The Perfect Socks to Knit for a Road Trip

I have said this before (probably a lot, because it’s true) but whenever I’m planning travel knitting projects, I always try to include a pair of socks to work on.

Socks are great for travel because they’re small but still (often) take a long time to knit. They don’t take up a lot of space in your bag, and usually there’s a repeating pattern that’s easy to memorize, or the directions are compact enough to easily carry with you. And if you’re stuck in a car or on a plane for many hours, you may find that second sock syndrome disappears.

I say “may” because that sock I knit on vacation last year still doesn’t have a friend.

The Roam (If You Want To) socks by Joji Locatelli are great to knit on your adventures, or to wear when you’re roaming around the world. They feature lots of fun cables, including big loopy cables on the top of the foot and smaller cables on the back of the leg.

Gauge is given in Stockinette stitch, and you’ll definitely want to check yours before you start, since all those cables will make a big difference in how the sock fits (cables pull in the fabric so you’ll need more stitches than you think).

You also might want to test some of the cables in the yarn you want to use to make sure they look good. The sock is pretty in a subtle multicolored yarn or a solid, but if the yarn gets too colorful it might be hard to see all the work you put into those cables.

They’re worked from the top down and include charts for the cable patterns. (I’m not sure if they are also written out; if you buy this pattern let me know!) There are two size options, for a foot circumference of 8.5 or 9.75 inches.

You can grab a copy of the pattern from Ravelry.

[Photo: Joji Locatelli]

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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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