Project Notebook: Irish Coasters

St. Patrick’s Day is such a fun holiday, and it’s a great time for crafters because working some bright green into your wardrobe or decor this time of year is a welcome change from the drab colors of the end of winter.

I like really quick and easy projects for the “smaller” holidays like St. Patrick’s Day, because it’s not a holiday you get to keep your decorations out for over a long period of time. They can come up after Valentine’s Day (or Mardi Gras, in my house) and go right back down in favor of Easter decor.

One great way to infuse your home with a little St. Patrick’s Day cheer is to knit simple coasters in Irish colors or with shamrock shapes. They add a bit of color even when people aren’t using them, and they make keeping your table clean a lot more festive.

I whipped up a couple of versions that you can find over on CraftBits. There’s a solid color version with the shamrock worked in Reverse Stockinette Stitch, and versions showing the same pattern worked all is Stockinette in green and white. It only takes an hour or so to knit each one, so you can have a stack in no time.

While I was working on those, I was thinking about some red, white and blue coasters I made a long time ago and thinking about knitting some in the colors of the Irish flag. I decided to go with the same striping that’s found in the flag, and did both Garter Stitch and Stockinette Stitch versions, which you can find over at About.

Have you done any knitting for St. Patrick’s Day? I’d love to hear about it!

Next Pattern:

Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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