Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

More Reasons to Pick up Your Needles

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don't learn to knit because ryan gosling is supposedly doing itWe probably all know a lot of reasons why knitting is great for us. It’s good for our mental health, for sure. It can also be good for our physical health when we reach for the needles instead of the chip bag or a cigarette.

One of these benefits of knitting posts seems to come out every few months, but they’re worth reading if you feel the need to justify the time spent on your hobby to someone else (or even to yourself).

This one, which oddly enough comes from a British telecom company, says knitting can help you stay calm, ward off dementia and make you happier.

I hate that one of their benefits is to be cool like celebrities (especially since I don’t think Ryan Gosling actually knits), but the rest of these are pretty good. Have you seen any health benefits since picking up your needles?

[Photo via Handmade Ryan Gosling.]

 

Comments

  1. When my husband was off of work for 8 months 10 years ago because of back surgery, I took a knitting class. It is so relaxing and calmed me down so much. What a huge plus for stress!

Have you read?

Pencil Knitting Patterns

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.