Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

Sweet Animal Knitting Patterns

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Knitting animals as toys or for display is a lot of fun, and they make great gifts for people of all ages. Last summer I made two sets of bears for my daughter’s teacher who was having her second set of twins — two boys and two girls!

Even if you don’t have a bunch of little ones to knit for, these fun little projects are great stash busters and fun to donate.

This little elephant from Clare Garland (Ravelry) is so cute, and his little onesie makes him look even more like a sweet little baby.

A knitted lion from Lion Brand Yarn (of course!) would be sweet to knit for a baby’s nursery or to give to an animal-loving kiddo.

DotPebblesKnits has a really realistic looking cat pattern (Etsy) that would be fun to give to someone who loves cats but can’t have a live one, or just for a little one to snuggle.

The bears I made were from a pattern by Little Cotton Rabbits, who has a ton of adorable little animals with clothing ensembles to knit. I love her little dog in a dress pattern too (Etsy).

It’s hard to tell from the picture but this knit octopus from Yarnspirations is not really a small project. It’s worked in Bernat Blanket using size 10.5 knitting needles, and the head is about 12 inches tall and 15 inches in diameter, with 18-inch-long tentacles. So fun!

And maybe my favorite (though they are all my favorite when I’m looking at them!) is this sweet little duck from Knit Picks. Designed by Barbara McIntyre, it’s 7 inches tall and only uses about 80 yards of yarn, so it’s a great little last minute project when a little one is coming to visit.

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Summer T-Shirt Knitting Patterns

Knitters are always looking for ways to continue to knit and to wear their knits even when it’s hot outside, so there are tots of great T0shirt knitting patterns to choose from. I love knitting short-sleeved shirts because they feel so much faster than sweaters, and you can wear them on top of dresses or even longer-sleeved items when it gets cooler.

There are lots of different styles of knit tops, from the basic to the more detailed. On the more basic side are things like the Perfect T-Shirt from Originally Lovely, a basic raglan tee with nine sizes and worked in worsted weight yarn; Paper Bloom by Yvonne Hugo (free on Ravelry), available in six sizes and worked with cotton and silk yarn for extra coolness; or Iris H’s Amelia Top, also on Ravelry, a slim fit, DK weight top with nine size.

Jazz it up with a bit of lace like on the Athens Lace Hem top by Sarah Hatton (Ravelry). This otherwise simple project has a bit of lace at the bottom, which is an easy way to make a project more interesting without a ton of work. This one uses fingering weight yarn and comes in nine sizes.

Another simple embellishment is to emphasize the lines of your top with different stitches. The Spring Lines top uses twisted ribbing at the center front and V-neck and along the raglan lines to give it a slimmer fit and more interest. This design from Turquoise Toque Designs has 11 size options and is available on Ravelry.

Silfurberg by Joji Locatelli uses both of these elements, with lace panels at the center front and back and purl ridges throughout to make it a little more fun to knit and to wear. The pattern uses fingering weight yarn and comes in 10 sizes. Learn more on Ravelry.

Keep it simple or add puffed sleeves (and/or long sleeves) to the slim fit Knitty Committee top by Lily Kate France. This one has two length options, waist shaping and optional bust darts to fulfill all your curvy top dreams, and it comes in nine sizes. You’ll find it on Ravelry.

Take it even more romantic with the Daphne Top from Friday Knits, which has puffed sleeves and applied I-cord to emphasize the bust and sweetheart neckline. It comes in eight sizes and uses DK weight yarn.

Or add some sweet flowers with the Gigio pattern from Emilie Luis. This pretty pattern found on Ravelry has cable panels running up the front with the option for adding sweet embroidered flowers. You can also add decorative buttons if you like. It comes in 11 sizes and calls for sport weight yarn.