Free Vintage Knitting Pattern: 1960s Chunky Cable Pullover

Keep warm during sweater season in this classy 1960s cable rib pullover. This raglan sleeve sweater would be perfect for chilly Autumn nights by a bonfire or staying warm on a lazy weekend during the winter.

This sweater is knit from the bottom up in pieces with raglan sleeves. It features a rolled turtleneck and a chunky cable rib stitch. There are three sizes with bust measurements of 32”, 34” and 36”.

The pattern calls for 1,400(1,400, 1,680) yrds of worsted weight yarn in 100% wool or 50% wool and 50% nylon.

If you’d like to size this pattern up or down, I highly recommend Tasha’s knit-along on her website By Gum By Golly. Or check out some other sweater knitting resources.

Specs

Publication date: Early 1960s
Publication name: Columbia Minerva
Gauge: 9 sts = 2" 6 rows = 1"
Sizes: 32", 34" and 36" bust

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Knitter's Life Printable Set + Freebie Yarn Swatch Card

My number one challenge right now is how to organize my knitting notes. About a year and a half ago I released my first knitting binder printable, I still love those printables, but I wanted something different. As I’ve gotten into bullet journaling, I tried to think of a way that I use some bullet journal style spreads into my knitting notebook. That’s how the Knit Life Printable Set was born.

Included are 11 pages set up like bullet journal spreads, complete with dot grid. The pages range from project pages to needle inventory logs to swatch cards. Hop over to my Etsy shop to see the full details. And keep your eyes peeled here because, in the early part of 2019, I'm going to do a video flip through of my knitting notebook to show you how exactly I use this printable set.

Speaking of swatch cards, I’m offering the swatch label card free today. These are perfect for keeping track of what needles and yarn you used for any given swatch. If you’re like me and never remember where you wrote down that information then these cards are for you. All you have to do is fill out the card, punch a hole in it and then tie to the swatch. No more random bits of paper floating around. I like to print them out on cardstock for stability.

Don’t forget to check out the whole Knit Life printable set available on my Etsy shop. And stay tuned to the blog, because in the early part of 2019, I’m going to do a flip through of my knitting notebook and you can see in detail how I used this printable set.

Fresh off the needles: Keia's Golden Gopher Sweater

There’s no real reason that such a simple sweater took so long to knit. Or any sweater really. But what are you going to do? It did, in fact, take over seven months to knit. I got it done just in time for my sister, Keia to wear on our visit to my mom’s hometown last weekend.

Yarn chicken again? Girl, what is wrong with you?

I know right? This is the second time I’ve done this on a sweater I knit for Keia. I don’t know what it is that makes me under-estimate the amount of yarn I need for her sweaters. In my semi-defense, I wouldn’t have had to worry about it at all had I stuck to the original plan and just knit a plain stockinette stitch sweater. Either way, I did have more than enough yarn which makes my yarn chicken record 2-0.

I guess I’m a liar

Ha ha. Remember in my last sweater post when I swore that my next sweater was going to be knit using an actual pattern? Yeah, well, I lied. I turned to my trusty whatever that book is called once again. I used the drop shoulder sized in the adult 36 chest. As I mentioned earlier, I was planning on knitting another stockinette stitch sweater but veered off course when I was browsing through my vintage booklets and found a sweater with a broken rib stitch. I liked the look of it and decided to use it for this sweater. And I am quite happy with the results.

I’m not even going to end this post saying that the next sweater I knit will be from an actual pattern because the next sweater I knit is going to be my annual Christmas sweater and I never knit those from patterns. But I will say this, I will make it my 2019 goal to knit at least one sweater from an already written pattern. How’s that?

If you want to watch me follow through on that promise, or you want to see updates on my Christmas sweater, follow me on Tumblr, and, Instagram.

Fresh off the needles: My First Mittens

Who knew a pair of mittens could make me so happy. I don’t know what it is but they just make me so inexplicably happy. On a whim, I cast these on one Friday afternoon and had them finished on Sunday morning. So, it might be the “instant” gratification that makes me so happy. Or it’s just that the yarn reminds me of a carnival. Who knows.

The Yarn

It’s not something I would normally use. I’m always drawn towards the beautiful colors of variegated yarns, but usually never buy them, because knit up, they just don’t suit my taste. But when I saw this Dorothy colorway by Dyebolical Yarns I couldn’t resist. The colors are so pretty and vibrant. My favorite part is the little pops of purple that it has. I hadn’t noticed it in the skein, but every now and then the purple would come up and I’d get so happy. The only way I can describe it is with the dancing lady emoji. 💃

The Pattern

I used a Tin Can Knits pattern and you honestly can’t go wrong with Tin Can Knits patterns. The pattern is called The World's Simplist Mittens and they weren't lying. The was so clear and to the point. Plus, there's a blog post to go along with the pattern so if  I got stuck there was an easy way to find an explanation. I couldn’t have chosen a better pattern to follow for my first pair of mittens. Really, it’s not an exaggeration to say this will be the only mitten pattern I’ll ever need. It comes in five sizes (toddler to adult large) and four different yarn weights/gauges (fingering to chunky). So, unless I eventually decide I want a different stitch pattern on my mittens, I'm pretty much set with this pattern.

So, what’s the verdict? Will you knit another pair of mittens?

I will most definitely knit another pair of mittens. Next time though, I plan to make them convertible so I can have a little bit of freedom for my fingers. I hadn’t worn mittens since I was a kid and honestly didn’t even think about the fact that you can’t use your fingers. So, honestly, I’m not even sure how much wear they will actually get. Right now I’ve used them mostly for scraping off my windows in the morning and driving.

Once I get the convertible mitts down there’s going to be no stopping me. I hope everyone is ready for endless mittens because I’m already planning on making at least 100 more pairs.

Have you knit mittens before? Let me know in the comment section or connect with me on Instagram. I’d love to hear from you.

Free Vintage Knitting Pattern: 1940s Valentine's Day Pullover

This 1940s pullover’s all over heart pattern is perfectly kitschy without being over the top. Styled the right way it’s perfect for a night out with your honey but can also be dressed down for a cozy night at home watching your favorite romantic comedy.

The Heart Pullover is knit in pieces from the bottom up with set-in sleeves. It has an all-over pattern of stockinette hearts against a reverse stockinette background. There are three sizes with bust measurements of 29”, 31” and 33”.

The pattern calls for 284(284, 340) grams of fingering weight yarn in 100% wool.

If you’d like to size this pattern up or down, I highly recommend Tasha’s knit-along on her website By Gum By Golly. Or check out some other sweater knitting resources.

Specs

Publication date: 1946
Publication name: Handknits by Royal Society
Gauge: 7sts x 8 rows = 1in x 1in
Sizes: 29", 31" and 33" bust

Freebie: Gift List Planner Printable

It's that time of the year again, time to start thinking about Christmas gifts. I don't know about anyone else, but I can get a little overwhelmed when trying to figure out what to buy everyone. That's why I created this little printable to help me.

This one page printable is perfect for planning your holiday gift giving. With it, you can be sure that when we get a few days before Christmas you won't be scrambling to come up with ideas because you forgot someone. There's enough space to brainstorm five gift ideas for eight different people.

Tips:

• Place it in a central area in the house and people can jot down ideas for what they want
• Print two copies double sided if you need more room.
• Use one box as a brainstorm for the person, (what are their interests, have they mentioned things they want?) Then the box next to it can be used to jot down actual items you intend to buy them.
• If you want to be more environmentally friendly, download the GoodNotes App and fill it out digitally.

If you like this printable and find it useful, please consider buying me a coffee so I can continue to bring you guys free printables. For more information about what it means to buy me a coffee click here.

Fresh Off The Needles: Keia's Sweater

I have to admit, this sweater had me 10 different kinds of nervous. Not because the sweater itself was hard. It’s just a plain stockinette sweater. No, this was my first time knitting a sweater for someone who isn’t me.

I offered to make my sister, Keia, a sweater sometime last summer. I was a little worried before I even started the sweater. I felt like there were a hundred things that could go wrong. My anxiety only intensified, when it looked like it was coming out way too big. But when I finally seamed the shoulders together, and Keia tried it on, it turned out it fit perfectly. That’s one downside to knitting a sweater bottom up, you can’t try it on as you knit.

The only thing I would change is I would knit the sleeves much smaller. They're not terrible, but they'd look and probably feel a lot better if they were a smaller.

Before I even cast on, I knew I might not have enough yarn. Initially, I wasn't aware of how big she wanted the sweater to be. When she told me she wanted it closer to a men’s small than a women’s small, I started to worry. Luckily, for me, I was able to just barely knit this entire sweater with the 10 skeins that I had ordered. I did have to sacrifice a round on the collar though.

The Pattern

My original plan was to find a pattern for a full cabled sweater. But in the end, I decided to to go super simple so I could get the general feel of what Keia wanted from a sweater before I dove right in with a complicated sweater. I used the Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns by Ann Budd. It’s well documented that I love this book. It’s perfect for when I’m knitting just a plain stockinette sweater and need a launching off point.

Since Keia didn’t want a super fitted sweater, I had a lot of leeway. She likes her cozy clothes to be a men’s size small, so that’s what I aimed for. Since she didn’t have anything that had the fit she was looking for. I used the yarn craft council to find the right measurements. It was and always will be an invaluable resource for sizing.

I knit the entire body in the round until the armholes then knit the fronts and back separately. The whole thing was a breeze really because I opted to do a drop shoulder instead of a set in sleeve. Sometimes I feel like going the dropped shoulder route is cheating, but then I realize, “who the hell said knitting was supposed to be hard?” I need to remember this every time I start making knitting more difficult than it has to be.

The Yarn

The yarn I used is Knit Picks Swish Worsted in the Jade colorway. This yarn has quite a bit of negative feedback on Ravelry. But I've used it a few times and can't complain too much. I'm not going to pretend like it wears super well because it doesn’t. It gets pretty fuzzy pretty quickly. But I like the look of fuzzy sweaters, and the fuzz doesn't shed, so it doesn't bother me too much.

Even though I’m super happy and proud that I’m at this point where I can pretty much make up my own simple sweater patterns, I’m 100% ready to just sit back and let someone else worry about all the nitty gritty math details. I swear that the next sweater you see me knit is going to be someone else’s design.

To see what other sweaters I have planned for the year, follow me on Instagram.