Remember November with this Knit Hat and Mitt Set

I don’t know what happened to Vanessa Smith that one November so that she needed to commemorate it in yarn, but I think it’s a good thing for the rest of us that she did.

The Novemberist hat and mitts patterns feature two-color stranded colorwork in a chevron pattern, making them classic enough to wear every day but with a spark of something special, too.

Use a tonal or multicolored yarn for one of the colors to make it look like a much more complicated project than it is.

The hat is worked from the bottom up and has a doubled brim, as well as being extra thick because of the stranded knitting on the rest of the hat. The mitts are the same, with turned hems on both ends and stranded knitting everywhere else. That makes the mitts warmer than you might expect from fingerless gloves while still being functional. Both patterns use DK weight yarn, so they’re warm without being too heavy.

The hat comes in two sizes and the mitts in one, women’s medium, so you can stitch them up for yourself or any of your friends who might need some stylish warmth this season.

And they don’t use a whole lot of yarn so you can maybe even use leftovers from other projects if you’re making just the hat or the mitts, or make them with different colors if you don’t care about them matching perfectly.

You can find both patterns on Ravelry: the hat is here, and the mitts here.

If you’re a fan of chevrons, check out this cute chevron yoked sweater, a great fleecy throw, this classic single-color chevron sweater or this bold chevron throw with a great color gradient. If I didn’t already have too many blankets I would definitely knit that one!

[Photo: Vanessa Smith]

Get Ready for Fall with Sunset Stripes Mittens

Knit a Sweet Chevron Pullover

Chevron Stripes Give This Cowl Knitting Pattern Bandana Style

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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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