Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Webrings and Knitting

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What are web rings or netrings you ask? A web ring is a social network. The ring is a way of linking web sites that have a similar theme, like [tag]knitting[/tag], [tag]crafts[/tag], [tag]textiles[/tag], – any topic that you can imagine probably has a webring. Links on each page permit you to go from site to site, to travel the entire webring, eventually returning to the page from which you started. Links also permit you to access the list of member sites and to join the [tag]webring[/tag].

Each member of the [tag]netring[/tag] displays a netring link on their page which allows visitors to link directly to other pages with the same topic. This guarantees that the next site they visit will be of interest to them and will have valuable content. It also eliminates the more annoying aspects of many search engines, that is, slow response times and the many unrelated sites that they come up with.

Netrings also generate more traffic for the page owners and cut down on the time they might spend updating their links pages as new members can join the ring at any time and their site is automatically reachable from any page that is already in the ring.

There are several ring sites that host thousands of websites with just as many topics. Two in particular are [tag]WebRing[/tag] and [tag]Ring Surf[/tag].

At the search box at either site you can search for knitting rings, free pattern rings, yarn rings, swap rings – anything you might need to find. Once you have found the ring topic of your choice, just click on the “next” button to look at all the sites in the ring. Or you may click on “list” and it will take you to the ring site home and list all sites in that ring.

Ring surfing is a good way to find many websites that pertain to your interest, however, they also take up a lot of your knitting time, LOL!

 

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Patchwork Blanket Knitting Patterns

Any time of year is a good time for stash busting, but if you can combine it with knitting a blanket that will keep you warm when it (finally!) gets cooler that’s even better. Let’s take a look at some fun patchwork blanket knitting patterns. 

If you want to keep it super simple, you can just make blocks of garter stitch and sew them together, like the beginner’s patchwork baby blanket from Mini Baa Baa or the color block blanket from Make and Do Crew. Both projects are worked in strips and sew together, with the baby version calling for two strands of DK or light worsted weight yarn held together and the larger one using bulky yarn. 

Add a little more texture with the mixed blocks of the cottage quilt throw from Mama in a Stitch. This one combines garter stitch and seed stitch and uses worsted weight yarn. She used a crochet join to make the chains on top of the blocks, but you can join them however you like. It calls for eight colors but you can use what you have, and there are three size options. 

Get a real sampler style patchwork blanket with this design from Knit Sew Make. It calls for worsted weight yarn and has four size options. All of the patterns just use knit and purl stitches so this one is still pretty easy for beginners. 

If you want a more complex colorwork project that will keep you entertained all season, try the Peace by Piece blanket pattern from Needle and Feather. This one is made up of two color colorwork blocks and calls for worsted weight yarn. You can choose to use just a few of the blocks and repeat them more often, or make multiples of the whole set. 

The knitted patchwork recipe from Martine Ellis (free on Ravelry) uses mitered squares in fingering weight yarn, so it’s perfect for using up all your leftover sock yarn and mini skeins. This one is a tutorial more than a pattern so you can make your blanket as big as you like or keep going until you run out of yarn. 

Susan B. Anderson’s 100 Squares blanket (find it on Ravelry) has a lot of mitered squares, too, but they’re arranged in fun ways and includes some quilt inspired designs as well. This one also is a bit of method more than pattern but it sure looks like a lot of fun for using all the leftovers. 

Of course you can totally improvise a patchwork blanket using the yarn and stitches you like, but I hope these patterns inspire you to look at your leftover yarn in a new way.