Knitting

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Knitting Patterns – Shrugs to Knit for Mom

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It’s almost Mother’s Day in the United States, so I thought it would be fun this week to look at some gift knitting projects that would be great for moms, women graduating high school or college, or any other gift-giving opportunity you might have coming up soon.

This time of year I love a shrug and have one in my bag pretty much all the time. Of course I’m usually carrying one I designed myself like the Women’s Lacy Shrug or my long-sleeved Fitted Shrug, but there are lots of other great options out there. Here are some highlights.

If you’re looking for something really quick, easy and basic with a twist, check out the shrug fast effect from Wiolett. It’s mostly stockinette with crocheted edging and can be whipped up in a flash, particularly if you happen to have a knitting machine. Shrug This is another quick and easy one, worked in a bulky yarn like a top-down raglan sweater, as is the Movie Night Shrug from Did You Make That?, which is a combo of bulky yarn and eyelets that will be finished in a jiffy.

The One Skein Shrug by Kirsten Hipsky uses a cropped sweater shape and a little bit of lace at the edges. Her long-sleeved Sunrise Shrug is pretty and easy as well.

For something a little fancier, check out the Gratuitous Cables Shrug by Inner Child Crochet or Vera Sanon’s gorgeous Something Lacy Shrug.

Want long sleeves? Try Kristiina V.’s Quicksilver Lace Shrug or the Purl Bee’s simple but really pretty Evening Shrug.

How about shrugs that look like vests? I like the Circular Shrug pattern by Julia Allen and Just Jessica’s Vesty Shrug.

See anything you like? I’d love to hear about it. Or let me know what you’re knitting for mom this year.

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A Shawlette with a Ton of Design Options

There’s a lot to like about the Eloise Bandana from Katryn Seeburger. This cute little colorwork triangle can be worked as a bandana or kerchief size or a bigger shawlette. 

It’s worked in two colors of fingering weight yarn so you can use whatever yarn you have in your stash and just make it as big as you can (since it is worked from the bottom up). 

You can see the two sizes from the photo, and also two colorwork options: strawberries and lily of the valley. 

But that’s not all the choices you have. In fact, there are 34 different charts you can choose from to knit onto your project. Some of the options include happy faces, a lobster, a pumpkin, a snail and a butterfly. There are cherries, peaches, tomatoes and radishes.

There’s even a blank square you can use to draw your own little design if you want to use something else. Or keep it blank and make it a plain checkerboard design. 

And while both of these shawls use the same icons throughout, you could also use different designs throughout if you want. Say a fall version with a bat, pumpkin, leaf and acorn, or a summer beach theme with sailboat, fish, lobster and a bird? I keep suggesting four different icons because the larger size has four rows of squares, but the smaller has three, so you could do stripes of the same icon or alternate a couple of different ones, whatever you like. 

Look through the finished projects on the Ravelry project page to see lots of different options, from rows to individual icons. There are also some projects that are smaller than the suggested size to make a smaller bandana. You could also keep going a make a bigger shawl working increases in the same way as you have been going. 

Check out all the details and grab a copy of the pattern on Ravelry. 

[Photo: Katryn Seeburger]