It happens every year, we all have visions of gifting bundles of handmade goodies to every member of our family and friendship circle and the come December...we panic.
"There's not enough time now!!!"
Well I am here to share a selection of guaranteed quick and easy knitting patterns and projects perfect for beginner knitters to achieve, producing at least one handmade gift under the tree.
KNOT HEADBAND:
Using a Super Bulky weight of yarn (often knits on 10mm needles) and 10mm needles.
Cast On 11 sts and using Seed Stitch pattern (K1, P1 every row - we cover this in Beginner Knitting Lesson 2) knit until it is 18 inches long.
Cast Off and sew the two ends together to join into a headband.
For the optional Knot:
Cast On 7 stitches and using Seed Stitch pattern knit for 5 inches and Cast Off. Sew and join the 2 ends around the headband to finish (best to do this over the join of the two headband ends)
Weave in any loose ends (for a step by step tutorial head here)
SHROOM BEANIE HAT
A very quick beanie, this hat pattern uses a Puff Rib and standard 1x1 Rib - all utilised stitches covered in the Beginner Knitter Lessons 1 + 4
Again this pattern uses a Super Bulky yarn and large needles; 5.5mm and 8mm.
This pattern is knit in the round, using circular needles. You can find the Circular Knitting Class here.
Find the free knitting pattern here
QUICK and CHUNKY SCARF
Why not bulk up your yarn and make an interesting scarf by using 2 or even 3 strands of yarn held together?
Using large needles, maybe an 8mm or even bigger, knit up a swatch to see how many stitches in a cm to help determine how many stitches to Cast On for the right width of your scarf.
Then using Garter Stitch (knitting every row) knit away until you have the desired length.
Add some tassles if you fancy to the ends and one gorgeous scarf is ready to be gifted.
CUTE COWL
Never underestimate the beauty of a cowl. A shorter, circular scarf that simply sits around the neck.
Perfect for when the scarf is simply taking too long to knit. Just Cast Off and sew the 2 ends together to create a Cowl.
If you can make it long enough to wrap it around the neck twice great. If not then so be it.
Choose thick yarn and big needles to speed up the knitting, make it something super soft and whomever you gift it to will be delighted.
Use any stitch pattern you fancy.
As you can tell from the ideas above, big needles and ideally thick yarn are your friends when you need a quick knitted gift in no time. Whether you choose to make one of these, a cushion cover or even a blanket, go big and keep breathing.
Enjoy the process of making something by hand for someone you love. They will be amazed by what you did and how personal the gift is and you will feel so proud everytime you spot them wearing it.
PIN IT for later
If you are a beginner knitter or simply want to brush up on your basic skills, check out my Beginner Knitting course, book a LIVE, Interactive class with me or pick the specific skills class you need with the Single Knitting Class options.
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