Valentine’s Themed Knit Wristwarmers

Some of you might know that I got my start writing about knitting at the now-defunct About.com. I wrote a lot of patterns for that site, nearly 200 of which are chronicled on Ravelry (though I am sure that’s not all of them).

Since About.com went away, some of the patterns migrated to that company’s new home and hobby themed site called the Spruce, but many others fell off the face of the Internet. I’ve been going through lately and finding the links to them on the Internet Archive and am happy to say as I write this that I’m almost done and should have valid links for all the projects on Ravelry by the end of this week (finding which patterns are not already in Ravlery and adding them will probably take a lot longer).

It’s not a perfect solution, because the Internet Archive pages don’t always show images, and if there were PDF downloads of charts, say, those links no longer seem to work.

Such is the case with these cute Valentine’s wristwarmers. They’re a quick and easy project, great for those who are new to colorwork, and you still have time to make them for the holiday.

As I updated that pattern page I wanted to be able to share the charts as well so that people could actually knit the pattern again. There are JPGs of the charts on the Ravelry pattern page, but the PDFs are now being housed here so you can download and print them. There is a color and a black and white option. These are from back in the day before I had a chart making program so they are hand drawn. It’s fun to see how far I’ve come!

I hope you enjoy this sweet little pattern!

Looking for more Heart-shaped Knitting Patterns for Valentine’s Day? Check these out on Etsy.

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I guess I’ve decided it’s time to start knitting vests, and while I typically think of vests as being for fall, this one is decidedly summery.

Vanessa Ewing’s Fruit Salad Fest is covered with all kinds of fruits. I see grapes, blueberries, strawberries, peaches and kiwi all stitched up in rows for a cute and colorful vest.

This one is worked in sock yarn and comes in nine sizes. The actual finished chest measurement of the vest ranges from 29.5 to 59 inches, or 75 to 150 cm. It’s meant to be work with 2 to 4 inches/5-10 cm of positive ease. And while it’s called a vest it doesn’t look like it has any shaping, which gives it little cap sleeves when worn.

There’s a bit of ribbing at the armholes and neckline, and the bottom has a split hem. It’s worked in the round from the bottom up and includes steeks. It’s not really a pattern for people new to colorwork thanks to all the charts and different colors used, but if you’re ready to take on a challenge this would be a fun one.

Speaking of colors, there are 13 involved in this pattern, but a few of them aren’t needed in a huge quantity, so this could be a use for some mini skeins or leftovers from other projects if you have them in the right colors. This isn’t one where you can substitute colors that easily since they are meant to be true to real fruits, but you could use a different background color, make your grapes green or red, or change the blueberries to another fruit if you have different colors on hand.

Any way you slice it, this looks like a super fun knit that is sure to bring a smile to your face whenever you wear it, and to others whenever they see it.

Check it out and grab a copy on Ravelry.

[Photo: Vanessa Ewing]

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