Sweaters for Dogs

Dogs in sweaters? What could be better! Do dogs benefit from wearing coats and sweaters? Sure! Some dogs even like the comfort of wearing a sweater indoors as well as outdoors.

There’s a lot to consider when taking your dog out for a walk on a cold day. We want our dogs to get outside to play, get exercise, meet up with pals, and do some exploring. But how do you determine how long you can safely stay outside in the wintertime, and is there anything you can do to help your dog stay warm and comfy?

Dogs react differently to dropping temperatures depending on their breed, size, length of hair, and age. Dogs that have been bred and thrive in cold Northern climes (like Siberian Huskies, Newfoundlands, and Samoyeds, with their thick, double-layered coats) will be able to better tolerate cold compared with breeds that have exceptionally thin coats, like Greyhounds and Xoloitzcuintli.

When considering your dog's tolerance for cold, you’ve also got to factor in the age of your dog, the size of your dog, body fat, and conditioning. Young and old dogs are more susceptible to the cold, and smaller breeds are prone to lose body heat faster than larger breeds.

On top of that, you’ve got to consider the type of cold that your dog will be facing - depending on the wind factor, whether it’s damp, snowing, or raining, and whether your dog will be active on your outing.

For a round-up of how to take care of your dog as the temperature drops, check out the online article How Cold is Too Cold for Your Dog? by Jennifer Coates, DVM.

The bottom line, according to Dr. Coates? 

"In general, cold temperatures should not become a problem for most dogs until they fall below 45°F, at which point some cold-averse dogs might begin to feel uncomfortable. When temperatures fall below 32°F, owners of small breed dogs, dogs with thin coats, and/or very young, old, or sick dogs should pay close attention to their pet’s well-being. Once temperatures drop under 20°F, all owners need to be aware that their dogs could potentially develop cold-associated health problems like hypothermia and frostbite.

The best way to monitor dogs when it’s cold is to keep a close eye on their behavior. If you notice your dog shivering, acting anxious, whining, slowing down, searching out warm locations, or holding up one or more paws, it’s time to head inside.” Jennifer Coates, DVM ​

Photo via Aardman Studios

Wooly Comfort and Joy

The fun part of keeping your dog warm during the chilly months? You can help your four-footed friend stay warm and unabashedly fashionable in a hand-knit sweater, designed by dog-loving knitters.

Below are some knit and crochet patterns for dog sweaters for various sizes and breeds – from large long-haired dogs to small, large-necked pugs. Most patterns are sized for Small, Medium, Large, and Extra Large, so don’t assume that a pattern for a large dog can’t be sized down, and vice versa. Some patterns are also for XS and Petite sizes.

You can knit your dog a super-comfy warm sweater in colors and patterns you can’t buy in a pet store. It’s your chance to knit a bright orange sweater for your small dog so you can quickly spot him in the dog run park!

It’s easy to picture a Golden Labrador donning a distinguished cable knit sweater, a Scottish Terrier rocking a hooded sweater, and a Beagle in a dashing multicolored striped sweater.

The patterns are offered for free from various sites – just click on the curated links below. Some links take you directly to the pattern page. Others take you to a page where you’ll need to sign up for an account before being able to download the pattern for free. But afterwards, you’ll be on your way to making something for your dog pal that’s both fashionable and practical!

If you have more than one pooch, will you make them matching sweaters? Or, will you knit a sweater to match one of your own?

Either way, your dog will thank you. Wishing you many happy winter walks beside your pal...

Jonah Larson's Ethiopian Project Fundraiser

Like a true artist, Jonah says: “I see something in my head before I make it.” His flower afghan, made up of 800 individual flowers, is stunningly gorgeous. Jonah’s speedy skills are impressive. But even more impressive are the patience and care required to take on and complete vastly different-shaped projects at such a young age. Jonah's got the skills of a young artist and mathematician. 

Here’s a video about Jonah from 60 Second Docs: 

Jonah’s crocheting skills have garnered him an income through orders placed through his Instagram account, Jonah’s Hands. Jonah has put his sales income back into yarn for crocheting, into savings, and towards helping families in Ethiopia.

He has sent items he's made to the Ethiopian orphanage where he was adopted from.  And, with the help of his mother, Jenn Larson, he's got a new project that will get off the ground with the help of Roots Ethiopia. Roots Ethiopia helps families by providing much-needed school supplies and by supporting small businesses.

Jonah's project, ‘Help Expand Jonah’s Hands to Ethiopia,’ is looking to raise $15,000 through gofundme.

Gorgeous Knitted Baby Booties Patterns

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How to Darn Holes in Sweaters and Socks

When my younger son asked me to repair his favorite sweaters recently, I had two reactions. I was really proud of him that his mindset was to repair rather than replace (and yes, it would be great if he learned to darn and make his own repairs). And, I realized it had been a while since I’d done any darning repair work. So, I did some research to refresh my memory.

I learned to darn from my thrifty grandmother, who was a deft hand at mending wool sweaters, jackets, and the ribbed knitting on collars, cuffs, and hems.

She would carefully make a blanket stitch around the inner circle of the hole being repaired, and then create a woven patch to fill in the hole. She used a darning egg, darning needle, and an embroidery thread that closely matched the item’s color. Sometimes, she was able to retrieve a piece of wool from her stash and use the leftover yarn from a sweater she’d knitted. (This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases - at no extra cost to you.)

In darning, it’s important to stabilize the unraveling, damaged area first. Then, you can take the time to shrink the hole and add stitches, or create a woven patch.

You can use a color that’s a perfect match, as close a match as possible, or not a match at all. You can try and make your repair as invisible as possible, or go in the opposite direction and create a patchworked look using contrasting colors. The style is yours to choose! Hide your stitching or showcase it - whichever 'look' makes you happy.

If you don't have knitting yarn, you can use embroidery/needlepoint thread. You’ll want to get a close and workable thickness of the yarn you’re replacing, so you’ll need to determine how many threads is equivalent to the diameter of the yarn.

Knitty has clear photos of mending projects in different stages. They also outline good tips and tricks for dealing with holes in knitted garments. 

   · Don't miss: How to Knit for the basics, and Knitting Videos for beginner to advanced knitting videos.

Below are 4 great instructional videos about mending knitted items from VeryPink Knits, River City Yarns, KNITFreedom, and Professor Pincushion.

Blog post screen grab via River City Yarns video.

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Extreme Knitting with Jacqui Fink

Jacqui Fink is an extreme knitter. She works with large scale needles and merino wool from her home country, Australia. Her super-sized stitches can become the extreme knitting she’s known for - large scale textiles, installations, and wall hangings.

She began working on large scale projects using wool that’s unspun, called Merino Tops - or roving (the type of wool used in needle felting). But roving is fragile, and not durable.

To create projects that have a lasting durability similar to regular knitting yarn, Jacqui found a mill that helped her develop a process of twisting and felting roving wool. Her resulting large-scale yarn can be worked like regular wool yarn.

Since switching from roving to working with her company’s felted K1S1 yarn, she’s created textile art projects for interior and exterior site-specific pieces, using hand knitting and knotting techniques. Jacqui’s K1S1 opens up possibilities for textile artists, knitters, designers, and crafters to take quantum leaps in what can be crafted from wool.

    · Don't miss: Our list of 25 Best Selling Knitting Books.

Watch Jacqui’s videos below for casting on and getting started, dealing with the weight and bulk of large yarn, and finishing off a project. Then, for clarity, watch Wool and the Gang’s regular-sized yarn tutorials for casting off and knitting a garter stitch (at the bottom of this page).

·You might like our blog posts: How to Knit, Yarn and Knitting Basics, and Knitting Videos.

Feeling inspired by Jacqui's work? Check out her commissioned pieces on her website’s Gallery page.  You can find her yarn for sale at Little Dandelion, and explore more videos and projects on her Online Tutorial page.

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Kaffe Fassett's Design Process

If you want to work with a bolder and denser palette in your projects, Kaffe Fassett is a designer to study.

Kaffe loves working with complex combinations of colors and patterns. He began as a painter, but found a more engaging outlet for his creative drive in coming up with projects for textiles – quilting, knitting, and needlepoint.

In the video below, Kaffe talks about his process for creating knitting patterns. He shares the story of learning to knit after a chance encounter on a train, and how he uses inspiration from tartans, Fair Isle patterns, and carpets to come up with designs that are chock full of intricate color combinations and repeating patterns. 

Kaffe has a vision that combines a Californian’s appreciation of intense light and color with a British regard for pattern and texture.

   · Don't miss: Our blog posts How to Knit, How to Knit Like the Vikings, and How to Sew a Simple Quilt.

In another video, below, Design Indaba showcases Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Mably, who describe their process of coming up with color palettes for knitting and quilting projects, emphasizing that they like to inspire others with their work. 

“It’s one thing working with your hands but color is psychological…when you break it down into units it’s very small, and simple structures, and once you learn the basic techniques you can fly.”

   · Kaffe Fassett's inspiring books can be found here.

Head over to Kaffee's website to watch more videos about his work and process.

The Brooklyn Refinery is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

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Yarn Bombing Sisters

Sisters Lorna and Jill Watt work together to make knitted and crocheted yarn bombing projects in the San Francisco Bay area, where they create commissioned installations and guerrilla-style public art.

Below are two videos which follow the sisters in their planning, knitting, execution, and installation of several projects.

To keep up with Lorna and Jill, follow them on Instagram, and check out their website for tutorials and to see photos of commissions and recent projects.

For even more, head over to their Etsy and Ravelry stores, where you can find their self-published downloadable knitting and crochet patterns. See what new projects they're sharing via their New Crochet Pattern and Yarn-Bomb-Along page.

 · Don't miss: watch London Kaye yarn bomb a New York City subway car, and learn to knit with Knitting Basics, Knitting Videos, and 12 Advanced Knitting Techniques. 

Below are some books on yarn bombing, craftivism, and extreme knitting projects. The Brooklyn Refinery is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

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Great Big Story's video The Man Making Socks for Canada’s Homeless features Bob Rutherford, a retired farm mechanics instructor who was looking to put his skills to good use. Bob had used his ingenuity and DIY attitude when accepting a tough challenge from a friend: build a sock knitting machine by hand, from scratch. He took on the challenge and built two machines, which could knit an impressive 90 stitches per second.

After the loss of his wife, Bob was thinking about the next chapter in his life, and looking for something to do. His son, Scot, helped him figure out a project that made a lot of sense: start using his tube sock machines to make socks for folks in need.

His handmade machines turned into the basis for a project to supply socks to those in need in Western Canadian provinces, distributed through community centers and outreach programs.

        · Don't miss: check out Charitable Crafters for ideas and links to charitable groups.

You might like:  American Crafts, How to Knit - For Beginners, Yarn and Knitting Basics, and Knitting Videos.

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In the wonderful video by animalnewyork (below) we get to watch crochet artist London Kaye yarn-bomb a NYC subway car as commuters get on and off the train.

On Valentine's Day in 2014, London boarded a NYC L train, which connects Brooklyn to Manhattan, running under the East River and along 14th Street.

With the backdrop and bustle of the subway car as her inspiration, London gets out her yarn and hook, and proceeds to wrap the poles in Valentine-themed colors as New Yorkers look on.

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Scandinavians developed a technique for making fabric that pre-dates knitting. The technique involves taking short pieces of yarn left over from weaving, and crafting them into smallish items like mittens, hats, socks, nets, sieves, and bags. The technique they used to make these items is called nalbinding.

Nalbinding items are made with a single needle, using short pieces of yarn which are pulled through previous stitches, creating dense and warm items which don't unravel the way knitted items do.

Nalbinding spread from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean. Outside of Scandinavia, nalbinding became a lost art once knitting was introduced. In Scandinavia, nalbinding has continued uninterrupted as a craft up to the present.

In the the video Good and Basic (below) we can see nalbinding up close, and how some stitches are made.

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12 Advanced Knitting Techniques from Jen and Jim Arnall-Culliford

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Bilum

A Brilliant Designer

Nowadays, those who can afford some store bought string or yarn will opt for the brightly colored alternative to the reeds, which have to be harvested and prepared for use.

Like any market bag, bilums can vary by patterns, colors, handle length, materials used, and size.

A Radical Idea

A Dream Come True

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If you're a beginning knitter, you can learn through our guides and curated videos in How to Knit, Yarn and Knitting Basics, and Knitting Videos. Advanced knitters can learn complicated stitches by starting at 12 Advanced Knitting Techniques.

You can see what's popular and trending in knitting techniques and styles in our list of 25 Best Selling Knitting Books. And, for quick links to knitting how-to's and articles about other crafts, visit our Crafting Resources page.

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Yarn Theory: This is Your Brain on Wool

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How to Knit Like the Vikings

Made for ultimate warmth and durability.

Mummy's socks/Mammas sockor by Ulrika Andersson

Head over to our Pinterest board on nalbinding for more photos, links, and project inspiration. And check out some Nalbinding books by clicking on the images below, or head over to Amazon's Nalbinding page to see their Nalbinding books and needles. [As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases - at no extra cost to you.]

Nalbinding Books and Supplies

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Giving Back: Sewing, Knitting, and Crocheting for Charities

Below are some Charitable Organizations that look for sewers, knitters, and crocheters for their giving programs. Some of the programs have specific needs, and they’ll supply you with directions and free patterns.

Some have specific time frames for delivering the handmade items to their offices. So, be sure to check charitable websites for any particular instructions.

All will want you to use clean yarn from a smoke-free environment.

If you’ve got some spare time for making something to donate, I hope you find an organization and cause that matches the time and effort you can put in.

You might make new friends along the way!

You can read about the social platform for knitters, or you can head straight over to Ravelry and search for a group to join. Or, perhaps you'd like to start your own by reaching out to knitters in your locale.

If you're in the UK, you can search for a group near you on the UK Hand Knitting site.

If you'd like to put some time and effort into charitable craftivism, check out sewmamasew's curated list of charitable programs, Mental Floss's list, and visit the website links below to find a good fit for how you'd like to help out. 

List of suggested charities

1 Million Pillowcase Challenge lists charities to contact to see if they need pillowcases for their organizations. All People Quilt offers free pillowcase patterns for this challenge. Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page for access to all the .pdf pillowcase patterns.

afghans for Afghans  "...is a humanitarian and educational people-to-people project that sends hand-knit and crocheted blankets and sweaters, vests, hats, mittens, and socks to the beleaguered people of Afghanistan. This grassroots effort is inspired by Red Cross volunteers who made afghans, socks, slippers, and other items for soldiers and refugees during World Wars I and II and other times of crisis and need. Read about the Red Cross knitting tradition.”

Binky Patrol "...is an all-volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to making blankets and giving them away to children who are ill abused in shelters, hospitals, and experiencing any type of trauma. Blankets can be sewn, quilted, crocheted, knitted, or tied." 

Bundles of Love Charity  "...partners with community service agencies to assist Minnesota families in need by providing handmade baby clothing, bedding and basic care items for their newborns. Our vision is to gather communities to support a parent and newborn. We offer peace of mind for families and provide important, essential and practical supplies to show that someone cares.”

Care Wear "...is a nationwide group of volunteers who knit, crochet, and/or sew, providing handmade baby items directly to hospitals. All Care Wear items are distributed by hospital staff (free) to infants, children and their parents.”

Dressed in Hope "...is a charity whose goal is to help impoverished girls around the world. We recognize the critical need that must be met in order for these girls—not only to survive—but to thrive as well. By sewing and delivering simple, hand-made dresses and small "pocket dolls" to these deserving girls, we send the message that all girls are worthy of love and respect.

Hats 4 the Homeless “...distributes knitted goods to the homeless population in New York City every winter. You don’t have to be in NYC to donate; they have an address where you can mail your goods. It’s not just hats, either — they’ll also take scarves, socks, and gloves.”

Knitting 4 Peace – Women 4 Women “The tangible items we create are personally delivered to women, teens, children, infants, and families in global areas of conflict, including our own neighborhoods and countries around the world.”

Knots of Love “Our mission at Knots of Love is to warm the hearts and heads of those experiencing traumatic hair loss. Our volunteers lovingly hand-knit and crochet caps for those struggling with treatment-induced hair loss and tiny Neonatal blankets for fragile new lives in incubators. Knots of Love caps and blankets server as a constant reminder to the patient and their loved ones that they are not alone. All Knots of Love handmade creations are distributed free of charge to hospitals and treatment centers throughout the country -- and most importantly at no cost to the patient receiving the caps.”

Milk Bags Unlimited (Canada) “The milk bag mats offer people without beds, an invaluable, durable and washable alternative to sleeping on the often cold and damp ground. Not only can these milk-bag mats provide comfort as a bedding alternative, but have been used by health-care professionals as a make-ready substitute for an operating bed/table where resources are scarce. It takes approximately 400 milk bags to make an adult sized mat. For quite some time, all across Canada, a community of volunteers, schools, churches and businesses have been collecting milk bags. The milk bags used are the ones that hold the three smaller bags of milk. The bags are cut into strips, tied together, and then woven or crocheted into mats.”

Mother Bear Project "...is dedicated to providing comfort and hope to children affected by HIV/AIDS in emerging nations, by giving them a gift of love in the form of a hand-knit or crocheted bear. The simple gift of a hand-knit bear with a tag signed by the knitter has touched children with the message that they are unconditionally loved.”

Project Linus  “...Provide(s) love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer “blanketeers.”

Quilts of Valor  "cover(s) service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor.”

Red Scarf Project “Foster Care to Success helps young adults who have aged out of the government support system. FCS helps to support approximately 5,000 young people every year with various programs – scholarships for college, care packages, academic and personal mentoring, and help with readiness skills for internships and employment. They receive financial support, career coaching, and care packages. Each year, The Red Scarf Project sends Valentine’s Day care packages to foster students in need of encouragement as they graduate from high school and move on to college. Nothing shows someone you care like a handmade item, even if that someone is a stranger. See the red scarf guidelines and start knitting or crocheting a scarf for the next cycle of care packages, then browse Craftsy’s knitted neckwear and crocheted neckwear patterns to find one you’d like to make.”

Snuggles Project "...is well-known as a multi-beneficial project. The first, and most important, benefit is to the animals. After being given a Snuggle, a frightened and/or difficult to handle animal is able to become calm. This calming effect gives the animal and the caregiver time to learn how to handle the situation. We believe that this calming effect has saved the lives of many newly-sheltered animals. The Snuggles Project remains a very popular program of Hugs Society (formerly Hugs for Homeless Animals). Its popularity is worldwide. People from all around the world make Snuggles and donate them to their local animal shelters and rescues. Since its inception we have provided more than a million Snuggles to shelter animals around the world. And that number continues to grow.”

Teddies for Tragedies “When tragedy strikes somewhere in the world, the first members of society to suffer are the children. Teddies for Tragedies works to alleviate some of the stress that prevails when these catastrophes occur. The simple gift of a hand-knitted teddy bear sends these children the message that someone in the world cares for them and that they are loved. You can help. Volunteers are the essential ingredient of Teddies for Tragedies. Follow our patterns to crochet or knit a bear or bears, and then send them to us. If you can’t crochet or knit, sew a bag or bags for the bears, or help us with donations of yarn and stuffing.”

The Dulaan Project “Dulaan is the Mongolian word for warm. This project seeks to inspire the generous spirit of the knitting community to help meet the needs of Mongolia’s impoverished people. Mongolia’s winter is extreme. It rarely gets above freezing temperatures on winter days, and can often plunge to -40°F at night. The capital city, Ulaanbaatar, is the coldest capital in the world. Warm, well-made clothing can allow a child to go to school or an adult to go to work; restore a sense of dignity; and, in some cases, literally save a life. This project was started in 2005 at the height of FIRE’s aid distribution project.  

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Digitized Knitting Magazines

All this brings us to a wonderful corner of the Internet Archive which is stuffed full of digitized magazines (over 34,000 of them) called The Magazine Rack. In the rack, you can virtually open magazines that date back to 1800. (Please note: some of the magazines are NSFW!)

Below is a screenshot of some choices you'll see when you sort for knitting magazines:

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From Old to New Again

But when clothes finally lose their oomph – their youthful elasticity - and are beyond repair, then we can repurpose them. We can turn them into patches for pants, fabric for quilts, or even yarn to be knitted, crocheted, or woven into a rug.

You loved your clothes for their color or pattern, or because they reminded you of a time and place. So, why not give them another life in another form?

I’ve sourced fabric from all but one of these:

• From around our house
• From friends and family
• Thrift stores
• Church sales
• Auctions
• Swap meets
• Craigslist
• Local offer-ups
• Curb alerts
• Online auctions
• Library sales
• Estate sales
• Flea markets
• Police auctions

Okay, not police auctions. I was just kidding about that one.

Church sales, flea markets, auctions, and thrift stores are American as apple pie. Our thrifty ancestors took old wool blankets and turned them into hooked rugs, and turned old shirts and sheets into quilts and rag rugs.

A DIY Mindset in Action

While recycling and repurposing aren’t uniquely American, it seems like hunting down bargains and, at the same time, keeping items from going to the incinerator is a pastime that many of us are passionate about.

Below is a video about a thrifty knitter who sources for yarn at thrift stores—but he’s looking for sweaters, not balls of yarn. I don't think anyone would be able to tell that the sweaters he knits started out as sweaters picked up for pennies on the dollar. Watch the video and see if you agree with me!

BOOKS

Below are some books about repurposing wool and cotton into new projects. Click through to see the books on Amazon. [As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you).]

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Thrifty Sourcing

Here in the US, we have many choices for finding items that are between homes. We can go searching at church sales, garage sales, neighborhood block sales, rummage sales, stoop sales, yard sales, swap meets, thrift stores, consignment stores, Goodwill bin stores, and Buy-the-Bag stores.

We can also find items through Craigslist, social media, online forums, auctions, storage auctions, online auctions (Ebay, Goodwill, Police), pawn shops, discount stores, 99 Cent stores, antique markets, friends, neighbors, and family members.

Phew! That’s a lot of places to look!

If you head to a thrift store you can be pretty sure you'll find some wool and cotton items you can use to craft into something new. Sometimes you can even find brand new items, deeply discounted. You just never know what you may come across.

If I want to go straight to a place where I’m sure to source some affordable cotton for a project, I head to my local Goodwill Bin store and pay $1.79 per pound for clothes and fabric.

Once I spot a color or pattern I like, I check to see if the item is 100% cotton, and in good shape. If I’m in luck, I can find enough good cotton to make a quilt top for under $10. 

How to Upcycle Items  

WOOL

Knitted items can be reused by either shrinking them or unraveling them. Purposefully shrinking knitted items creates a dense, matted fabric. To create this repurposed knitting, follow the instructions in How to Felt a Wool Sweater. The felted wool is a wonderful material for making blankets and mittens.

Sweaters and other knitted or crocheted items can be unraveled. The yarn from the unraveled item can be unkinked, and wound into skeins. The yarn can then be reused to make new knitted and crocheted items.

Read about a knitter who shops for his yarn at thrift stores. And get directions for preparing yarn for reuse.

Woven wool blankets and fabric can also be used to make patchworked quilts and hooked rugs.

COTTON

Cotton shirts, dresses, blouses, t-shirts and skirts can be repurposed into quilts and rag rugs. 

If you're planning on upcycling fabric to make a quilt, simply wash, dry, and cut away any unusable areas of all your sourced pieces to prepare them for repurposing. You can follow instructions for making a quilt here.

If your intended project requires you to use a long, continuous type of fabric (like rag rugs), you'll need to create a yarn. 

You can make repurposed fabric yarn out of cottons of all types, including denim. T-shirts can be cut and joined together to make a soft, stretchy yarn that will feel cozy underfoot as a rag rug. 

You'll need to turn your sourced sweaters or fabric into continuous strips. For making rag rugs, you can cut strips of fabric into long lengths, and connect them by stitching or knotting

Below you'll see how to turn sweaters, denim, t-shirts, and plastic bags into yarn.

Turning Sweaters into Yarn

If you’re looking to knit using a certain color or a certain type of yarn, check out your favorite thrift or consignment store and look for a sweater that you can take apart.

If you’ve got an old knitted sweater that you’re about to toss, you might want to take the time to turn it into a skein of yarn that you can use on a project.

Below are videos of a a knitter (beckylee620) who explains in great detail which sweaters can be unraveled and turned into skeins of yarn.

Turning Plastic Bags Into Yarn

PLARN is yarn made from plastic bags, which is great for making items like strong, reusable shopping bags, and sleeping mats that are resistant to bugs. Instructions for making PLARN can be found on Plastic Bag Craft’s site. To the right of the instructions you'll find several links to plarn projects under Recent Posts.

Other posts you might like: How to Make a Plarn Bag, DIY Mindset, 5 Ways to Repurpose T-Shirts, and How to Make a Rag Rug.

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A Great Place to Start

Here are 4 videos from Sheep & Stitch that walk you through the first steps you need to learn for getting started knitting:

Here are some quick links to Sirdar's website:

The Basics

• HOW TO CAST ON
• HOW TO KNIT
• HOW TO PURL
• HOW TO CAST OFF

Shaping

• HOW TO DECREASE
• HOW TO INCREASE A STITCH KNITWAYS
• HOW TO INCREASE A STITCH PURLWAYS

Helpful Tips

• HOW TO JOIN IN A NEW BALL OF YARN OR CHANGE COLOUR
• UK & US CROCHET TERMS
• HOW TO PLACE COLOURED MARKER THREADS

Sewing Up

• HOW TO SEW KNITTED PIECES TOGETHER
• HOW TO JOIN VERTICAL SEAMS
• HOW TO SEW IN ENDS

Finishing

• HOW TO MAKE A BUTTON LOOP
• HOW TO MAKE A POMPOM
• HOW TO MAKE A TWISTED CORD
• HOW TO MAKE A 3 STRAND PLAIT

Starting Out Simply

Now that you’ve got a general understanding and some terms under your belt, why not knit something really straightforward to get some practice?

Below are 4 projects by some of our favorite online knitting instructors (Sheep & Stitch, Very Pink Knits, Expression Fiber Arts, and Wool and the Gang) to get you thinking about tackling your first – simple - knitting project:

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35,000 Free Knitting and Crocheting Patterns

Finding Great Patterns

Below is a list of 22 websites offering free knitting and crocheting patterns. Some offer thousands of patterns. Some also offer additional patterns for sale.

Our list is ordered based on several factors. We prefer websites that are easily searchable, that offer some modern patterns, and that are mobile-friendly. We’re hoping you’ll find a good match and bookmark it. 

Whenever we could, we’ve provided links that go directly to the free pattern webpage rather than the home page, to save you some time.

Please beware that some patterns are formatted in inches and some are in cm, because some of these sites are from companies based in Europe.

A few of these sites are connected to fiber arts stores or yarn manufacturing companies. They offer free patterns, and links may lead to an online store patterns, yarn, tools, and kits. Some of the websites also have YouTube channels with tutorials.

Here's Our List

We hope you get inspired for your next project:

1. Vogue Knitting

Vogue Knitting, the fashion powerhouse, offers a collection of 290 free patterns that you can download as .pdfs. Sort by designer or yarn company at the top of the webpage.

Vogue Knitting has another page where you can use the left side sorting choices to narrow down your search based on knitting and crocheting project type, yarn weight, and skill level.

Be sure to check out Vogue's helpful instructions for making different knitting stitches, called Stitchionary, as well as their yarn store finder online app, which provides your search answer with both a list and a map.

2. Lion Brand

What pattern does Lion Brand – a yarn manufacturing company - not have? With over 7600 free knitting and crocheting patterns available for download, you’ll most likely be able to find whatever pattern you could think of from Lion Brand (including some whimsical patterns that you haven’t probably thought of, like Psy and Thai’s Kitty Cozy, Felted Siamese Cat, the Patriot Dog Sweater, Knit Grass Rug, and a Mermaid Tail Cocoon). 

There are also some patterns for sale, including several knit and crochet patterns of armlets, capes, and shawls based on Outlander: The Series.

You’ll have to create an account, but then you’ll be able to search their free patterns by skill level and project type. After you click on the name of the pattern you'd like to download, you'll be taken to a page where you can select the yellow "Free Download Pattern" rectangle to access a .pdf. There's no need to buy anything. The orange "Buy Now" button is for purchasing yarn for the project.

3. Ravelry

Ravelry.com * is free a social network platform for fiber art crafters: knitters, crocheters, spinners, and weavers. It functions as a place to organize and document projects, find free patterns, and purchase patterns from fellow Ravelryers. You can also join groups within Ravelry, search for local yarn stores, see projects that people have made, hang out online in a place of like-minded crafters from around the world, and find groups who meet up in real life.

It’s a resource of thousands of free patterns.

Once you sign up for a free account, you can keep an online notebook of your projects. Get organized and keep notes for future projects. Or, search friends’ stashes, join groups, and trade or sell physical copies of books. As part of the Ravelry community, you can add a pattern and offer it for free or for sale. You'll find a lot of wonderful, unique patterns for sale from other Revelryers inside the site.

When you find a pattern you like on Ravelry, you might want to think ahead to your next project, and check out the projects made by others who also made that pattern. Don’t forget to look at the forums for a group/s that might match your style.

4. Purl Soho

Purl Soho is a fabric arts store located in the Soho section of Manhattan. Besides being a brick and mortar store that sells yarn and knitting tools, fabric, and patterns, they offer over 600 free patterns for knitting, crocheting, sewing, embroidery, weaving, and crafting projects.

Their designs have a modern feel, both in pattern design and color choices.

Their patterns include sweaters, scarves, hats, mittens, toys, blankets, and throws. 

5. All Free Knitting

All Free Knitting offers free patterns which you can search by popularity, easiness for beginners, and type of project. It also lists quick links to specific projects that you can link to without sorting through a category.

6. Wool and the Gang

Wool and the Gang has 29 free patterns. These patterns pack a punch in their modern feel, including some chunky knit pieces, a Marley bucket hat, and a Medieval-inspired dress that looks like chain mail.

I’m a huge fan of their knitting tutorials – so I’m hoping you’ll check them out. You can find kits, wool, and links to their Woolschool here: Wool and the Gang.

7. Garn Studio

Drops Design at Garn Studio has free patterns for knitting and crocheting projects, in 17 different languages. If you’re looking for free Nordic pattern sweater designs for free, you’re in luck. They have 8,187 patterns which have been translated into English.  

To access their pattern library, you'll first have to choose your language in a drop-down menu in the middle of their landing page. If your language is English, you’ll have to choose between English US and English UK- which, of course, is all about inches versus centimeters. The English US page has 7,081 patterns; English UK has 8,190 patterns. Unfortunately, we can’t tell you how many of those patterns are repeats from US to UK, where the pattern lists both inches and centimeters.

They have an extensive variety of Nordic sweaters, socks, hats mittens, and dog sweaters.

8. Love Knitting

Love Knitting has over 9,400 free knitting patterns and 104 free crochet patterns available for download.

This site has especially adorable baby sweaters and toys, as well as a boatload of Aran sweater patterns.

9. Yarnspirations

Yarnspirations has over 1,600 free downloadable knitting patterns, with ability level indicated on each pattern.

You can also find over 1,500 free downloadable crochet patterns, with ability level indicated on each pattern.

My favorite part of this website is their Lookbooks section, with projects put together as themes, either as a single page or as an online magazine. They’ve created inspirational themes such as Blanket Statements, Snuggle Sacks, Cozy Cabin, and Country Mouse/City Mouse. Please note – we haven’t done our research to see whether any of the patterns included in the Lookbooks section are free.

10. Bluprint (formerly Craftsy)

You’ll have to create a free account to access patterns via their checkout page, but Bluprint has over 2,600 Free Knitting Patterns available for download. It’s a vast resource. There are 42,000 knitting patterns in all, so if you want to venture out of the free zone you’ll find a lot of projects to consider. Craftsy was rebranded as Bluprint in January, 2019. If you have a Craftsy account, your information will still work with Bluprint.

11. Yarn

​Yarn.com, an online store selling yarn from 110 different yarn manufacturers (including West Yorkshire Spinners and Briggs & Little Yarn), has 878 free knitting patterns and 10 free crochet patterns available for download. Please note that the downloading procedure is not standardized on this site, so some patterns are not as easy to access as others.

While visiting the site for free patterns, you might want to search through their yarn choices from around the world.

12. Knitty

The site Knitty.com can be searched for patterns on their archive page. Under 'What Would You Like to Knit,' use the drop down menu to find free patterns. Once you’ve selected a category from the menu, you’ll see a page of thumbnail photos of projects. Once you click on a project, you’ll be taken to a page with the pattern written out – no .pdf download necessary.

13. Berroco

Berroco.com is a yarn manufacturer which offers 735 free patterns –shawls, sweaters, socks, bags, ponchos, and afghans.  They also have some unusual patterns - miniature sweaters for dolls and stuffies, and knitted café curtains. ​

While you’re on the site, you should check out their really great How-To video tutorials, listed under Learning Center.

14. Knitting Pattern Central

Knitting Pattern Central is a directory of free patterns, sorted by types of projects, with over 15,000 free patterns. The links are external, not internal, so you’ll be sent to other websites - personal blogs and Ravelry, for example, which may require you to sign up.

Since there are no thumbnail photos, you won’t know what the project looks like until you click on the pattern name. You’re at least 2 clicks away from seeing a photo of a project.

They may also lead you to pages that are no longer active, or where the .pdf download doesn’t work. But…it could also lead you to your next project! It’s a great resource, but it may take some patience to wade through all the possibilities. ​

Note that the tutorial links are all external as well.

15. Red Heart

Yarn company Red Heart offers 3, 897 free knitting and crocheting patterns for download – including cardigans, shawls, throws, kids’ sweaters, scarves, women’s sweaters, baby blankets, appliques, poufs, bed sack, bags, dopp bags, storage baskets, pin cushions, Christmas ornaments, leg warmers, hats, mittens, and others.

You’ll find a range of pattern difficulties from Easy, Beginner, Intermediate, and Experienced.

16. Knit Picks

Knit Picks has free patterns for hats, scarves, socks, dishcloths, mittens, throws, mug cozies, spa cloths, pillows, and blankets.

The dishcloths are small projects – approximately 9” x 8” –but they’re a great way to learn some beautiful stitch patterns.

17. Jean Greenhowe Designs

Jean Greenhowe Designs offers several free download designs for dolls and toys: Rainbow Babies, Meet the Ghostlys, Dainty Dollies, Nittybods, Squidgy Beanbugs, Cup ad Birdie Game, Jolly Octopuses, Easter Egg Treats, Toy box Snowman, Halloween Ghosties, Novelty Eggs, Mini Christmas Stockings, Tea Party Treats, and Big, Little, and Tiny Robots. All are super cute!

18. Rowan

Rowan, the British yarn manufacturing company, offers over 400 free knitting patterns on their website, including several free patterns by the extraordinary designer Kaffee Fassett.

19. Yarn In Yarn Out

​The blog Yarn In Yarn Out offers free patterns. You’ll have to click on the pattern description before you get to see what the project looks like.

You’ll get to see photos of the crocheted projects on the free crochet pattern page. ​

20. Interweave

​Interweave offers more than 200 free crochet patterns in exchange for signing up for their newsletter.

21. Crochetville

Crochetville is an online community of crocheters. After becoming a member, you can head over to Crochet Patterns: Free Original Patterns, where you’ll find 30,739 member posts.

22. Very Pink

One of my favorite sites with video tutorials, Very Pink, offers free patterns. After clicking on a pattern, you’ll go to a page that includes a video tutorial for the project. You might have to be redirected to another site to grab the pattern, but a good video tutorial is worth the extra prep. ​

So...now you're set with over 35,000 freebies!

Next... 

You can also access free patterns through the Internet Archive's freely available digitized knitting magazines. The site contains thousands of magazines which you can digitally flip through. The knitting magazines there are chock full of patterns published on their pages. This is a great resource for all sorts of patterns and styles - vintage, classic, and modern.

You can access thousands of free knitting patterns! You can also keep costs for your projects down by repurposing old sweaters into usable yarn. This is a great way to save money. It's also a great way to find some colors or yarn types that you might not be able to find at your local yarn store. For a guide on how to unwind sweaters and properly prepare the wool into new yarn, read Recycling and Upcycling for Crafts.

And, if you're curious about which knitting books are the most popular and which knitting techniques are trending, check out our curated list of 25 Best Selling Knitting Books. Click through to see what readers are saying about these beloved books, and maybe add one to your library! As a preview, below are five of our picks. [As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you).]

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