March Mayhem is Here! Vote for Your Favorites

Basketball lovers have March Madness; knitters have March Mayhem.

This annual event put on my Mason-Dixon Knitting pits the best knitting patterns of the previous year against each other in an elimination tournament to determine the favorite pattern of the year.

The bracket is divided into four general categories: Pullovers, Cardigans, Neck & Shoulders, and Head & Hands. Voting happens in five rounds beginning on Thursday, March 21 (the early announcement gives you time to consider all 64 wonderful choices and add some great projects to your Ravelry queue).

All the projects were published in 2018, are not free (since the idea is all about supporting designers), readily available on Ravelry or from the designer, and have some element of cool and attraction that makes you want to knit it.

More designers of color are featured than in years past, thanks to recent discussions about racism in the knitting community. You’ll see some old favorites, some new favorites, and lots of great things to knit.

Have any predictions? I’m expecting the Shift by Andrea Mowry to go far (and I think it’s the only one of these presently in my queue, so clearly I have some work to do!).

[Photo: Mason-Dixon Knitting.]

Looking for more knitting patterns for knitted Cardigans? Check out these Knitting patterns we found on Etsy.

Specific to knitters, you can join our Knitting Patterns Only group to get, well, knitting patterns, ask questions and gain inspiration for what to knit next.

Looking for Yarn online? Check out Lionbrand our preferred source for purchasing yarn online.

Next Pattern:

Sometimes I feel like knitters get intimidated to try new things because they think they need to start with a big project. Your first time working in the round doesn’t need to be a sock, and your first colorwork doesn’t need to be a sweater, for example. You can find little projects that use the skills you want to learn to build your confidence before you move on to something that requires more time commitment.

This adorable knit bunny, for example.

The colorwork bunny from Knit Picks was designed by Amy Munson and is a kind of bowling pin shaped bunny complete with a knit hat, contrasting inner ears and a little stranded colorwork on its body. Note that the ears are attached the the hat not the bunny, but you could stitch them to the bunny if you’d rather.

It’s worked from the bottom up and also has a tiny pompom tail you can’t see in the picture but it’s a really cute touch. There are a variety of little fair isle patterns to choose from to make the best bunny for you.

The bunny comes out about 8 inches tall (or just over 20 cm) and use several colors to complete the colorwork, depending on the design you choose.

You can purchase the pattern by itself from Knit Picks, or make a kit that includes sport weight yarn in all the colors you need for your creation. There are gray and brown options for the main body of the bunny, but of course if you’re using your own yarn you can make it whatever color you like.

Once you’ve tried colorwork (maybe also working in the round and shaping if those are skills you haven’t used before) in a little project like this you’ll be ready to take on something bigger in no time.

Check out the pattern on Knit Picks.

[Photo: Knit Picks]

Next Pattern:

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