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.

As we get into the part of the year with a lot of food-forward holidays, it might be time to start thinking about knitting some new things for your table. While a few of these are more fall/Thanksgiving focused, just changing up the colors would make others work for Christmas, or keep it neutral and use them all year long.

What got me started thinking about this was the lovely and simple Fresh Bread Dishtowel, a free pattern from Purl Soho. Worked in a lovely cotton and linen blend, the towel is mostly stockinette stitch with a bit of texture on the borders.

You could use this same kind of pattern to make anything from placemats to a table runner, but let’s look at some specific patterns for those kinds of projects as well.

The easy moss stitch table runner from Glass Bird Knits is beginner friendly can can easily be modified to fit your table (or, again, to make placemats instead of or in addition to a runner). This version is worked in macrame cord, but you could also use bulky yarn.

Emielle Design has a garter stitch runner pattern that’s made with braided cotton cord for a lot of texture without a lot of work. But be sure to take a lot of breaks when knitting with cord because it can be rough on your hands!

I also love the diamond pattern on the Hamilton Table Runner from Wyndlestraw Designs. It calls for a DK weight cotton and linen blend yarn and comes in three sizes with different widths and lengths. The pattern has both written and charted instructions.

Amy Marie’s Table Pumpkins (on Ravelry) is a fun mosaic knitting pattern that would be great to use as a table runner through the fall and for Thanksgiving. It uses a worsted weight cotton yarn in two colors, and you can make it as long as you like for your table.

The no cable knit placemats from Yarn Culture Studio have a fun faux cable look that would be great for the table through the fall and winter.

Or here’s another pattern from Wyndlestraw Designs, this time for an easy knit and purl stitch placemat pattern that looks different but still good on both sides. It calls for worsted weight cotton and comes in two sizes for placemats, but also has instructions for coasters, a hot pad and a table pad all using the same stitch.

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