Turn Mitered Squares into a Fun Top

When you’re new to knitting, you might think that you are relatively constrained in the kinds of projects you can make or a little intimidated by learning new skills. I know some knitters go months if not years before attempting a garment, and that’s a shame because there are a lot of easy and accessible knit tops and sweaters that even new knitters can make.

This mitered vest knitting pattern from Yarnspirations is a good example. It looks kind of complicated because of the shifting colors and the mitered look, but it’s actually rated easy. You basically just need to know how to do basic decreases and how to change colors, because you’re basically just making squares that you sew together to make the top.

The project as shown uses six colors, or there’s a variation in the pattern that only uses four. Once you get the hang of the pattern, though, you could change colors as often or as rarely as you like. And because the front and back are worked separately, you could even do different colors, or a different color order, on the back and then you’d have two different looks in the same garment so you can wear it different ways.

The pattern includes six sizes, ranging from a chest measurement of 40.5 to 64 inches, or 103 to 162.5 cm. It says the smallest size is to fit an actual chest measurement of 28 t0 34 inches, or 71 to 86.5 cm, while the largest is for 56 to 62 inches or 142 to 157.5 cm, so there’s a lot of positive ease built in. You can make a different size if you want to adjust the amount of ease and make it more of a top you can wear alone than a vest like the pattern suggests.

This pattern looks like a lot of fun and would be great for knitters with more experience too (you can even use leftover yarn to make a super stripey version).

You can grab the free pattern from Yarnspirations.

[Photo: Yarnspirations]

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Not too long ago I was seeing a crochet pattern for a glasses holder shaped like a bear all over the Internet. It was super cute, and also useful as a place to put your glasses on your bedside table instead of just throwing them somewhere random.

This project stewed in my brain for a little while and I decided I needed to make a knit version, but I didn’t want to make a bear. If you know anything about me you might know that I’m a cat person, so of course my version had to be a cat.

The base is just a basic little basic worked from the center out to the desired size, then up the sides as long as you want them. Knit some ears and add embellishments to make it whatever kind of animal you want.

The way I figured out to work the base from the center out was to use a crochet cast on, which gives you an easier way to pick up stitches from the back of the cast on than if you worked a more traditional cast on for a knitting project. It’s kind of fun to do things in a different way from time to time.

This little project is adorable if I do say so myself, and even as a plain little basket not made into an animal it’s a cute way to keep your glasses or other little things in one place. I’m tempted to make one for my desk to hold pens or even little little scissors and sewing needles that are always on my desk but somehow always seem to get lost on my desk.

If you need a little holder for your glasses on your table, check out the pattern at Our Daily Craft.

[Photo: Our Daily Craft]

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