Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

This Sweet Toddler Hat is Free in February

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winter driftwood free knitting patternI don’t remember exactly where on Facebook I saw the link to this one, but if you’re in the market for a really cute, textured toddler hat, the Winter Driftwood Hat by Nat Raedwulf is a nice one, and the pattern is a free download on Ravelry just this month (February, 2015, if you’re reading this from the future).

The project uses a pretty small amount of bulky weight yarn (it calls for Cascade Ecological Wool, which is a great, really warm yarn that comes in huge skeins, but you’ve probably got something in your stash that would work). It features a basketweave pattern on the body of the hat and Stockinette through the decreases. It’s finished with a tassel for extra cuteness and is great for girls or boys.

I’ve been wanting to knit the girl a new hat because she’s been mostly wearing the same one the past couple of seasons, so I may have to grab this download too!

[Photo by Nat Raedwulf via Ravelry.]

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Patchwork Blanket Knitting Patterns

Any time of year is a good time for stash busting, but if you can combine it with knitting a blanket that will keep you warm when it (finally!) gets cooler that’s even better. Let’s take a look at some fun patchwork blanket knitting patterns. 

If you want to keep it super simple, you can just make blocks of garter stitch and sew them together, like the beginner’s patchwork baby blanket from Mini Baa Baa or the color block blanket from Make and Do Crew. Both projects are worked in strips and sew together, with the baby version calling for two strands of DK or light worsted weight yarn held together and the larger one using bulky yarn. 

Add a little more texture with the mixed blocks of the cottage quilt throw from Mama in a Stitch. This one combines garter stitch and seed stitch and uses worsted weight yarn. She used a crochet join to make the chains on top of the blocks, but you can join them however you like. It calls for eight colors but you can use what you have, and there are three size options. 

Get a real sampler style patchwork blanket with this design from Knit Sew Make. It calls for worsted weight yarn and has four size options. All of the patterns just use knit and purl stitches so this one is still pretty easy for beginners. 

If you want a more complex colorwork project that will keep you entertained all season, try the Peace by Piece blanket pattern from Needle and Feather. This one is made up of two color colorwork blocks and calls for worsted weight yarn. You can choose to use just a few of the blocks and repeat them more often, or make multiples of the whole set. 

The knitted patchwork recipe from Martine Ellis (free on Ravelry) uses mitered squares in fingering weight yarn, so it’s perfect for using up all your leftover sock yarn and mini skeins. This one is a tutorial more than a pattern so you can make your blanket as big as you like or keep going until you run out of yarn. 

Susan B. Anderson’s 100 Squares blanket (find it on Ravelry) has a lot of mitered squares, too, but they’re arranged in fun ways and includes some quilt inspired designs as well. This one also is a bit of method more than pattern but it sure looks like a lot of fun for using all the leftovers. 

Of course you can totally improvise a patchwork blanket using the yarn and stitches you like, but I hope these patterns inspire you to look at your leftover yarn in a new way.