Master Grafting with this Great Blog Series

Joni Coniglio has a great series of posts over on Knitting Daily all about grafting that you’re going to want to read if you’ve ever been mystified by this knitting technique or wondered if there are different ways to do it and use it in your projects.

I don’t really know why this ended up on my radar, because some of the posts are as old as 2011, but this information is all really valuable and will make you a better knitter (or at least a better finisher, which is a big part of knitting).

That link up there is to a page with links to all the posts, but in particular you’ll want to check out the grafting myths, which are, in summary:

Myth #1: Only knit stitches can be grafted. (Or this variation: It’s much easier to graft knit stitches than purl stitches.)
Myth #2: Grafted ribbing will always have a half-stitch jog.
Myth #3: A grafted row is the equivalent of one pattern row.
Myth #4: There is a universal formula that can be applied to grafting any pattern.
Myth #5: The grafting yarn must come from the back needle.

These posts are super detailed and may make your head spin a little (for example: grafting in pattern), but even if you don’t read it all at once it’s good to know this information is out there. As someone who pretty much only grafts the toes of socks, it’s good to know there’s more I can do with it, and where to go when I need to know how to do just that.

How do you feel about grafting? Most knitters seem to have a love-hate relationship with it; I’d love to hear your thoughts.

[Photo via Knitting Daily.]

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork.

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn.

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look.

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me.

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round.

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.

Have you read?