The Joy of Small Knits

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I’ve said many, many times here that I don’t enjoy knitting socks. Well, most of finished objects this summer prove that I’m a liar. I knit four pairs of socks in four months. FOUR! I think that equals the number of pairs I’ve made total in 20 years of knitting. What really stuck out to me while knitting these socks is how much I enjoy small knitting projects. They finish fast, are super portable, and there are so many types to choose from.

Gift knitting season is nearing, and I’m starting to plan my approach. Small knits are a must for this, so thought I’d share my thought process with you as I get myself sorted.

1. Take a Trip Through My Stash

I have so many single skeins of beautiful yarn, which I rediscovered in the Great Stash Organization of 2020. Giving items knit with luxury yarn is extra special, for both the knitter and the giftee. There’s such joy in knitting with fancy yarn to make things for those you love.

I have at least four handmade gifts to make, and many more than four skeins of gift-worthy yarn.

Here’s what I came up with for the first four projects:

2. Match Up Yarn with Patterns

Usually I find a pattern I can’t live without and then buy yarn for it, so deciding on the yarn first was a fun exercise.

When matching up yarn with patterns, I started by deciding what types of projects I wanted to knit. I settled on a hat, a pair of slippers, a cowl, and a kerchief. Here they are:

I’ll use Vintage for the hat, Magnum for the slippers, Rios for the cowl, and Cotton Classic Light for the kerchief. I’ll have to order some beads—that’ll be fun! I haven’t worked with beads in forever.

3. Match Up Patterns with People

Four people, four patterns. Now who gets what? The hat and cowl are pretty interchangeable, but the slippers and kerchief are more specific. So, the cowl or hat will go to my mom or sister.

The slippers are up in the air—maybe my wife, or the friend on my list. I want to use up that Magnum that’s been in my stash forever, so this pick was more about the yarn than the giftee. But they’ll find a happy home come Christmas.

The kerchief is for my young friend who is a senior in high school. To me, this pattern seems young and hip, just like her.

I have a bunch of single skeins of worsted in my stash, so my brother and nephew might get hats, too. I’ll just do an easy ribbed hat pattern for each of them, maybe the Backroads Hat.

4. Start Knitting!

What to cast on first? I’m really into that hat, it feeds my love of cables. I may decide to switch to the Rios for this, though, because I want those cables to shine. I think the variegated Vintage would work great for the cowl, too. We’ll see.

So there you have it, a plan! I’m as shocked as you are about how organized I am around this. One of the silver linings to come out of 2020, at least for me, is how I can shut out the world and focus on one thing that gives me pleasure, and for today that’s knitting (or at least planning my knitting!).

What small knits are you planning for your holiday gifts?

Cheers,
Kathleen

Originally published 8/31/2020. Updated 10/26/2021.

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