Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Tips for Knitting with Linen Yarn

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I’m sure I’ve knit with linen yarn before, but I can’t think of any projects I’ve made with it. I think I made a market bag once with a linen blend, and I have enough linen in my stash to knit a top, I just haven’t done it yet.

As an aside, if you’re wondering what linen is, it’s a natural fiber produced from flax. It’s a very labor intensive process, but it makes yarn that is strong, lightweight, durable and machine washable. It’s a great fiber to use and wear in the summer, whether you’re knitting garments with it or sewing or buying garments made from linen fabric.

There is a bit of a learning curve to working with linen yarn, though. It can be slippery and easily get tangled on itself. These tips for knitting with linen yarn from Jessica McDonald Designs are a great place to start if you’re contemplating your first linen knitting project.

The advice to not work from a center-pull ball is actually really great and not something I would have thought of as potentially causing a problem. But all her tips are great so click over there and check it out.

Her post shares a couple of her designs that are worked in linen yarn, but if you’re looking for more ideas, here are a few patterns I’ve shared recently that use linen or a linen blend yarn:

I don’t know that I’m going to get to knitting with my linen yarn this summer, but it’s definitely on my list to work with soon, and with these tips I’ll be all set for success with a lot less frustration.

Have you ever worked with linen yarn? I’d love to hear your tips.

[Photo: Jessica McDonald Designs]

Have you read?

Book Review: Knit an Heirloom Blanket

It’s kind of coincidental that I recently posted about patchwork blanket knitting patterns right before reviewing a book that makes a patchwork blanket, but this one would also be a great choice if you’re looking to bust some stash and learn a lot about colorwork knitting at the same time. 

Knit an Heirloom Blanket by Annah O’Leary includes charted designs for 50 colorwork blocks worked flat that can be combined to make a blanket or used in other projects. The book calls for worsted weight yarn but also offers suggestions for using fingering, DK or even bulky yarn, which will give you blocks of different sizes.

It opens with a section on materials and tips for choosing colors and maintaining contrast among blocks across a large project. There’s also information on how to read charts and colorwork basics such as maintaining tension, measuring gauge, catching floats, holding yarn and yarn dominance, among other things.

There are 196 squares (14 by 14) in the blanket shown on the cover, which, including the edging, makes for a blanket that’s about 79 inches, or 200 cm square knit in worsted weight yarn. You can adjust the size as needed by working more or fewer blocks, especially if using a different weight of yarn. 

The sample was worked in Cascade 220 and the book includes the amounts of yarn used in each color so you can knit a blanket exactly as shown. Or use stash and leftovers from other projects to make a possibly less harmonious but more meaningful project. 

Colorwork patterns are arranged into 10 themes: flowers, tiles, diamonds, stripes, peaks, woven, sky, leaves, lovestruck and architecture. They’re also rated by skill level on a range of 1 to 3 balls of yarn. If you’re newer to knitting or colorwork in particular, you can start with the easier squares and move up as you build more skills. 

Each pattern is shown as a large black and white chart with three or four possible color variations, though or course you can also go your own way on the colors. There’s also a knit sample of each block pictured at the beginning of each pattern section.

There’s also a section to help you finish your blanket, including tips for weaving in ends, blocking, joining squares and adding a border. She also suggests different project sizes and color palettes for smaller scale projects.

In addition to the big blanket there are five other project ideas including a baby blanket made of 6 by 8 squares, a hot water bottle cover, a couple of pillows and a wall hanging. These are sure to give you ideas of different ways to use the blocks in other projects. 

Knit an Heirloom Blanket includes lots of fun colorwork blocks and ideas for using them that are sure to appeal to those new to colorwork as well as those with more experience. Even if you never knit a full blanket with them, you can add these motifs to your collection to work in other projects. 

About the book: 144 pages, paperback, 50 charts and 6 patterns. Published 2026 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $25.99.