One sunny, 70-degree winter morning in California, I found two skeins of fluffy, ice-blue Misti Alpaca Chunky in the 50% off sale bin of a local yarn store and knew they had to come home with me. I have a sentimental attachment to Misti Alpaca Chunky, the yarn that first really got me into knitting; so soft, the sheer pleasure of working with i...

“your slightest look easily will unclose me

Originally published as part of the Knitcircus Issue #12 Winter 2010-2011 Pattern Collection ($7.99). It is no longer available from this source, but has been reformatted/rephotographed and can be purchased here directly from Ravelry.

(Part of a set with the Here Comes the Sun beret.) This reversible scarf pattern, based on Barbara Walker’s Flame Rib pattern, uses increases and decreases to form a gently undulating shape; knit up with two skeins of Malabrigo Twist, it’s wide and somewhat short, a good length to wrap around the neck once and tuck into a coat. I prefer it with...

From pattern description: “This slouchy ribbed beret, with its brilliant orange-yellow color and swirling star pattern on the top, is the most sunny, cheerful piece of clothing I own—just the thing to chase away the winter doldrums or usher in the return of spring. It takes less than one skein of Malabrigo Twist, and with just knits, purls, inc...

So you have a couple of skeins of Noro Kureyon and you want to make a striped hat.

So you have a couple of coordinating skeins of Noro and you feel like making a nice, quick striped cowl.

So you feel like making a nice Noro striped scarf.

From pattern blurb:

A simple lace sock for beginners, with the pattern both charted and written out. The lace pattern is a modified version of a mostly-stockinette wave pattern from The Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns, expanded to work with the desired stitch count, and mirrored for one foot so the waves flow in opposite directions on the two feet. The sock i...

From the pattern description:

This scarf looks intricate, but in fact, it’s an easy knit, completely suitable for beginners; about 2/3rds of it is plain garter stitch, with just a little bit of interesting complication every so often. It’s knit lengthwise, making it a great stashbusting pattern—just stripe in your scraps as you go along to create vertical stripes softened b...

This scarf pattern includes several different variations, all completely reversible:

It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that my boyfriend Rahul didn’t want a hat with cables and Fair Isle and fanciness. All he wanted, it turns out, was a Very Plain Hat. He’s rejected various hats I’ve made—Koolhaas, Shedir, a black cabled hat with earflaps, a hilarious balaclava-style hat with attached beard and mustache—by a...

Winner of the Malabrigo March 2008 “Best Original Design” contest!

Inspired by/modified from Knitting Kninja’s Dapper Herringbone Scarf, this scarf was designed to show off handpainted or variegated yarns, breaking up random mixtures of hues into strong, slanting rays of color.

Named as a tribute to my neon 1980s Lisa Frank Trapper Keepers, this scarf is a nice way to use up two skeins of Noro Kureyon or any other self-striping yarn (suggestions for alternate yarns in the pattern notes.) It’s a very easy pattern--garter stitch, knit on the bias.

I whipped up this little neckwarmer for my friend Charlie’s birthday, in a “three days, three birthday gifts” crafting frenzy, Giftblitz ‘07. Because of the time constraints, I needed patterns that would work up super-quickly, without requiring a lot of swatching and futzing. I improvised this one, and it came out well; it’s nothing original, b...