Playing with Texture

Lately I have not been feeling stockinette stitch all that much. I mean, it’s quick and easy to knit, but it just doesn’t have a lot of personality. Maybe after knitting all the projects for a book that was mostly stockinette (thanks to it being a book on color knitting) I’m a little burned out.

Or maybe I’m just looking for something more interesting to keep me entertained through cold winter evenings knitting in front of the TV.

If you find yourself looking for something a little different, too, here are some projects that have caught my eye recently.

This Chevron Shawl from Yarnspirations is fun because it uses a chevron that switches directions, and a slightly shiny yarn for a bit of extra fun (though this would also be great in a plain wool, or even in cotton yarn for a super casual look).

Speaking of chevrons, the Zigzag Throw (shown as a shawl) is a beauty in jewel tones, and pretty quick and easy to knit thanks to bulky yarn. This is definitely one that would keep you plenty warm.

The Baby Alpaca Hues Cowl pattern from Plymouth Yarn uses a fun diagonal rib stitch to add texture to a fluffy multicolored yarn. And the Basketweave Afghan, another one from Yarnspirations, is a great way to keep warm with a pattern suitable for even beginner knitters.

Do you like to add texture to your projects with stitch patterns or are you more of a stockinette and garter kind of person? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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I can’t resist a pattern that’s both useful and a little silly, and that’s exactly how I feel about the Rybka pouch pattern from the delightfully named Rat and Sea Witch.

I know you’re going to ask, because I did, too. Rybka means little fish in Polish. (And because you’re also probably going to ask, Rat and Sea Witch comes from people’s attempts to say the designer’s name, Ratasiewicz, which if you say it fast kind of sounds like rat and sea witch.)

It’s easy to make a little fish bag in different sizes to suit your needs. The pattern has specific instructions for an Airpods Pro case and a pencil case, but you could change the length easily to hold more stuff, and change the size in general by working with a different weight of yarn.

The pattern calls for sock yarn and mohair held together to make a fingering weight gauge, but you could try it with heavier yarn and see what size bag you end up with.

Whatever size you make it, this looks like a fun project for holding trinkets or everyday items. The mouth of the fish is the mouth of the bag, and it closes with a drawstring that is also the strap. I wonder, too, if you could make one of these with a small clasp frame that could be the fish’s mouth and then you could just work I cord straps that would attach to the sides of the fish.

I could also see stripes, or fish of different colors to use up your yarn leftovers. How about a sunglasses case with a little loop to attach to your bag? Once you start thinking about all the ways you could use a fish-shaped bag in your life, I think you’ll see that you probably need more than one.

If you make one of these I would love to know how it went!

You can grab a copy of the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Rat and Sea Witch]

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