Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Ukraine Sunflower Hat Knitting Pattern

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I feel like I haven’t shared any Ukraine knitting patterns in a long time, but that’s not because things are better there or there’s any end in sight to the conflict. If you want to show your support to the people of Ukraine through the winter, knit yourself a Sunflower Hat from yellowcosmo.

This two-color knitting pattern is worked in sport weight yarn (I love how the colors switch as you work the hat!) from the bottom up in the round. The colorwork pattern is charted, but it’s pretty easy to work because it repeats around the head and is symmetrical. In addition to knitting in the round and reading a chart, you will need to be able to make simple increases and decreases to complete this project.

The pattern is available as a free download on Ravelry, but the designer suggests making a donation to a relief organization if you are able to in lieu of payment. You could also make these to sell and donate the proceeds to a group that is helping Ukrainians.

Speaking of knitting for Ukraine, back when the war first started I shared a lot of knitting patterns in blue and yellow. Here’s a quick roundup if you’re looking for other Ukraine knitting projects:

And there’s this great roundup of Ukraine inspired knitting patterns, which is titled more knitting patterns for Ukraine, but I don’t know now if there was an original roundup that I can’t find or if “more” just means “in addition to all the other ones I listed above.” Either way this is a lot of different patterns to get you thinking about the Ukrainian people who have been fighting and struggling for so long.

Have you read?

Stitch a Play Mat with a Gorgeous Butterfly

The butterfly on this piece — the Owl Butterfly Playmat by Sophie’s Stitches — caught my eye before I even knew what the project was. Now that I’ve give it a closer look I’m still not 100 percent sure what it is meant to be for, but I still love it. 

I think it’s maybe to give you a flat surface to roll dice or play cards on, but there are no images of the project in use so I’m just speculating on that. If you know what it is, be sure to let me know!

What it physically is is a worsted weight mat (the sample is worked in cotton) that measures 14 by 24 inches, or 35.5 by 61 cm. The impression I get from the pattern notes and the photos is that you knit the rectangle plain and the butterfly is stitched on after using duplicate stitch, which is provided as a chart. 

Of course you could choose to knit some of the colorwork as you go, either using stranded knitting or intarsia techniques, or maybe some of both. It just looks like a lot of duplicate stitch (and it is!) so knowing me if I were making this project I’d probably try to knit some of it instead of stitching it all. 

The pattern also suggests that you can knit a second plain mat to sew on the back and cover up all the yarn ends, as well as making the mat thicker and a little more stable. There’s also a photo that shows fabric sewn to the back, which is also a good option if you have some fabric that has a bit of grip. 

I like the graphic on this one enough I might just make it as a table pad for our entry way table. You can always make the mat part a different dimension, just make sure you’re centering the image if you do. 

You can find this pattern on Ravelry. 

[Photo: Sophie’s Stitches]