Quick Knits to Get You Through the Rest of Winter

Here in the south we’ve gotten to the part of winter than may be even more aggravating than regular winter. The part when some days are warm and some days or cold. Or it’s way below freezing in the morning and above 50 in the afternoon.

Looking for more knitted socks designs and patterns to keep you warm this winter? Check out these knitted sock patterns Etsy. And these Knitting Pattern books on Amazon.

No one knows what to wear and everyone has the sniffles, but we’re also all pretty sure there’s still a snowfall waiting for us before spring really arrives.

With that in mind I always like to have a few warm accessories on the needles to freshen up my wardrobe for those late winter cold snaps. And it’s only February so chances are most of us in the Northern Hemisphere still have a lot of winter to go.

With that in mind, here are some great, mostly pretty quick knitting, scarves and other accessories you still have time to knit and use this season.

The Tricolor Scarf from Lion Brand uses a simple stitch pattern and color blocking through intarsia and stripes to make a pattern that looks more complicated than it is (but chart reading for colors is required).

The Big Textures Hat and Shaker Rib Great Cowl from Yarnspirations both use their gigantic Mega Bulky yarn and large knitting needles so you’ll be done — and warm — in a flash.

Susan B. Anderson’s Twister Scarf for Spud & Chloe is a simple looped project with ribbing on one side, a ruffle on the other and Stockinette Stitch in between. On size 9 US needles it will work up faster than you think, too.

The Accordion Scarf from Universal Yarn uses a great self-striping yarn and a welted pattern to make an easy, colorful scarf with a lot of texture.

For a quick project with a lot of interest, try the Manos Maxima Bias Scarf, which features biased Garter Stitch and a ribbed cable edging.

What are you knitting to stay warm this winter? 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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Have you read?

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