Spring + Summer Knitty is Here

See, I wasn’t at all kidding about it being almost spring, because the Spring + Summer Knitty has just been released.

This issue includes 13 patterns for shawls, tops, socks, a sweater, a sleep mask and a baby hat.

In addition you’ll find Donna Druchunas‘ last regular column for Knitty (wah!) all about linen and Lithuania, learn about making a top that’s knit and crocheted and make a fun and funky baby hat inspired by Victorian patterns with Franklin Habit, as well as learning tips on how to use a rigid heddle loom, because we all need more things to do with fiber, right?

I love the Geek sock pattern by Wei S. Leong, which combines a self-striping yarn and a slip-stitch pattern to make a sock that’s a little more interesting than the plain striped socks you usually see in self-striping yarn without adding much difficulty. Jennifer Wood’s Mia is a pretty straightforward shell with details along the bottom and at the top front, worked in a gorgeous linen and silk yarn.

Mitenae has a pretty square shawl called Peppermint Bay, inspired by the Pi Shawl worked in a pretty, and actually pretty easy, repeating eyelet pattern with a lace edging that’s applied as it is knit. And that one shown above is called Hybrid Vigour by Mary-Anne Mace, which is sort of a shawl/poncho made with handspun.

Remember the site can be slow loading these first couple of days, but if you get a look around I’d love to know what catches your eye. I’m thinking hard about knitting those Geek socks…

[Photo via Knitty.]

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork.

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn.

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look.

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me.

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round.

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.

Have you read?