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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Magical Woodland Knits by Clare Garland is a few years old as I write this, but it’s such a fun book I couldn’t resist sharing it. Step into a magical forest full of realistic woodland creatures including rabbit, deer and squirrel, birds and mice, to name a few.

In all there are 12 creatures, and though they are rather small (the wolf is the largest at 14.5 inches/37 cm tall and 18.5 inches/47 cm long), they are so detailed these are definitely not projects for new knitters.

One of the smaller projects, for example, is the robin, at 5/5 inches/14 cm long. It calls for nine different kinds of yarn. Sometimes some are held together, while others are worked with on their own. This pattern only includes three pages of instructions, but the print is rather small and in that time there are six different sets of short rows. None of this makes it too difficult for a knitter with experience reading detailed patterns, working short rows and working with multiple strands of yarn at once, but it’s worth knowing going in that even for small projects you’ll need a lot of supplies and time to work on them.

These are also not meant to be children’s toys, as they can include wires and other supports that could be a danger to little ones.

The process photos often look like taxidermy on a tiny scale, with little animal pelts stretched out and tons of stitch markers showing where and how things go together.

The finished animals are so pretty it’s certainly worth the effort to stitch up these creatures. You might be tempted to make all 12 and set up your own forest scene or use them to decorate your Christmas tree. You can check out all the patterns on Ravelry.

Along the way you’ll also find a little folklore about the animals, charming drawings and pretty photos of the finished animals, too. In the back you’ll find some helpful techniques like picking up stitches, making I-cord and working short rows.

About the book: 128 pages, paperback, 12 patterns. Published 2020 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $24.99.

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