What’s Your Favorite Thing You’ve Ever Knit?

I’m not sure this is a question I could answer, but what’s your favorite thing you’ve ever knit?

One of my favorites is definitely the Color Belt Sweater (Ravelry link) from my Colorwork Knitting book, because I’d had that design in my head for years and it came out just the way I wanted. It always makes me smile when I wear it.

Or maybe it’s the first pair of toe-up socks I knit, which fit perfectly and made me think I should always knit socks toe up (I don’t, but I do love that style). Or it could be the hat I knit my daughter while she was in the NICU, or the Harry Potter robe I knit for her birthday one year, or the blanket that’s on her bed that she loves so much. Or any number of sweaters I’ve knit and loved to wear through the years. Or the giant wool blanket I snuggle under on the couch every winter.

Point is: don’t make me chooose!

The Guardian, for reasons I’m unsure of, recently asked some people about their favorite knitting projects, or the ones that bring them the most pride, and their answers are way better than mine. They’re all sweaters, which I love, and they have very different stories. There’s an amazing sweater with a colorwork parrot on it, a couple of sweaters the knitters designed themselves, and a sweater that inspired a matching garment for a dog.

These stories are worth your time because they’ll make you feel good about being a knitter. And if you’ve never knit a sweater before they just might inspire you to make that your next project.

I would love to know what your favorite project is, or what you’ve made that you’re most proud of. Or if you’re like me and can’t name just one! Let’s talk about it.

[Photo from Kirsty Nottle via The Guardian.]

It’s kind of coincidental that I recently posted about patchwork blanket knitting patterns right before reviewing a book that makes a patchwork blanket, but this one would also be a great choice if you’re looking to bust some stash and learn a lot about colorwork knitting at the same time.

Knit an Heirloom Blanket by Annah O’Leary includes charted designs for 50 colorwork blocks worked flat that can be combined to make a blanket or used in other projects. The book calls for worsted weight yarn but also offers suggestions for using fingering, DK or even bulky yarn, which will give you blocks of different sizes.

It opens with a section on materials and tips for choosing colors and maintaining contrast among blocks across a large project. There’s also information on how to read charts and colorwork basics such as maintaining tension, measuring gauge, catching floats, holding yarn and yarn dominance, among other things.

There are 196 squares (14 by 14) in the blanket shown on the cover, which, including the edging, makes for a blanket that’s about 79 inches, or 200 cm square knit in worsted weight yarn. You can adjust the size as needed by working more or fewer blocks, especially if using a different weight of yarn.

The sample was worked in Cascade 220 and the book includes the amounts of yarn used in each color so you can knit a blanket exactly as shown. Or use stash and leftovers from other projects to make a possibly less harmonious but more meaningful project.

Colorwork patterns are arranged into 10 themes: flowers, tiles, diamonds, stripes, peaks, woven, sky, leaves, lovestruck and architecture. They’re also rated by skill level on a range of 1 to 3 balls of yarn. If you’re newer to knitting or colorwork in particular, you can start with the easier squares and move up as you build more skills.

Each pattern is shown as a large black and white chart with three or four possible color variations, though or course you can also go your own way on the colors. There’s also a knit sample of each block pictured at the beginning of each pattern section.

There’s also a section to help you finish your blanket, including tips for weaving in ends, blocking, joining squares and adding a border. She also suggests different project sizes and color palettes for smaller scale projects.

In addition to the big blanket there are five other project ideas including a baby blanket made of 6 by 8 squares, a hot water bottle cover, a couple of pillows and a wall hanging. These are sure to give you ideas of different ways to use the blocks in other projects.

Knit an Heirloom Blanket includes lots of fun colorwork blocks and ideas for using them that are sure to appeal to those new to colorwork as well as those with more experience. Even if you never knit a full blanket with them, you can add these motifs to your collection to work in other projects.

About the book: 144 pages, paperback, 50 charts and 6 patterns. Published 2026 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $25.99.

Have you read?