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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When I first started knitting again after a long absence from the craft (which has now been almost 25 years ago!) I really didn’t like garter stitch that much. I found it super boring, somehow even more boring than knitting stockinette stitch in the round, even though it’s exactly the same thing.

Over the years I’ve softened my opinion, and even grown to like garter stitch. There’s nothing wrong with being plain, and actually the texture of garter stitch is more interesting than stockinette.

Also there are fun things you can do with garter stitch to make it more interesting if you want to, such as adding stripes, working on the bias, or doing fun effects to change the look.

That’s the way with the Bernat Twist My Way Garter Knit Blanket. Using combinations of casting on and binding off creates what they call a Swiss cheese effect along two sides of the blanket. This is a lot of fun in the self-striping ombre yarn they chose for the pattern, but it would also be fun in a solid color or making your own stripes.

Despite the dramatic effect, this pattern is rated easy. It’s worked from side to side (if you consider the “cheesy” edges the top and bottom) and has an eight-row repeat that involves binding off and then casting on again to make the holes. They’re kind of like giant buttonholes.

Once you get the hang of it it’s a pretty easy repeat to remember, and it will be smooth knitting as big as you want to make it.

You can download this pattern from the Yarnspirations website for free, or you can buy a kit direct from them that includes the yarn you need (and knitting needles if you need those, too). Bernat Sport Ombre Twist, which is what is used in the pattern, comes in 12 self patterning colors and is a DK weight acrylic yarn.

[Photo: Yarnspirations]

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