Woven Stars to Knit for the Holidays

There’s something about the holiday season that makes me want to decorate the house in handmade things. Maybe it’s remembering the handmade ornaments of my past, or just that everything should be covered in yarn in the winter.

I’m going to add some of Frankie Brown’s Woven Stars to my winter making list for sure. These pretty little stars are knit in two pieces that make triangular shapes that are woven together before sewing them into the star shape.

Frankie used two colors, one for each triangle, but you could also use a multicolored yarn, a solid color for the whole project, or scraps of yarn so you end up with different colors going together or several colors in each project.

The originals were knit in DK weight yarn but you can use whatever you have to make stars of different sizes.

Frankie’s patterns are free Ravelry downloads but also serve as a fundraiser for the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation, which you can learn more about on the pattern page.

[Photo: Frankie Brown.]

Looking for more Christmas themed Knitting patterns? Check out some of our favorite Knitting patterns on Etsy and

These Christmas Knitting Pattern Books on Amazon

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Knitwear designers can get inspiration from almost anything when it comes to re-creating a color scheme, an image or a texture in stitches. Sometimes the inspiration isn’t always obvious in the finished project, but sometimes it’s more literal.

That’s the way it is with the Tin Ceiling Blanket from Purl Soho. Not just because the inspiration is in the name, but if you’ve ever seen one of these old ceilings you can see that the design of the blanket is quite similar to the pattern of the tin tiles.

This is also a good example of the idea that you don’t have to use fancy stitch patterns or lots of color to make a big impact with your knits. This single-color blanket (designed by Gianna Mueller and inspired by a washcloth and towel set designed by Sandi Rosner) is made completely with knits and purls, other than slipped stitches at the beginning of rows to make neater edges.

The pattern is written out row by row, but there’s also a chart, which means this project is a great opportunity to practice reading a chart where you can check your work against the written pattern if you need to.

It comes in two sizes, a crib blanket and a throw. The yarn used in the sample is an organic cotton sold by the cone, which is a great way to get a large quantity of yarn and have fewer ends to weave in. In fact, you can knit either size of the blanket with just one cone of yarn, which isn’t inexpensive but makes you a great, sturdy, heirloom quality but still washable blanket you’ll use for years to come. (Of course you can use any sport weight yarn you like to make this blanket.)

Check out all the details and grab the free pattern from Purl Soho.

[Photo: Purl Soho]

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