Book Review: Urban Knit Collection

I’m not sure why it is that knitters find inspiration in architecture and the urban landscape. The shapes of archways, gates and buildings seem to make a natural translation into cables, textured stitches and colorwork patterns, as well as sometimes being reflected in the shape of garments themselves.

Kyle Kunnecke takes inspiration from cities and architectural styles in his book Urban Knit Collection: 18 City-Inspired Knitting Patterns for the Modern Wardrobe.

The book is full of shawls, scarves, cowls and sweaters, mostly for women but with some garments and accessories for men as well. He talks about his projects as being involved or time consuming rather than difficult, and instead of including a skill level he lists the skills needed to complete a project, which helps the knitter know if they are ready or need to build some other skills first. Some of the techniques are found at the back of the book or explained in sidebars.

Many of the projects are quite detailed, like the D’Amour wrap, worked totally in stranded colorwork that is almost symmetrical but isn’t quite, and which requires seven charts; or the Sunburst shawl, a half-circle speckled with more than 4,000 seed beads.

Some of my favorite projects include the Arabella pullover, a pretty, lacy pullover with the pattern stitch on the front and back and one panel running down the ribbed sleeves; the Savoy cardigan, a boldly patterned design of lines and curves that repeats all over; the Apollo wrap, a giant, Art Deco, Garter Stitch Wrap that will warm up the coolest days; and the Ellington mittens, with a pretty chevron design and a cute button and loop to keep the mittens together when not being worn. (Check out all the projects on Ravelry.)

This is a fun book for knitters who like projects with a lot of detail and interesting inspiration. Fans of architecture and the urban environment are sure to find something they want to knit here.

About the book: 160 pages, paperback, 18 patterns. Published September 2016 by Interweave/F+W. Retail price $26.99.

Looking for more knitting patterns for knitted Cardigans? Check out these Knitting patterns we found on Etsy.

Specific to knitters, you can join our Knitting Patterns Only group to get, well, knitting patterns, ask questions and gain inspiration for what to knit next.

Looking for Yarn online? Check out Lionbrand our preferred source for purchasing yarn online.

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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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