The World’s Biggest Stocking is Finished

I’ve been telling you for a while now about the attempt by Yarnspirations to create the world’s biggest knit and crochet Christmas stocking as a way to raise awareness and funds for the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation, which gives money to children whose parents have died in military service.

The stocking is done, and will officially be unveiled at the Christmas in the Park at Arnette Park in Fayetteville, North Carolina, tomorrow, Dec. 12. The event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. and is part of a Christmas celebration that includes lights and activities like pictures with Santa and a train ride. Mickey and Diva Dan from the Crochet Crowd will also be on hand with the stocking.

Stitchers from all 50 states, Canada and Ireland contributed 3 foot by 3 foot squares — more than 1,100 in all — to the project. It was assembled in Fayetteville this week and measures 139 feet tall, takes up 7,663 square feet and weighs 1,600 pounds.

Stitchers were encouraged to use Caron United for their squares, and the company donated 15 cents from the purchase of each yarn ball to the foundation. In all, donations collected through the stocking program amount to $100,000, according to the Fayetteville Observer.

After the event the stocking will be taken apart into individual blankets that will be donated to military hospitals. The Guinness Book of World Records confirmed that it will be named the largest knit and crocheted stocking ever made.

[Photo by Raul R. Rubiera, via the Fayetteville Observer.]

Looking for more Christmas themed Knitting patterns? Check out some of our favorite Knitting patterns on Etsy and

These Christmas Knitting Pattern Books on Amazon

One of the fun things about knitters is that we will use a holiday theme on any kind of project. From Easter bunny socks to Christmas sweaters, there’s no combination of holiday motif and knitwear genre we won’t combine.

Case in point: Halloween cowls.

This fun cowl from Sweet Vireo Designs features large carved pumpkins and little cats and skulls. It uses two colors of DK weight yarn and I love the multicolored yarn for the background color on this one. And the braids! So cute.

Spooky Season by Jocelyn Tunney (also on Ravelry) uses fingering weight yarn in two colors to make a design with crescent moons and eyes. There are two circumferences and two heights available so you can make it a neck hugger or a slightly bigger project if you like.

Make more moons with the Broom Riding Cowl from Vanessa Ewing Knits. This two color pattern looks extra fun with a multicolored yarn for the colorwork, but you can use a solid as well. It calls for DK weight yarn but there is also a fingering weight version if you have some yarn in your stash you want to use.

Jinx Made has another fun Halloween cowl, this time covered in skulls. South Philly Skulls uses DK weight yarn and comes in two lengths, and there’s also a matching hat pattern, both of which can be found on Ravelry.

The Ghost Stories cowl from Melissa Knit Wear is a two-color cowl with ghosts of different sizes on the body. It uses DK weight yarn, and average sized skeins will allow you to get two cowls out of two skeins. It also calls for stitch markers to help you keep your place in the chart.

Or stitch up a cowl with a giant bat on it. The Nightling Cowl from Jen Immer uses DK weight yarn in two colors and has moons and a large bat on it. This pattern can be found on Ravelry.

How about spooky trees? The Weirwood Cowl from Andrea Krüß-Anders is inspired by the weirwood trees in the Game of Thrones books, and is worked in two colors of fingering weight yarn. You can find this free pattern on Ravelry.

If a bandana cowl is more your thing, try Cowloween from Tellybean Knits (on Ravelry). This colorful design is worked from the top down and features pumpkins, ghosts and candy colored stripes, and is worked in a light fingering weight yarn. There are kid and adult sizes available.

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