Go-To Gift Knits

mmcollins107

I think now is a good time to document the patterns that I turn to when I have a gift to knit.   I have knit these patterns multiple times and find them easy to follow.  None of them use a large quantity of yarn and the recipients have always seemed happy to receive them!

Accessories

  • Coffee Sweater- Allison Griffith (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/coffee-sweater).  These are amazing for last minute, inexpensive gifts.  They are also fantastic stash busters.  For Christmas, one year, I picked up travel mugs, the Husband’s hot cocoa packets, and an assortment of teas.  Each sleeve took me about 1 1/2 hours to knit.  In total, each gift cost me $5.  I made 7 for my staff and 5 for the Husband’s co-workers. 
  • Gramma’s Dishcloths- P.J. Allen (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/grammas-dishcloth-grandmothers-2nd-favorite).  These are knit using any worsted weight cotton yarn.  You can buy a million different colors from Knitpicks, Michael’s, or Joann’s.  These can be made for a gift bag for bath time (scented soap, body wash, and some scented candles) or a prissy dishwashing kit (cute dishwashing gloves, fancy pot scrubber, and decorative dish soap container). These gift bags are great for housewarming gifts.

Wearable accessories

  • Land of Sweets cowl- Helen Stewart (https://www.ravelry.com/projects/KnittyGoodness/land-of-sweets-2).  You can do anything you want with this pattern.  It was designed to use up yarn advent calendars, so it is excellent for stash-busting.  I have knit 3 of these as gifts, so far.  I love the percentage system that Helen Stewart uses in all her patterns.  I find this to be a very simple and Zen knit, that can use any weight of yarn.
  • The Snuggle is Real cowl- Maxim Cyr (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-snuggle-is-real-2). I am addicted to this pattern, both for gifts and for me. They are warm, unique, and are easy to knit. The mosaic knitting looks complicated, but it is really easy to get into a flow. Bonus, you can easily match the colors to your spouse’s motorcycle!
  • Vanilla socks, following FLK heel instructions for size (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fish-lips-kiss-heel). I use this method for sock knitting for all of my sock-knit-worthy people. I actually have the cardboard cutouts for Feebs from 18 months to her current old age of 7, and still collecting. I also keep them for the Father, the Husband, and the female O, since they are the most sock-knit-worthy people in my world. If you are a fan of short-row heel socks or haven’t found a preferred sock heel yet, definitely give the Fish Lips Kiss Heels, and pattern method, a try!

Baby knits

  • Flax pullover- Tin Can Knits (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/flax). To be perfectly honest, I am not quite sure how many times I have used this pattern. I have knit at least 3 for Feebs, 4 that I can remember as gifts, and I have modified and spruced up the pattern most times that I have knit it. It is a beginner-ideal sweater pattern that knits up quickly. The one pictured is a 2-4 year old size and was completed today. I started it two days ago. Yeah, it’s a fast knit!
  • Bean & Olive- Drea Rene Knits (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bean–olive). This is the sweetest sweater if you want a fun baby knit. For some reason, I always struggle with the yolk increase rows, each time I knit it. There is NOTHING wrong with the pattern. I just seem to have some kind of block on non-standard increase methods. Even when they are fantastic and practically invisible increases… My bad, not DRK’s.
  • Mignon cardigan- Loop London (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mignon-2). To be honest, I have only knit this sweet little cardigan one time, so far. I loved the pattern and the mommy-to-be loved the finished sweater. The reason that it made it onto the Go-To Gift Knits list is that I have every intention of knitting it again for future babies.
  • Tweed Baby Blanket- Jared Flood (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/tweed-baby-blanket). Again, a pattern that I have only knit once. But again, a pattern that I fully intend to use again. The center was a very quick knit. Picking up the 1,000,000,000,000 stitches around the border was a bit of a slog, but once that was done, the blanket was completed in no time.
  • Chevron Cherub Wrap- Lisa Siefert (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/chevron-cherub-wrap). This has been my go-to baby blanket since I started knitting baby blankets. It is very quick and can be fancied up if desired. The first time I knit it, I followed the pattern and did it in stockinette. I learned that was not my jam due to the rolling that all good stockinette foists upon you. I have since always knit it in garter stitch.

For some reason, this seems to be a big year for life changes for the people that surround me. I know a lot of soon to be married people, homebuyers, and family expanding people. Now is the perfect time to start cataloging these and planning for the upcoming gift-knit projects.

Loves,

M

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