Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Pin of the Week: An Awesome Stitch Pattern Calculator

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stitch pattern calculatorIf you’re the kind of knitter who hates math — and I think that covers a lot of us! — you need to know about the Stitch Pattern Calculator from Laylock Knitwear Design.

This is a really simple, powerful concept. Just plug in the number of stitches the pattern repeat you want to use has and how many stitches you intend to cast on and it will tell you how many full repeats of the stitch pattern you can do and how many stitches you’ll have left over.

To test it I put in a pattern (totally made up) with an 8 plus 1 stitch repeat. I suggested I had 50 stitches, and the calculator told me I could work 6 repeats and would have one stitch left over.

Even better, it tells me I could use either 57 or 48 stitches and have no stitches left at the end, which is what you really need to know so you can adjust your pattern as needed.

So much easier than using a calculator!

Comments

  1. Hate math, so one of these would be a blessing. Would like to get
    updated on knitting and learn some of the new ways since I knit
    (knit and purl) but never learned to knit socks

  2. so for example: If I am knitting a fair isle chart, would I input my chart repeat and then add the beginning and ending row stitches?

  4. Hi, I have a question, if I do have extra stitches, and for some reason can’t exclude these stitches, how would I integrate these stitches into my pattern? For example, I want to use two different stitch patterns on the same project. One stitch pattern requires an odd number of stitches and the other requires an even number. Is there a way to reconcile the two? Thanks for your help!

  5. I would probably just work any extra stitches in Stockinette stitch at the edge of the work. If it’s only one stitch difference you could possibly alternate which side you do it on but I’d want to test it on a swatch to see how it looks before committing to that for a full project.

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.