Great Places to find FREE Knitting Patterns - Easy/Beginner level

I thought it might be helpful in some way if I shared links to free and easy/beginner level knitting patterns to help people find something to do during self-isolation.

The first is a pattern written by myself, which uses one ball of Aran weight yarn (medium thickness, knits up fast) and one pair of 5.5mm knitting needles.

Simple One Skein Snood Pattern

For Aran weight yarn

Sizes: One.

Finished snood circumference 56cm (22”), height 16.5cm (6.5”).

Skill level: Beginner.

Skills needed are cast on, knit and purl stitches, and cast off.

Tools needed:

1 x 50g skein of Folkestone Harbour Yarn Aran hand dyed yarn 50g/79m available from Fharbouryarn.etsy.com. Sample uses 'Shallows' colourway.

Pair of 5.5mm knitting needles.

Stitch marker.

Large needle for weaving in ends.

Abbreviations:

k knit. Number indicates amount of stitches to make.

P Purl. Number indicates amount of stitches to make.

rpt repeat

Pattern:

The following instructions create a simply textured chequerboard type pattern called 'Little Check Stitch'.

Cast on 25 stitches in the cast on method of your choice; long tail cast on, knitted cast on or double-twist loop cast on (probably the first cast on you were taught – the one using your thumb and forefinger) are all fine for this. Leave a tail of approx 50 cm (20”) to sew the two ends together to make the circular snood.

Row 1: K5, p5, k5, p5, k5

Row 2: P

Repeat last 2 rows twice more, then row 1 again.

Row 8: k5, p5, k5, p5, k5

Row 9: K

Repeat last 2 rows twice more, then row 8 again. You have now knitted 14 rows.

Repeat rows 1-14 8 more times.

Cast off using the method of your choice. Traditional, aka Standard or Chain bind off is fine for this.

Use the long tail you left at the start to sew together the two ends. Align the 2 ends and graft together, don't pull the stitches too tight, leave them with a little 'give' or elasticity to match the elasticity of the knitted fabric.

This and other free patterns written by me can be found here on Ravelry.com.

Ravelry

Ravelry is a great pattern source for knitters, and it is free to join. I think most patterns can be downloaded without having an account, but its a great way to keep all your patterns in one place (in your 'library') and share photos of your finished projects with other knitters.

Super Chunky yarn - this is a great super thick yarn which knits up really easily and is great if you haven't picked up a pair of needles in a while, as the super-big stitches are easy to see.

The Blank Canvas Hat Pattern by Tara Ariel is a super cute pom pom beanie which uses one 100g skein of super chunky yarn and uses 6.5mm and 8mm circular needles or double pointed needles.

Chunky Yarn - another thick yarn, not as bulky as super chunky, but knits up fast and has great stitch definition.

Lil Kitty Beanie by Prem Knits this is a funky take on the Feminist favourite 'Pussy' hat, and allows for different sizes plus customisation with cute whiskers and/or tassels/pompoms. Uses one 100g skein (or 2 50g balls) of chunky yarn and 6.5mm and 8mm circular needles or double pointed needles.

LoveCrafts

Lovecrafts is one of the bigger online yarn retailers, and has over 8,000 free patterns. It also sells yarn and needles and has a very easy to navigate website. Obviously i'd love you to shop small &  independent, but for a beginner hand dyed art yarns might seem a bit daunting, and you may as well take advantage of the free patterns LoveCrafts offer. I have picked out patterns written by Independent Designers.

Yip-Yip's by Carissa Browning. These use 300g of  Super Chunky yarn, 6.5mm circular needles plus ping pong balls and pipe cleaners. They are great storage for a kids room (or for big kids like me!) and they're clever and funny. Have fun making them!

Double Knit (DK) Yarn - the most popular yarn 'weight' in the world. Knits up fast and very versatile for designers.

Tin Can Knits is one of my favourite Indie Designers, I have bought and made several of her sweaters over the years, but these 'The Worlds Simplest Mittens' are a fantastic free download. They come in child to adult sizes and use 100g of DK (Double Knit) yarn and 3.25mm & 3.75mm double pointed needles. They are simple but probably not best as a first ever project as they involve knitting in the round on small double pointed needles. 

Laughing Hens

Laughing Hens are a smaller sized family run retailer but still have great free patterns from top designers, including crafting "God" Kaffe Fassett!

This is Rings of Rings by Manos del Uruguay, a non-profit company based in Uruguay, employing local artisans to hand dye locally sourced high quality fibres.

This pattern recommends luxury silk blend yarn, but in reality could be knitted with any 4ply/sock weight yarn in the right quantities. It used 100g of the main colour and 5 mini skeins in contrast colours, plus one set of 3.75mm circular needles. Changing colours is simple when you are using just one stitch, and could be just the thing to add a bit of interest to your crafting. 

I will add more free designs to this blog as and when the mood takes me, but these are some pretty good places to start!

Happy Knitting, and stay safe during this worrying time. XX S