Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

New Twist Collective is Out

by

spring summer 15 twist collectiveThe spring/summer 2015 Twist Collective was just released, and if you’re looking for something fun to knit for spring or summer, this is a great place to start.

I love Placid, a cardigan by Amy Gunderson with eyelet panels along the sides and down the back; Anne Ginger’s Minthe, a zip-up cardigan with kangaroo-style pockets and welted details; the sleek, simple and pretty Celosia shell by Robin Melanson; Deirdre Lejeune’s pretty Goedita tank with a mandala-style floral motif on the back and picot edgings; and Fish Isle by Angela Hahn, an adorable kid’s sweater with fish swimming around the bottom.

There’s also a fun article on the history of the wool industry in the American west, a look at swatching drop-stitch patterns with different combinations of yarn (a drop-stitch shawl is one of the patterns in this issue), a meditation on the benefits of stash reduction, a look at the color red and lessons in provisional cast ons.

See anything you like? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo via Twist Collective.]

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.

Comments

Have you read?

Patchwork Blanket Knitting Patterns

Any time of year is a good time for stash busting, but if you can combine it with knitting a blanket that will keep you warm when it (finally!) gets cooler that’s even better. Let’s take a look at some fun patchwork blanket knitting patterns. 

If you want to keep it super simple, you can just make blocks of garter stitch and sew them together, like the beginner’s patchwork baby blanket from Mini Baa Baa or the color block blanket from Make and Do Crew. Both projects are worked in strips and sew together, with the baby version calling for two strands of DK or light worsted weight yarn held together and the larger one using bulky yarn. 

Add a little more texture with the mixed blocks of the cottage quilt throw from Mama in a Stitch. This one combines garter stitch and seed stitch and uses worsted weight yarn. She used a crochet join to make the chains on top of the blocks, but you can join them however you like. It calls for eight colors but you can use what you have, and there are three size options. 

Get a real sampler style patchwork blanket with this design from Knit Sew Make. It calls for worsted weight yarn and has four size options. All of the patterns just use knit and purl stitches so this one is still pretty easy for beginners. 

If you want a more complex colorwork project that will keep you entertained all season, try the Peace by Piece blanket pattern from Needle and Feather. This one is made up of two color colorwork blocks and calls for worsted weight yarn. You can choose to use just a few of the blocks and repeat them more often, or make multiples of the whole set. 

The knitted patchwork recipe from Martine Ellis (free on Ravelry) uses mitered squares in fingering weight yarn, so it’s perfect for using up all your leftover sock yarn and mini skeins. This one is a tutorial more than a pattern so you can make your blanket as big as you like or keep going until you run out of yarn. 

Susan B. Anderson’s 100 Squares blanket (find it on Ravelry) has a lot of mitered squares, too, but they’re arranged in fun ways and includes some quilt inspired designs as well. This one also is a bit of method more than pattern but it sure looks like a lot of fun for using all the leftovers. 

Of course you can totally improvise a patchwork blanket using the yarn and stitches you like, but I hope these patterns inspire you to look at your leftover yarn in a new way.