Stripes Sweeten this Mohair T-Shirt Knitting Pattern

There’s not much I haven’t done when it comes to knitting, but one of the things I’ve always wanted to make but haven’t is a mohair shirt or sweater. In fact the only project I’ve “made” (in quotes because I haven’t finished it) with mohair is a shawl from the original Mason-Dixon Knitting book. It’s so pretty but it is a little fiddly.

I should have started with an easier project, like a simple knit T-shirt. Berry from Maria Sølvtofte is an intermediate level knitting pattern that’s a top down raglan worked in luscious mohair blend yarn and fruity stripes.

It calls for two strands of a mohair/silk/wool blend held together for one stripe, with a viscose and wool blend that also has a bit of a halo as the other stripe. Holding the strands together means you get to use larger needles (size 8 and 10 US are called for, or 5 and 6 mm), which makes the project that much faster.

The idea is that the tee should be knit with 4 inches/10 cm negative ease, meaning it is smaller than your actual body measurement. If you don’t like that idea you can make it with 0 ease or even a little positive ease, depending on how the sizing works with your body. The pattern has six size options, ranging from a chest measurement of 28.3 to 44.1 inches (or 72 to 112 cm). It’s somewhat cropped but you can add length if you prefer.

Berry is a free pattern from Hobbii.

If you’ve never worked with mohair before, here are some tips that will help you from A Knit Sheep. The main thing is to go slow and pay attention in the hope that you won’t ever have to rip out your knitting, but if you do, take it one stitch at a time instead of trying to pull out whole rows at a time, which will leave you with tangles.

[Photo via Hobbii]

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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