Lunar New Year Decorations to Knit

If you celebrate the Lunar New Year or want to appreciate and learn more about the holiday as someone who doesn’t have that tradition, these knit Lunar New Year decorations from Tina Tse Knits are a fun option.

There is a rectangle and a diamond-shaped option, both with the Chinese character ? worked on them in stranded colorwork knit flat. The character, “fuk” in Cantonese or “fu” in Mandarin, means good fortune, luck and prosperity.

One design was worked with aran weight yarn, while the other is DK held double, so you can use whatever yarn you have in red and gold to make these decorations.

As Tina reminds those of us who do not celebrate Lunar New Year, it’s fine to appreciate as long as we don’t appropriate.

You can find the free pattern for both designs on her website.

[Photo: Tina Tse Knits.]

Looking for more Lunar New Year Knits? Check these patterns we found on Etsy.

It’s a common complaint among women and femme dressing folk that our clothes do not include enough (and enough useful) pockets. And even if your clothes do have good pockets, there’s always a chance that you’d rather have another pocket to put some essentials in rather than having to carry a whole bag.

But because we are knitters, we can take this problem into our own needles and knit ourselves some auxiliary pockets.

Beatrice Mase did just that, with a kind of fancy toolbelt pocket accessory that they call VELVET Pockets.

The stitch pattern has a plush, sort of velvet effect, thus the name, but it’s worked with regular fingering/sock weight yarn. (The sample uses wool, but you could experiment with other fibers, too.) It calls for 776 yards of 710 meters, which you might just have in your sock yarn stash.

The pattern includes several pockets of different sizes, with the main body of the pocket worked flat in one piece and the exterior pockets sewn on at the end. You also have the option of adding screw rivets and a coordinating clasp that make it look even more toolbelt chic.

The design is worked with a loop of knit fabric at the top so it can slide onto a belt. The pattern includes explanatory diagrams, photo and video tutorials and is adjustable to fit different sizes of belts.

It’s almost enough to make me want to start wearing belts again, even though I haven’t for years. Because who wouldn’t want a few extra little pockets to hold things when you don’t have enough to really justify carrying a bag around?

The pattern is available in English and French on Ravelry and you can also buy a kit complete with the yarn, rivets and clasp (the pattern is not included in the kit) direct on Etsy.

[Photo: Beatrice Mase]

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