Knit a Knight! Transform a Cozy Cowl into a Fun Costume Helmet

I love it when knitters are inspired by each other’s projects. It’s always great to me to see other people use my knitting patterns, but especially so when they do things with them that I’d never thought of.

I imagine that must be the way Jennifer Weissman feels when she sees this project from Laura Turnbull.

Laura took Jennifer’s Architexture Cowl and added a sort of hood so that it looks like a helmet for a suit of armor (albeit a cozy suit of armor!).

To look at Jennifer’s project first. The Architexture Cowl (which you can buy on Ravelry) is a worsted weight (she says you could also use bulky to make it bigger) kind of bandana cowl, where there’s a point at the center front but the back is just straight rounds. It’s worked from the bottom up and includes easy textured stitches and lots of ribbing at the top to make a cozy cowl.

The pattern includes written instructions and charts if you want to use them.

Laura chopped off some of the ribbing at the top and changed it to close fitting hood (or helm, as they call it) that includes shaping for the head and the face. I love the little triangle on the forehead that mimics the shape of the bandana part of the cowl. And this new section uses the same stitch patterns as the original, so you’re not doing anything new there.

The addition to the original pattern is a free download on Ravelry, but you’ll need to buy a copy of the original pattern, too, in order to make the project.

This piece just looks so cool and would be great for a role playing or con situation, or even just to wear to keep your head and neck warm when it’s cold outside. You do you.

[Photo: Larua Turnbull]

7 Knitting Patterns For Your Pet

Knitting Patterns – Knit Costumes for Halloween

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This swirly square stitch knitting pattern from Studio Knit is a lot of fun, and it looks kind of complicated without being difficult at all.

The swirly nature of the block comes from regularly placed increases, as the pattern is worked in rounds from the center out. Switching between sections of all knit stitches and all purl stitches (which gives you stockinette and reverse stockinette respectively when worked in the round) adds to the off-kilter flair but makes it really easy to knit.

You can work it in a single color or change colors regularly. This isn’t really a change colors randomly kind of pattern just because it looks better if you work a full repeat in a single color, but you know there are no rules so you can do whatever you want.

You can also make it any size you like, and indeed use any yarn you want. This one is blanket sized and used five colors of worsted weight yarn, but you can use any yarn and corresponding needles (you’ll need double pointed needles and circulars of various lengths, depending on how big you want to make your square).

For a start, why not grab some cotton yarn and stitch up a swirly washcloth? You could still use a couple of colors if you want, jsut for fun.

Once you try that, you’ll probably want to make a bigger version, and you could definitely use more colors than Kristen did (or just one color if you prefer), you just need to make sure you change colors at the beginning of the pattern repeat to keep everything looking good.

If you’re ready to start (and I know I am!) you can grab the free pattern and check out a video to help you get started at Studio Knit.

[Photo: Studio Knit]

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