Sweaters and Tops Perfect for Spring

I don’t know if you’re starting to feel it where you live, but here in the south it’s starting to feel a little springlike again. It’s raining instead of snowing, and it’s supposed to be nearly 70 tomorrow. It’s probably time to stop knitting big bulky sweaters and start thinking about transitional pieces, if you haven’t already.

Here are a few free patterns for sweaters and vests perfect for spring or fall that have caught my eye lately.

Love Knitting has a few great free patterns you can get by signing up for a free account with them. There’s the UK Alpaca Tunic, a fun striped tee with cute little picot edgings worked in alpaca yarn so it’s still plenty warm for cool mornings. The Rowan Ladies Twinset is a classic in tweedy yarn (and a tweedy looking stitch pattern, too) and this fun cardigan from Lang Yarns is worked in bright cotton yarn and has a really interesting textured stitch pattern.

Looking for more Vest patterns to knit? Check out these Vest Knitting patterns on Etsy.

And the Noro Waistcoat is colorful and a fun shape for spring, and the bulky yarn will help you knit this one up in no time.

Lion Brand has this cute Ribbed Collar Bolero that’s a quick and easy knit in striped Homespun. The little sleeves give a bit of coverage and the circular shape is just fun. Also check out their Colorblock Slipover, which is worked in intarsia squares that form a simple, mostly rectangular shape. It’s a dramatic look and great practice at intarsia if you’re new to that technique.

Berroco’s Winifred uses a chevron lace stitch to bring a little coolness to a long-sleeved pullover worked in a yummy alpaca, wool and silk blend. Perdido is a vest with a deep ribbed collar and cable patterns on the sides and back. Rated for intermediate knitters, it’s a good early cable project.

And Classic Elite Yarns has a fun cropped cardigan style vest that’s pretty, fuzzy and warm in a mohair yarn.

Are you knitting for spring (or fall, in the Southern Hemisphere)? I’d love to hear what you’re working on!

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.

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