Try Illusion Knitting with this Baby Blanket Knitting Pattern

Illusion knitting is one of the knitting skills that I haven’t done a lot with, but it looks like it would be fun and the effect is really cool.

Basically illusion knitting is done by working in two color ridges in knits and purls, and changing whether you knit or purl in a particular color makes the design. But it’s a secret design because when viewed from the front, an illusion knitting project basically just looks like stripes. But when you look from the side, an image appears.

Illusion knitting is also known as shadow knitting, and if you want to learn a lot more you can check out the book Shadow Knitting by Vivian Hoxbro.

If you want to try the technique out for yourself, try this fun baby blanket knitting pattern from Knit Hit Shop.

From the front it just looks like stripes, but at an angle you can see a design of interlocking puzzle pieces.

The project comes in two sizes, with the small version being 26.77 inches square (that’s 68 cm) and the larger version is 31.5 inches or 80 cm square. So neither of them is huge but they’d be cute as baby blankets or stroller blankets for a little one in your life.

The pattern calls for DK or light worsted weight yarn, so you could also make it a bit bigger by using heavier yarn if you want. The key for illusion knitting is that the colors need to have good contrast so the image will be visible.

I think this project would be a fun way to learn the basics of illusion knitting with a relatively easy and repetitive pattern. Illusion knitting designs can get a lot more complicated, including words or more intricate images, so this would be a nice place to start.

Have you ever done illusion knitting? I’d love to hear about what you made and how it went!

[Photo: Knit Hit Shop]

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I guess the trend of little scarves and bandanas isn’t going away, and there’s a good reason for that. These little projects are fast, and they’re good for beginners because of the low commitment and they make something that doesn’t necessarily look like a beginner made it.

And when you can combine a simple pattern with some super luxurious yarn, it’s a little treat that even more experienced knitters can get behind.

The Little Dot Bandana from Purl Soho (designed by Gianna Mueller) is a project like that. It’s a simple eyelet triangle, worked from the long side down to the point, so there’s a lot of decreasing happening but it’s a really easy project.

It calls for a hank of silk yarn and one that’s silk mohair, which gives the project a fuzziness and a little bit of a silky glow.

Of course you can use different yarn to get a different look. A linen yarn would be fun for a summer kerchief, or combine wool and mohair for a warm and cozy kerchief for cold mornings.

The pattern comes in two sizes, so you can stitch up a kerchief or a simple triangle shawl. The stitch multiple is 8 plus 23 stitches, so you can use that to make a triangle of any size you like, or you can use a heavier weight of yarn to make a different size if you prefer. The two strands held together as called for in the pattern makes a sport weight gauge, so you could try DK or worsted for a bigger and warmer project if you want.

This pattern is available for free from Purl Soho, or check out the pattern notes on Ravelry to find how other people made this project.

And if you need more options for kerchiefs to knit, check out this collection of kerchief knitting patterns.

[Photo: Purl Soho]

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