Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Spider Knitting Patterns

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Spooky season begins in my house on Sept. 1, so you know all the knit pumpkins are out and I’m thinking about new ways to add yarn to our fall decor. How about some knit spiders? They can hang out among the pumpkins, be added to a holiday wreath or add some spooky flair wherever you need it.

Let’s start with the smallest ones, in case you need an instant gratification project, or a tiny spider to hide somewhere to scare someone. This one from Cute Knit Toy on Etsy is knit in the round and has I-cord legs, and quite a few eyes and other embellishments.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Lara Breese (free on Ravelry) uses DK weight yarn and also has a body worked in the round and I-cord legs. This one was designed to dangle from a knitting bag or be a small toy for a child. It’s a great use for a precious little bit of yarn, too.

Eek the Spider by Susan Claudino (on Ravelry) is super cute and relatively small, and would be a good use for some leftovers if you want to make it in different colors or with striped legs as shown. This one can be made with any weight of yarn, but the ones listed on the pattern page are worsted weight and make the spider about 6 inches/15 cm long.

Shelia Bond’s The Friendly Spider (also from Ravelry) can use any weight of yarn but the designer says they use leftover sock yarn, which is a great idea and makes them all unique and colorful. These take just a few minutes and a few yards (25-35, or 23 to 32 meters) of yarn, so it’s a great project to make with leftovers.

So Simple Knit Studio on Etsy has a cute pattern for a spider that’s just a little fuzzy thanks to the fun yarn choice. You can use any yarn with a bit of a halo or pick a smooth yarn for a different effect.

Arachnophobia Spider by Revati Poole (free on Ravelry) is probably the most involved project in this list of spider knitting patterns. It uses bulky weight yarn and the pattern notes say the body is easy but the legs are a little fiddly. If you scroll the finished projects you will see lots of different ideas for how to add legs if you need an easier way.

Finally, if you’re a circular knitting machine user, you can make this lovely spider pattern from Peace Love and Moki on Etsy. It looks like if could be made with any size machine and use small panels or an I-cord maker to make the legs.

Batty Socks to Knit for Halloween

Halloween Hat Knitting Patterns

Jack O’Lantern Halloween Knitting Patterns

Have you read?

Patchwork Blanket Knitting Patterns

Any time of year is a good time for stash busting, but if you can combine it with knitting a blanket that will keep you warm when it (finally!) gets cooler that’s even better. Let’s take a look at some fun patchwork blanket knitting patterns. 

If you want to keep it super simple, you can just make blocks of garter stitch and sew them together, like the beginner’s patchwork baby blanket from Mini Baa Baa or the color block blanket from Make and Do Crew. Both projects are worked in strips and sew together, with the baby version calling for two strands of DK or light worsted weight yarn held together and the larger one using bulky yarn. 

Add a little more texture with the mixed blocks of the cottage quilt throw from Mama in a Stitch. This one combines garter stitch and seed stitch and uses worsted weight yarn. She used a crochet join to make the chains on top of the blocks, but you can join them however you like. It calls for eight colors but you can use what you have, and there are three size options. 

Get a real sampler style patchwork blanket with this design from Knit Sew Make. It calls for worsted weight yarn and has four size options. All of the patterns just use knit and purl stitches so this one is still pretty easy for beginners. 

If you want a more complex colorwork project that will keep you entertained all season, try the Peace by Piece blanket pattern from Needle and Feather. This one is made up of two color colorwork blocks and calls for worsted weight yarn. You can choose to use just a few of the blocks and repeat them more often, or make multiples of the whole set. 

The knitted patchwork recipe from Martine Ellis (free on Ravelry) uses mitered squares in fingering weight yarn, so it’s perfect for using up all your leftover sock yarn and mini skeins. This one is a tutorial more than a pattern so you can make your blanket as big as you like or keep going until you run out of yarn. 

Susan B. Anderson’s 100 Squares blanket (find it on Ravelry) has a lot of mitered squares, too, but they’re arranged in fun ways and includes some quilt inspired designs as well. This one also is a bit of method more than pattern but it sure looks like a lot of fun for using all the leftovers. 

Of course you can totally improvise a patchwork blanket using the yarn and stitches you like, but I hope these patterns inspire you to look at your leftover yarn in a new way.