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More Knitting with Jane Austen

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jane austen knits fall 12The fall 2012 edition of Jane Austen Knits — a special publication of Interweave Knits — is now available on newsstands and for digital download.

This is the third volume of this fun series that allows knitters to step into the world of Jane Austen’s novels and knit something like things she or her characters might have knit, worn or used in their lives.

You can check out a preview of the patterns online; isn’t that lace shawl on the cover pretty? In all there are more than 30 patterns including jackets, shawls, bags, socks and more. From the little pictures online I’m loving the little girl projects and that vest-like top in the Manor section.

In addition to the patterns there are articles about the history and characters of Austen’s novels and a special feature on crochet in the Regency Era. Fun!

The issue retails for $14.99 either in print or as a digital download.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

Knit a Hat with a Flock of Chickens

It’s well known (among knitters, anyway) that knitters seem to love chickens as a motif and a subject of our knitting projects. The Emotional Support Chicken and all the other chicken knitting patterns are just the beginning of our devotion to farmyard friends. 

For example, there’s Farmer Dennis’ Chicken Hat. This free pattern from Stacy Black is a simple worsted weight beanie sized for adults and decorate with a couple of little rounds of colorwork fences and a flock of chickens strutting around the body of the hat. 

You don’t need a lot of any of the colors for the chickens, their facial features or the fences, so this is a great project for using little leftover bits from other projects. The main color for the body of the hat is less than a skein using the yarn suggested, so you might just have everything you need in your house to start stitching up this hat right away. 

The colorwork is presented as a chart, with a 16 stitch section that repeats around the body of the hat. All the color changes are shown on the chart but I think it would be easier to knit the whole chicken in the chicken color and add the eye, beak and other features using duplicate stitch when the knitting is done. That way you don’t have to carry those yarns around the whole hat for just a few stitches. 

As the name suggests, the original hat was given to a farmer who shared their eggs, but anyone who raises chickens or just has a thing for the fowl is sure to love this cute hat. It wouldn’t be too difficult for someone new to stranded knitting or reading charts to make, either, so if that’s you, give it a try. 

The pattern is available for free on Ravelry. 

[Photo: Stacy Black]

Knitting Patterns for Little Chicks

Tiny Hens to Knit