Knitting resources

I used to think that a blanket was a lot of knitting. But it's not necessarily that much more knitting than a scarf, and the finishing is easy, unlike a sweater.

How many knitters end up with a stash full of beautiful single skeins? That lonely skein that was too pretty, or too soft, or just too good of a bargain to leave behind. Here are some great one skein knitting patterns free, including washcloths, bags, cowls, mitts, toys and accessories.

Designing a knitted hat: size guidelines

Ravelry has become such a household word for knitters —like other web words Google, Facebook, Tweet— that I sometimes forget that not all knitters use the internet. Heck, a lot of people avoid all online social networking sites because of their addictive qualities. I still have to spell it out, no, not revelry, or raverly, r-a-v-e-l-ry.

Some quick facts about Ravelry

• Started May 2007 by wife and husband team, Jessica and Casey Forbes.


• A non-technical tidbit: they're adorable. Here they are, modeling Ravelry merch.


• It's a community-driven website for knitters, crocheters, yarn producers, knitwear designers


• You need to log in to participate, and membership is free


• At this point (March 4, 2011) there are 1,259,174 users, and at any point in the day there are usually over 3,000 users logged in. In Fall 2009, there were 430,000 users. So the membership has tripled in less than 2 years.


• A technical tidbit: It's a Ruby on Rails system. For more technical chit chat, here's an interview with Casey.

What does it do?

• Connects knitters and crocheters with each other. Make friends, join groups, participate in forums.


• Communicates designers' and crafters' experiences with materials and patterns. Finished a project? Upload a photo and post your comments.


• Allows self-publishing designers to sell their patterns online. Ravelry makes this easy and charges a small sales-based fee.


• Provides targeted advertising space for designers, spinners, yarn stores, crafters.


• Organizes your resources. Bought a new skein of yarn? Add it to your stash. That yarn's info (yardage, fiber content, etc) will likely be in the Ravelry yarn database.


• Helps crafters find suitable patterns. This is a big one for a lot of us. In the Pattern search, you can fine tune your next project by specifying how much yarn you have for the project, how easy you want it to be, techniques you'd like to use, etc.

That's just a short list, it does so much more...

How do you use it?

If you haven't already, sign up for membership. It's easy, free, and quick. You'll need an email address.

• Either just start browsing, or if you like, check out the Tour


• To connect with groups in your area, go to Find groups by location. Join some groups!


• Check out the patterns. You can see new ones, popular ones, or search for them.


• Check out the yarn. Read reviews, check out photos.


• Check out designers. When you see a pattern that you like, click on the designer's name, see everything else they've designed.

My notebook

This is the section of Ravelry that helps you organize, and here are a few of the things you can do there:

• When you see a pattern, yarn, or project you like and want to bookmark or applaud, click the Add to faves button. It will now show up in your favorites.


• If you have a lot of yarn (not that I, ehem, have very much yarn, I'm quite, um, frugal, no really) you can keep a handle on what you've got by adding it to your stash.


• Go to the library, click on magazine tab, and add all those crafting magazines. ("All those?" What am I implying? That some of us have a lot?) Then you can click on the picture of the magazine, and see all the patterns that are in there.

And of course, that's just the beginning. Track your needle inventory, finished projects, count your Ravelry friends.."

Whether you are a new knitter, or an experienced knitter looking for a break, easy knitting patterns are a nice addition to your knitting library. Look for patterns with the skill levels Beginner or Easy, and the steps should be simple, and the knitting skills required should only include the basics: casting on, knit stitch, purl stitch, binding off, and possible some basic steps, like knit 2 together (k2tog) and yarn over (yo). The Craft Yarn Council defines Beginner as "Projects for first-time knitters using basic knit and purl stitches, with minimal shaping," and Easy as "...using basic stitches, repetitive stitch patterns, simple color changes, simple shaping and finishing." The nice thing about that definition is that this covers a lot of knitting patterns. You can make almost any garment with those basic skills.

Simple Newborn Hat with a touch of lace from Small Things
Sweet and simple newborn hat pattern, with an easy-to-work but very effective lace border.

Legwarmies for Babies and Toddlers from Never not Knitting
These are the perfect cool weather accessory for the "little legs" in your life. These are great for chilly mornings because they are so easy to slip off when the sun comes out.

Little Sister's Dress by Tora Frøseth Design
Sweet little dress or pullover, knitted from the top down, seamless, raglan, great for beginners.

Kanoko Pants from Harumidori designs
Cutest little knitted baby pants. And a great project for the beginner knitter who wants to practice knitting in the round.

Top Down Bonnet with Anime Character
Free knitting pattern for an adorable bonnet. And the pattern is versatile so you can change the embellishments for a whole new character.

First Grade Socks Pattern by Marina Hayes
Sweet socks with a fold down ruffle.

Garter Stitch Kimono by Joji Locatelli
The design of this is so simple, and yet so practical. Kimono closure jackets are perfect for babies. Check out the other colors of this project on Ravelry to see how versatile this design is.

Berry Baby Hat by Michele Sabatier
You see what I mean about babies having different fashion rules than us? Free baby hat pattern for a berry hat. Change the colors, and you have a whole new fruit. Or vegetable.

Snug: Free Pattern for Baby Hoodie
Adorable and a great pattern for the beginner knitter looking for a seamless baby knitting pattern.

Impress Dress: Free Baby Knitting Pattern from Pickles
The Pickles website has some sweet patterns, and they generously give some of them away for free to promote their yarn. This baby dress, socks, and hat pattern is delicious.

Giacomo's Baby Hat: Free Pattern from the purl bee

Whit's Knits: Heirloom Hats for Newborns
Free online pattern and detailed instructions for knitting in the round from the Purl Bee.

Lucille Cardi and Hat for Baby from Kelbourne Woolens: Free Pattern
Sweet set of hat and cardi with a vintage feel. Love the ribbons on the hat.

Double Breasted Seed Stitch Baby Hoodie: Free Pattern
By Elinor Brown from exercisebeforeknitting.com. Irresistible.

Cabled Baby Vest from the purl bee
Another free online pattern from Whit's Knits Knitting Journal at purlbee.com. Step by step instructions with fab photos.

Free Pattern: The Fiddlehead Pullover from Kelbourne Woolens
Available on the Purl Bee, a sweet and classic baby pullover knitting pattern.

Here is a list of knitting abbreviations and instructions in common usage. Everyone seems to have a slight variation on the standard shorthand but this should cover most knitting abbreviations used in knitting stitches and patterns. Most of the abbreviations are pretty obvious, but some are a little less so.

Knitting needle sizes vary from country to country. Our knitting needle conversion chart below will help you decide which needle sizes to use for any pattern regardless of its origin. With designers in so many countries sharing patterns through blogs and Ravelry, it's important to be able to convert between knitting needle sizes.