Review: Small Knits: Casual and Chic Japanese Style Accessories

Japanese knitting patterns are popular around the world for their simplicity of style, timeless designs and easy to understand charts that basically give you the whole pattern without words. It’s not a style everyone loves, but there are plenty of Japanese style knitting pattern books that include a little bit of written instruction to get you started but mostly rely on the charts to convey necessary information.

Small Knits by Yoko Hatta is done in this style. It includes 19 patterns for accessories including hats, mitts, cowls, socks and a shawl.

The book opens with full page, full color photos of each of the projects. It almost feels like a fashion collection in that pieces often repeat motifs or stitch patterns in different ways or projects coordinate with each other.

I love the Nordic mittens, with their wavy multicolored cuffs and detailed colorwork on the hands; the Aran hat, densely cabled and designed so you can flip the brim back and it still looks good; the houndstooth neckwarmer (find more houndstooth knitting patterns here); and the Argyle neckwarmer, worked with intersecting bands of color that make for a colorful and cozy project.

Once you flip through the photos you’ll find the patterns, which include information on the yarn used, needles and other tools needed, gauge and finished size. The pattern is presented as a schematic with the instructions written within and beside the chart. There are also charts for the colorwork and stitch patterns as needed.

These patterns also include a bit more written instruction and some photo (or drawn image) tutorials for techniques such as working magic loop and turning cables. More techniques are included in the back of the book such as cast on methods, how to knit and purl, increases and decreases.

The extra bit of written instruction makes these patterns a nice way to try Japanese knitting patterns with a bit more hand-holding than you would usually get, so if you like these classic designs and want to give Japanese style knitting patterns a try, this would be a good book to check out.

About the book: 80 pages, paperback, 19 patterns. Published 2022 by Tuttle Publishing, suggested retail price $16.99.

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Knitters are always looking for ways to continue to knit and to wear their knits even when it’s hot outside, so there are tots of great T0shirt knitting patterns to choose from. I love knitting short-sleeved shirts because they feel so much faster than sweaters, and you can wear them on top of dresses or even longer-sleeved items when it gets cooler.

There are lots of different styles of knit tops, from the basic to the more detailed. On the more basic side are things like the Perfect T-Shirt from Originally Lovely, a basic raglan tee with nine sizes and worked in worsted weight yarn; Paper Bloom by Yvonne Hugo (free on Ravelry), available in six sizes and worked with cotton and silk yarn for extra coolness; or Iris H’s Amelia Top, also on Ravelry, a slim fit, DK weight top with nine size.

Jazz it up with a bit of lace like on the Athens Lace Hem top by Sarah Hatton (Ravelry). This otherwise simple project has a bit of lace at the bottom, which is an easy way to make a project more interesting without a ton of work. This one uses fingering weight yarn and comes in nine sizes.

Another simple embellishment is to emphasize the lines of your top with different stitches. The Spring Lines top uses twisted ribbing at the center front and V-neck and along the raglan lines to give it a slimmer fit and more interest. This design from Turquoise Toque Designs has 11 size options and is available on Ravelry.

Silfurberg by Joji Locatelli uses both of these elements, with lace panels at the center front and back and purl ridges throughout to make it a little more fun to knit and to wear. The pattern uses fingering weight yarn and comes in 10 sizes. Learn more on Ravelry.

Keep it simple or add puffed sleeves (and/or long sleeves) to the slim fit Knitty Committee top by Lily Kate France. This one has two length options, waist shaping and optional bust darts to fulfill all your curvy top dreams, and it comes in nine sizes. You’ll find it on Ravelry.

Take it even more romantic with the Daphne Top from Friday Knits, which has puffed sleeves and applied I-cord to emphasize the bust and sweetheart neckline. It comes in eight sizes and uses DK weight yarn.

Or add some sweet flowers with the Gigio pattern from Emilie Luis. This pretty pattern found on Ravelry has cable panels running up the front with the option for adding sweet embroidered flowers. You can also add decorative buttons if you like. It comes in 11 sizes and calls for sport weight yarn.

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