Stitch up Something for Hanukkah

While some other winter holidays get more attention, the Festival of Lights (aka Hanukkah) is coming even sooner, and it’s a perfect holiday for crafting as well.

Last year I knit a dreidel, which admittedly doesn’t spin very well, but it’s still pretty and fun to knit. (Amanda Kaffka has a felted dreidel pattern you can buy on Ravelry for $4.95 Canadian.)

So I thought I’d see what else was out there for faithful knitters, and I didn’t find a whole lot. If you know of other Hanukkah-related knitting patterns, I’d love to hear about them.

There’s a free Star of David washcloth at Aunt Kathy’s Place.

Knit Picks has a knit menorah table runner that makes a pretty, modern statement and a special place for votive candles to sit during the festival.

Sandra Wollin has knit a lovely illusion knit Chanukah blanket/wall hanging decorated with a menorah and the sides of the dreidel. It costs $9.

Alan Dart’s delightful Hanukkah Hiram is a knit lion with a driedel and a Star of David accessory. It’s available from Ravelry for $8 or direct from Alan Dart’s website for £4.

O Hanukkah! by Samantha Dart is a whimsical dog sweater decorated with all sorts of symbols including stars, menorahs and dreidels. There’s a lot of colorwork going on here, making it a fun challenge. The pattern is $6.

Finally a couple of patterns from books are also listed on Ravelry, including the Menorah Pillow from Handmade Holidays by Suzanne Atkinson and the Hanukkah Hat from 50 Knitted Gifts for Year-Round Knitting.

Looking for more Hanukkah patterns to knit? Check these out on Etsy

Fall will be here before we know it, and that means there are holidays coming right behind where we might be entertaining at home. It’s always fun to have a hand knit touch in your home for other people to see, and if you’re going to be in the kitchen all day you might as well have some nice knit dish cloths to use.

I love this little plaid hand towel from Darling Jadore. Use a little bit of leftover cotton yarn from another project for the plaid portion. It looks like the horizontal stripes are worked as you knit and the vertical stripes are done with duplicate stitch, making this a quick and easy project even newer knitters can make.

Combine garter stitch and an easy eyelet pattern worked sideways to make the Annette Dish Towel from Cluck Cluck Boots, which is meant to be reminiscent of flour sack towels. It calls for DK weight yarn and you can work it in one color or two (or even three!).

Add a little more texture with this set of kitchen towels from Whileberry Creative. They’re mostly worked in garter stitch with borders in easy knit/purl patterns, and you can work them in sport or worsted weight yarn.

Two of Wands Shop has another cute allover knit and purl pattern they call the Seersucker Textured Tea Towel. It’s an easy repeating pattern worked in worsted weight yarn, and there’s a chart in the pattern you can use, but don’t have to, if you want to practice knitting from a chart.

The Classic Cloth dish towel from Handmade Home by Connie is another one that can use a little leftover yarn in a contrasting color, or you could color block it our use stripes throughout the pattern. This one uses worsted weight yarn and another easy repeating knit purl stitch pattern.

If you like to hang your towel on the oven handle or elsewhere but it’s always falling off, try the Stay Put kitchen towel from Fancy Step Knits. This project is worked in garter stitch and includes a hole partway through so you can pull the towel through itself over a rod or handle. Stripes are optional but a nice addition.

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