Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

Review: Small Knits: Casual and Chic Japanese Style Accessories

by

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.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

Add a Little Lace to Your Knitting Patterns

If you’re new to lace knitting or just aren’t sure how to incorporate the technique into garments, check out these tops and sweaters that use lace as a decorative element.

The easiest lace out there is eyelets, and you can practice them plenty with this eyelet covered sweater from Knitcro Addict. It uses light/DK weight yarn and is worked in four pieces knit flat. It’s intended to be a little cropped and a little oversized, and includes sizes XS to XXL in the pattern.

If you’re in parts of the world where it’s getting colder as you read this, the Nora sweater from Bummbul might be a good choice. This is actually a great one for learning lace because it’s worked in super bulky yarn, which makes it easier to see what you’re doing and makes the lace super graphic. This one just comes in one size, with a 42 inch (106) cm bust, but that could fit a variety of people depending on how much ease you like.

Minimi Knit Design has a cute allover lace cardigan worked in one piece from the bottom up. It’s worked in lace weight mohair held double, which maybe isn’t the best for those new to lace (because it can be hard to rip out) but it sure is pretty. Sizes range to fit from 30 to 66 inches/76 to 168 cm bust measurements.

If you’d rather not have lace all over your sweater, you can knit the Lumi sweater from Originally Lovely, which has a chevron lace pattern on the yoke and is otherwise worked in reverse stockinette stitch. (It’s worked inside out so you don’t have to purl every stitch.) The pattern has 9 sizes from XS to 5XL and uses worsted weight yarn.

Or try the super romantic sookie blouse from Trust the mojo (available on Ravelry). This sweet top is started working flat from the bottom up and has a V-neck and I-cord edgings. The sleeves are worked separately in the round, and the pieces are all joined together to work in one piece to finish off the top. It comes in eight sizes and is available in English and French.

You can also pair lacy sleeves with an otherwise plain top, like on the Starflower Wrap from Annelise Driscoll Gingrow. This intermediate pattern makes a wrap sweater with generous lacy sleeves and a double wrap belt. The pattern has nine sizes, from XS to 5XL, and is available for free from Hobbi.