Practice Ribbing with this Hat and Mitt Set

I love a pattern with thoughtful shaping. Lots of times I think we try to hide the increases and decreases in a pattern, but sometimes that’s not possible and sometimes it’s great to make those increases and decreases a feature of the design.

A great example of this is Svetlana Volkova’s knitpurl mitts pattern. The gusset increases of this pair of ribbed mitts are just beautiful. I also like that they made them extra long so they’re almost mittens just without the shaping at the end (which you could totally add if you’re into that).

The pattern is worked in one piece from the bottom up and is available in five sizes based on the width of the hand (it’s meant to fit teens and adults). It uses DK weight yarn, and while it’s great in a solid color, there are some fun projects on the pattern’s Ravelry page showing it with stripes and color blocking that’s really nice, too.

And if that’s not enough for you there’s also a coordinating pattern for a hat. The knitpurl beanie is also a ribbed pattern worked in DK weight yarn with a classic beanie style, and it has pretty great shaping at the top, too. The four-point decrease really accentuates the shaping and gives it a nice fit.

This one is also worked from the bottom up and it’s designed to have a wide fold over brim, but you can make it shorter (or even longer!) if you like. It has four size options from 17 to 23 inches (that’s 43 to 59 centimeters) so it should fit a range of older kids, teens and adults as well.

This pattern is also available on Ravelry. You can make yours a matching set or use whatever yarn you have on hand to add stripes or make projects that coordinate but don’t exactly match. Totally up to you!

[Photo: Svetlana Volkova]

Have You Tried This? Ribbing with No Purling

Make Your Mittens with Colorwork

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork.

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn.

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look.

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me.

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round.

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.

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