Knitted Patterns

You can find lots of free knitted patterns online as well as from books available at Amazon and other retailers. The first thing you need to do when looking for knitting patterns is decide exactly which kind of project you would like to make. Once you have chosen something, such as scarves, you will then need to find a pattern that works well with the type of yarn you plan to use. There are so many types of yarn available, that you might even want to start by looking at things the other way around, and find your pattern first while saving yarn selection for just that pattern.

The thing is, you can't just knit just any pattern with every type of yarn. Some patterns will require smaller yarn, while others will do just fine with the chunkier stuff. You'll have to take care if you already have a wad of yarn in your basket that you would like to use in selecting a pattern for that particular yarn that will end up bringing out the individual characteristics of both the yarn and the pattern.

You are usually better off knowing exactly what you are going to knit before you begin searching for the yarn you're going to need to knit it with. Each pattern will have certain stitches and subtle nuances that will either require, or will work better with different weights of yarn. If you have been knitting for a long time, you will probably be able to know what combinations of patterns and yarn work best together. But for the beginner it's something you really need to keep in mind ahead of time.

Here is a neat striped scarf pattern using an 85% wool 15% mohair blend of 190 yards per 4 ounce skein in three colors. You will need one skein of each color and works best with size 10 needles as well as a I/9 crochet hook and a tapestry needle to weave in the ends. This pattern is 28 stitches=4 inches for gauge.

Begin by casting on 32 stitches and repeats these two rows:
Row 1 - knit first stitch through the back loop, knit 2, purl 2 across row until 3 stitches remain. Then knit 2, bring yarn to the front and slip the last stitch purlwise.
Row 2 - knit first stitch through back loop, purl 2, knit 2 across the row until 3 stitches remain, purl 2, bring yarn to the front and slip the last stitch purlwise.

Then simply repeat these row steps as follows:

Rows 1 through 20 - color 1
Rows 21 and 22 - color 3
Rows 23 and 24 - color 1
rows 25 and 26 - color 3
Rows 27 and 28 - color 1
Rows 29 and 30 - color 3
Cut both colors and join color 2
Rows 31 through 50 Color 2 - leave color 2 attached and join color 3
Rows 51 and 52 - color 3
Rows 53 and 54 - color 2
Rows 55 and 56 - color 3
Rows 57 and 58 - color 2
Rows 59 and 60 - color 3
Cut colors 2 and 3 and repeat pattern from row 1 through 60 five more times plus rows 1 through 50 to end. Bind off in pattern and weave loose ends.

To make the seven fringe groups on both short ends you will need 84 strands containing 28 of each color, with each strand 12 inches long. Separate strands into 14 groups of 6, each group having two strands of each color. Push the crochet hook into the scarf edge from back to front and fold one group of strands, holding the cut ends to make a loop. Hook this loop and pull halfway through the scarf edge. Keep the hook in the loop and pull the cut ends through the loop to form a knot and pull the ends to tighten. You can then trim the fringe ends to 5 inches.