This Lacy Knit Kerchief Honors the New President of Iceland

I’ll admit to not knowing a lot about global politics and national elections in other countries, so I was happy to read the back story on this pattern, Hölluklútur by Maja Siska.

This little lacy kerchief was inspired by a candidate for president in Iceland, Halla Tómasdóttir, who wore a silk neck scarf during the first televised debate of the election season. She said she wore it because she felt a cold coming on, but whatever the reason, it became a bit of a symbol among her supporters, with others wearing them at campaign events and rallies. She ultimately won the election and is now the president, having been inaugurated on August 1.

This mesh lace scarf is an asymmetrical diamond, worked by increasing on one side and decreasing on the other. It’s finished with a crocheted picot edge, but you can use a different edging if you don’t know how to crochet.

It uses lace weight yarn, but if you wanted to make a more substantial scarf or shawl in the same style you could use heavier weight yarn. As it is, this is a quick and easy project that’s a good introduction to mesh lace knitting if you’ve never done it before.

It only uses about 130 yards, or 120 meters, of yarn, so this might be a good project for using a bit of leftover yarn from another project, or a small single skein you’re not sure what to do with.

The pattern was developed for South Iceland Wool Week and is available as a free download on Ravelry. The pattern is offered in English and Icelandic.

If you’re looking for more easy lace knitting patterns to try, check out this collection of easy lace scarves, or this one with easy lace knitting patterns including other projects aside from scarves.

[Photo: Maja Siska]

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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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