all your winter (and spring, and fall) styles without a huge outlay in time or supplies.

What do you think the world of knitting holds in the new year? Personally, I’m holding onto the colorwork trend (since I’m working on a book on the subject). I’d love to hear what you think.

[Photo via Lion Brand Yarn.]

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Why should the fireplace get all the fun? Instead of knitting stockings this year, why not whip up a pair of Christmas themed socks? These Christmas sock knitting patterns are lots of fun to make and you can wear them to holiday gatherings for years to come.

For our friends in the southern part of the world, there are the Christmas in July socks from the Kiwi Lodge – Kylie (Ravelry link). These shorty socks are covered in Christmas trees and have bright pink heels and toes for a tropical feel. There’s also an option to make a longer sock if you celebrate somewhere it’s colder.

Twin Stitches Designs (Ravelry) has a fun pattern with mix and match colorwork motifs you can use to build your own cozy Christmas socks. From the sample socks I see Christmas puddings, trucks hauling trees, Santa belts, ornaments and a couple of different borders. There may be more patterns included but the listing doesn’t say. Make a pair that matches or use different motifs on each foot for extra holiday cheer.

If you want to stick to Christmas puddings on your holiday socks, check out this cute pattern from Stone Knits. These lovely socks feature a band of puddings around the leg and a bit of holly by the toes.

These vintage holiday light socks from Grey Owl Knits by Sarah are classic looking and lots of fun at the same time. I love this color combination but of course you can make your lights and stripes whatever colors you like or have on hand. They’re worked using stranded knitting.

And if you’d like even more of a mix of patterns for your socks, try Barbara Ceglédi’s Christmas Chaos socks, a free pattern on Ravelry. The pattern includes 25 little motifs you can choose from, ranging from snowflakes and Christmas trees to elf hats, reindeer and hearts.

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