Mirror Colors for a Fun Cardigan Knitting Pattern

I do love basic knitting patterns that don’t take a lot of thought to knit, things that are useful and wearable and get the job done without a lot of fuss, effort or knitting time.

But there are some relatively easy ways to make even a simple pattern a little more interesting. You can throw in a stripe or a little bit of colorwork, or try some color blocking to make the project more visually appealing (not to mention more fun to knit).

This intarsia sweater from Bigger than Life Knits (the real name of the sweater is Phakama) uses color blocking with two colors on the body that are inverted on the sleeves.

This is done, as the description explains, with intarisa, but this is as easy as intarsia gets. All you have to do is remember to lock the strands of yarn together when you change colors, otherwise you’ll be knitting two separate pieces.

If you’ve never done intarsia before this is a great way to start because you don’t have to follow a chart or deal with multiple balls of yarn. It’s not any more difficult than knitting regular stripes, but gives a much more interesting effect.

I’ve actually been working on a blanket style cardigan using the same technique but with three color blocks, and it is almost as mindless as straight stockinette in a single color.

This pattern has drop shoulders and a V-neck and is worked from the top down. It calls for worsted weight wool yarn and come sin 11 sizes. The bust measurement ranges from 32.5 to 72.5 inches or 82.5 to 184 cm when the sweater is buttoned. The button bands are worked in double knitting to make them extra smooth.

You can grab the pattern from Bigger than Life Knits on Etsy.

[Photo: Bigger than Life Knits]

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Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.

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