Review: Cozy Knits

Knitting has long been a textile art in use in most of the world, with different traditions, techniques and colors used in different places. The book Cozy Knits: 30 Hat, Mitten, Scarf, and Sock Patterns from Around the World (edited by Kari Cornell) aims to gather together as many of these styles as possible in little projects sure to inspire.

The book draws inspiration from knits and other objects from around the world, including the knitwear traditions of Iceland, Scandinavia and Peru; one designer’s wedding ring; Chinese characters for good luck; Maori symbols; and a barbed wire collection from a cowboy museum in Wyoming. There’s lots of colorwork and some cables and lace as well. The patterns don’t indicate skill levels but I would say more are for intermediate and beyond knitters because of the techniques used and the heavy reliance on charts.

Some of my favorite scarves include the Icelandic Yoke Scarf by Gretchen Funk, which has flared ends to mimic the decreasing size of a yoke sweater’s motifs as you work toward the neck; the European Cowl by Donna Druchunas, a big, rectangular loop featuring an Estonian-inspired leaf lace motif; and Lucy Neatby’s Pendleton Scarf, inspired by Native American blankets and stained glass.

In the hat and mitten category, I like the Icelandic Leaf Pattern Tam and Mittens from Helene Magnusson, which features colorful, traditional leaf colorwork motifs and Janel Laidman’s Japanese Sashiko Hat and Mittens, inspired by the embroidery technique of the same name and worked in classic blue and white.

For socks, I like the Uppsala Socks by Chrissy Garner, which use traditional Bohus methods including purling as a design element and Anna Zilboorg’s Poppy Socks: Turkish Socks, which have a traditional Turkish hook design commonly found on rugs and other Turkish textiles.

You can see a few of the patterns on the publisher’s website, but the book doesn’t appear to be on Ravelry.

Cozy Knits is a fun book if you like to think about how knitting has been a part of the textile tradition around the world and if you want to play with different motifs and techniques on a relatively small project. It might inspire you to delve deeper into a knitting tradition that you didn’t know much about or might not have known existed.

About the book: 192 pages, originally issued in paperback, now available as an ebook, 30 patterns, published 2021 by Voyageur Press. Suggested retail for the ebook is $24.99.

Fall will be here before we know it, and that means there are holidays coming right behind where we might be entertaining at home. It’s always fun to have a hand knit touch in your home for other people to see, and if you’re going to be in the kitchen all day you might as well have some nice knit dish cloths to use.

I love this little plaid hand towel from Darling Jadore. Use a little bit of leftover cotton yarn from another project for the plaid portion. It looks like the horizontal stripes are worked as you knit and the vertical stripes are done with duplicate stitch, making this a quick and easy project even newer knitters can make.

Combine garter stitch and an easy eyelet pattern worked sideways to make the Annette Dish Towel from Cluck Cluck Boots, which is meant to be reminiscent of flour sack towels. It calls for DK weight yarn and you can work it in one color or two (or even three!).

Add a little more texture with this set of kitchen towels from Whileberry Creative. They’re mostly worked in garter stitch with borders in easy knit/purl patterns, and you can work them in sport or worsted weight yarn.

Two of Wands Shop has another cute allover knit and purl pattern they call the Seersucker Textured Tea Towel. It’s an easy repeating pattern worked in worsted weight yarn, and there’s a chart in the pattern you can use, but don’t have to, if you want to practice knitting from a chart.

The Classic Cloth dish towel from Handmade Home by Connie is another one that can use a little leftover yarn in a contrasting color, or you could color block it our use stripes throughout the pattern. This one uses worsted weight yarn and another easy repeating knit purl stitch pattern.

If you like to hang your towel on the oven handle or elsewhere but it’s always falling off, try the Stay Put kitchen towel from Fancy Step Knits. This project is worked in garter stitch and includes a hole partway through so you can pull the towel through itself over a rod or handle. Stripes are optional but a nice addition.

Have you read?