Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

You (Probably) Already Know All You Need to Knit a Sweater

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Yes you can knit a sweater now!Welcome back to Sweater Month! I wanted to get started with a little pep talk and a reminder that you probably already know everything you need to know in order to successfully knit a sweater.

Yes, an adult-sized sweater is a big project, and it can, indeed, be quite complex. But if you’re looking at a stockinette sweater with minimal shaping, you’ve probably got all the skills you need to get it done right.

Don’t believe me? Let’s look at the skills you are likely to need to knit a basic, pieced sweater.

  • Casting on
  • Knitting
  • Purling
  • Basic increasing or decreasing, depending on the direction of the sweater
  • The ability to measure a piece of knitting
  • Binding off
  • Making pieces the same length (front and back and sleeves)
  • Seaming

Nothing too difficult there. The one I have the most trouble with is making pieces that are supposed to be the same length actually the same length (and that’s not a problem so long as you can count rows).

I know seaming can be scary, but again, if you’re just working with stockinette, mattress stitch is actually really easy to learn.

Check out my article from About on How to Knit a Sweater to get another look at the skills needed for sweater knitting, as well as links to some easy patterns you might want to try.

Comments

  1. I so far behind with the knit along scarf it may be ready for winter 2016!!! But I do so want to knit a sweater. One day…

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Pencil Knitting Patterns

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns! 

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil. 

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn. 

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point. 

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up. 

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.