This Free Sock Knitting Pattern is a Great Intro to Magic Loop

I like knitting socks and other small things using the magic loop method, where one long circular knitting needle holds all the stitches. It’s less fiddly and feels like it goes faster than knitting on double-pointed needles or even two circulars, but there can be a bit of a learning curve involved.

Summer Lee recently released the I’m So Basic Socks pattern, which serves as a tutorial for magic loop knitting as well as a great free knitting pattern for basic socks you can change up however you like. She has a contrasting cuff, heel and toe, which is a classic, but you can also throw in stripes, stick a stitch pattern in there, whatever you like.

The basic pattern uses sock yarn and offers four sizes, from 7 inches around to 10 inches around. They’re worked from the top down and there is a video tutorial as well as words and pictures, so no matter how you learn this pattern should be a good introduction to socks and magic loop knitting.

It’s available on Ravelry.

[Photo: Summer Lee.]

Looking for more Sock patterns? Check these out on Etsy.

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If you’re looking for a sweater knitting pattern that uses up some of your stash and allows you to make just the sweater you want, the Marlina Rib by Shay Johson might be just the thing.

It’s worked with two strands of fingering weight yarn held together to make a DK weight gauge, so you can use the same two yarns throughout or change one or both regularly for an even more colorful look.

The pattern has options to make it either a crewneck or a henley style with buttons, tapered or relaxed sleeves, and a straight hemline or a split hem with buttons (which sounds so cute if you do the henley with split hem and match the buttons on both parts).

It’s also knit from the top down so you can make the body and the sleeves as long as you want. There are 10 sizes available in the pattern, with a chest circumference ranging from 32 to 68 inches, or 81.5 to 172.5 cm. It’s meant to be worn with 4-6 inches/10-15 cm of positive ease at the chest.

The pattern page on Ravelry includes tons of measurements and yardage estimates so you can make sure you’ll get a good fit for your body before you even buy the pattern. Shay also shows a few variations of the sweater so you can see how different options look before you decide how you want to put them together.

The stitch pattern is 1×2 ribbing, which is really easy to do and gives a look almost like fisherman’s rib that’s relaxed and easy to wear.

This sweater looks like a great option for people who are somewhat new to sweater knitting or those who love to have lots of customization options (because it’s like getting multiple sweater patterns in one!).

Check out all the details and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself at Ravelry.

[Photo: Shay Johnson]

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