What’s in the Cards for You, Sweater Knitter?

Sometimes I’ll scroll through Ravelry to find patterns to share and I don’t look at them all that closely before deciding to feature them. So just looking at the top of the pattern page for the Tarot Card Sweater by Tamara Jordan, for example, I just saw these two variations you see here: the moon and the star.

Of course that would be enough to make this a really cool pattern and worthy of sharing, but no, it gets even better.

There are not just two but actually six different options for the card you want to feature on your sweater: the moon, the star, the sun, the lovers, death, and our own special tarot card for the knitter.

Come on.

I didn’t cast this one on immediately because I don’t have a sweater quantity of sport weight yarn in my stash, but I tell you this one is definitely going on my list (maybe with another version for my daughter, too).

The pattern is worked flat in pieces from the top down and features a drop shoulder and crew neck style. The sleeves are worked in the round after the front and back are sewn together.

The designer suggests using ladderback jacquard to manage long floats on the back, though I think you could do a combo of stranded knitting and intarsia, too, depending on the design you’re working.

It’s intended to have about 6 inches of positive ease (that’s 15 cm) and the pattern comes in five sizes ranging from 36 to 68 inches (or 91.5 to 172.5 cm). I’d say this would be good for intermediate knitters who have some experience with colorwork. In addition to those skills, you’ll also need to be able to work increases and decreases, as well as German short rows.

You can find the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Tamara Jordan]

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Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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