Stitch Up a Pair of Comfy Pants

When it comes to knit garments, I think pants are probably the most overlooked project out there. Pants are a big project, much bigger than a sweater, and they will take a long time to knit.

But knit pants are also super comfortable, and they can be made exactly to the fit you want. Add more ease in the legs, make them longer or shorter, whatever you want!

I’ve knit a pair of leggings in sock yarn, and I love them, but the Sierra Pants by Safiyyah Talley have a looser fit in the leg that would also be nice for lounge pants.

These are worked from the top down with a folded over elastic waistband. There are short rows to make the back longer than the front, as well as increases for hips and more short rows to fit the backside. The legs are worked straight and have a rolled edge, but you could easily work a folded over hem at the bottom of the leg if you wanted.

The pants are worked in fingering weight yarn held double, and they come in a whopping 17 sizes, to fit a waist from 24 to 56 inches, or 61 to 142 cm. There’s meant to be about 2 inches/5 cm of negative ease at the waist.

The pattern calls for a cotton/acrylic blend (Knit Picks Comfy Fingering), which comes in 19 different colors. This would be great for a summer pair of pants, but you could also use a wool blend if you want to make them warmer for the colder part of the year.

And of course you can add stripes or use up your whole stash of sock yarn on this project if you want.

You can grab the pattern on Ravelry or from Saifyyah’s website.

Can’t get enough knit pants? Check out this collection of pants and shorts knitting patterns.

[Photo: Safiyyah Talley]

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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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