Cabled long fingerless gloves free pattern

These lovelies are the Pretty Cabled Fingerless Gloves by Wei S. Long -- and this is also my very first knitting project with cables. Yippee! :-)

I used to be very intimidated at the thought of attempting cables, but Wei's pattern made learning the process quite easy. Using the magic loop technique, I worked the arm ribbing in size 7 needles, then switched to the size 5 needles where the cable rows begin in the wrist.

I really love this design. It is so elegant in its simplicity. I will definitely be making more of these.

Quick lacy slouch beanie free pattern

This is the Pacific Chunky Quick Lacy Slouch Hat designed by Shannon Dunbabin.

I didn’t have any bulky weight yarn in my stash, which was called for in the pattern, so I used two strands of  Caron Simply Soft held together.

I like the pattern overall, but I’m not particularly happy with the way my first attempt turned out. It just looks too loose to me. I think it will look much better if I make it again using a single strand of yarn, which I will try doing soon.

Lotus hat free pattern

I love the gorgeous texture of this pattern. It's the Lotus Hat by UptownPurl.

It requires a bit of skill for you to know how to knit while following a chart -- but that process isn’t too difficult if you take it slowly at first and use a stitch/row counter.

If you aren’t familiar with chart knitting, it may require some practice, so I would rate this pattern's difficulty at medium. (It may not be suitable for beginning knitters, although none of the stitches are difficult to work.) In spite of how the stitches appear to cross, there is no cabling involved here.

I hadn’t previously used the yo technique for lace knitting, but this tutorial by theshizknit was the best one I found to explain it. (Totally easy, by the way!)

I made this pattern with the one extra repeat of the chart to give the hat a bit of slouch. And although I made the blue one to donate, I loved the design so much that I had to make another one for myself in gray.

Hexagon dishcloth free pattern Tunisian crochet

This was my very first attempt to do the Tunisian crochet technique after finding a 5mm Tunisian hook tucked away among the many sets of needles in my mother’s old knitting bag.

I don’t recall ever having seen her use this long afghan hook, although my memory is full of scenes watching her use standard hooks to create large, beautiful afghans for her home and to give as gifts.

Nevertheless, I wanted to try out this newly discovered hook, and a dishcloth seemed like a useful item to make as a learning piece (that was also of a manageable scale to finish quickly and avoid possible discouragement!).

This Tunisian Short Row Dishcloth pattern by Khebhin Gibbons is easy to follow and a great project for beginning Tunisian crocheters like me.

Because I am notorious for not following directions (something about my stubborn streak), instead of whip-stitching the edges together after making the final wedge in the hexagon as instructed, I simply slip-stitched the final edge to the beginning edge.

This brought the unbroken working yarn back to the outside of the hexagon, where I then switched to a standard I hook and added a ruffle made of four rows of a graduated picot trim for a lacy effect.

Swirly spiral hat free pattern

This is a relatively easy, quick-to-make pattern that produces an elegant-looking hat that’s perfect to donate to patients going through chemotherapy: Divine Hat by Sarah Arnold. I made this one in just a few hours and plan to make many more to donate. Thank you, Sarah, for sharing your patterns for free! Hat projects usually make great stash-busters as well.

I love the swirl effect and deep texture.