April Knitting Inspo: 11 Patterns I Am Enjoying Right Now.

My name is Leah and I am coming to you with another pattern roundup today. I really enjoy filming these kind of videos and I know you guys really enjoy watching them but this month I found it really difficult to find a specific topic that I would like to talk about like for example when I did the 10 DK weight tees for spring so I have decided to just share with you 11 patterns that are really inspiring me right now. We are in April here in Wales in the UK and the weather is very unpredictable. It can be wet, it can be sunny, it can be very cold and so this is probably quite represented in this list of patterns which is extremely varied. Some of the things are quite likely going to happen to my needles relatively soon, some may never but this is sort of a selection of patterns that have been inspiring me. Some of them are from the hot right now on Ravelry and some of them are from my actual Ravelry library which is a very big tongue twister and these are patterns that I would like to actually make at some point because I purchased the pattern ages ago. So let's jump right in. If you want to see any more details especially numerical ones to these patterns please click on the link in the description box down below it will take you to Ravelry and you can read all about them on there because I just prefer to focus on details and interesting things about patterns here in my videos. The first pattern is an older pattern and it is the Carly Cardigan by Irene Lin which is an aran weight but to me almost chunky weight cardigan featuring all over cables and especially a really pretty twisted cable that sort of runs right from the neckline all the way down. So this cardigan is worked top down and it doesn't have a button band rather it just has this cable that runs on the edge. There's nothing applied afterwards and I think that is really really cool. It also has pockets and options for sleeveless or cardigan with sleeves which I think is really nice and I just think the the cables overall the braided cables are really striking and it looks like there might be fisherman's rib or brioche in between the cables which is also something I've not done before mixing those two and I think that would be really fun to knit. I also particularly like how she's constructed the upper back because the trapezoid sort of then flows into also a v-neck for the back which I think is really really interesting. One thing I will say about this pattern is that I find Irene Lin patterns really difficult to gauge in terms of sizing. This pattern has six sizes but she recommends at least 10 centimetres of positives yet the model has 37 centimetres of positives and I really appreciate that she put that in there but this makes it really hard for me to pick a size but I think I would like to go for the same sort of look so I think I'll probably be knitting size two. This is designed for an Aran weight as I say with a six millimetre needle and I am currently contemplating using my heavy Merino Knitting for Olive and buying a strand of something fluffy to hold with it because I think that would be really cool. Now you might think this is a bit chunky for this time of year but I have recently started working in my local yarn shop and we have the door open in order to sort of invite people in and let people know that we're open but that means they can get quite chilly in there so a cardigan like this is really easy to throw on and off because it doesn't need enough button bands or you know any kind of closure at the front would be really really fun. Next let's talk about a pattern that has just been released last month. It is the flow loop v-neck by Other Loops. I am always a bit torn about Other Loops patterns. This pattern only has four sizes and I think that is pretty common for her patterns and it's a bit of a shame because I really really like her style. I really like the interesting details she puts in her patterns. The sort of minimal polished look with something extra is really up my street so I have never knit another loop pattern for exactly that reason but I do find them quite cool. This is a v-neck sweater worked top down with a saddle shoulder construction and I really like that the saddle actually flows across the upper back into the other saddle which is a detail I really enjoy and then it features this sort of twisted kind of cabley detail. I don't know how these stitches are made but they work in regular intervals and they kind of blend the button band into the into the rest of the fabric as well. I just think it's really really sorry the neck bands not the button band and I just think it's really really interesting the whole overall look of this pattern. I also particularly like the decreases on the sleeves and the fact that the sleeve has the teeniest tiniest bit of ribbing at the end I think is really cool. So yeah this is a really neat beautiful pattern. It is a worsted weight pattern or aran I think and I would really like to knit this but I'm torn about the sizing. Let me know what you think in the comments below. Should we support designers like this and at the same time encourage them to do better? I just I'm a little bit torn. I love her designs I've never knit one as I say because I would prefer to just knit from designers that are actually inclusive but how do we how do we get designers like this to do better? That's what I would like to know. Please let me know if you have any ideas in the comments below. Also apologies bouncing around for my dogs. They haven't been for a walk yet today and they're a little bit excitable. While we're talking about recently released patterns how about the Marielle cardigan by Marias Verden? Now this is a pattern that I think has been quite long awaited. The Marielle blouse was extremely popular because it features this all over sort of pointelle lace design that has been extremely popular lately and has been used in lots and lots of different patterns. And it is a sort of standard DK weight pattern in a fingering weight plus mohair kind of construction. So it has um it features knitted bralette merino and soft silk mohair in the sample which is just a very classic beautiful combination. I believe it is worked top down. It has a drop shoulder and a double mid bottom band but then a ribbed collar. I just think it's really really gorgeous and what is quite funny is that I wasn't massively drawn to the sweater version, the blouse, but the cardigan version really appeals to me. I just think it's really springy and really really girly but not over the top. I just think it's really beautiful and I could really see myself knitting this despite not being much into lace. So yeah I think it's really really pretty and Maria Verden she has some beautiful designs, table designs that I've been eyeing up as well. So there should probably be something from her catalogue on my needles sometime soon. Speaking of another recently released pattern that I have been eyeing up on Instagram mostly, it is the Arrow Tee by Odd Row and I think this is so cool. I remember when she released the Arrow sweater and that one has some absolutely stunning details as well but the Arrow Tee appeals to me even more I think and by the looks of it it features a European or English tailored shoulder which is a construction I really really love. It is a DK8 pattern which I also love because it doesn't really ever get that warm here so DK8 t-shirts are quite suitable for my climate. I'm not madly keen on the mock neck high neck t-shirt version but the one that scoops I think is absolutely gorgeous because it has an ever so slight V to that scoop and from my understanding the way this t-shirt is constructed is that you knit it with an extremely deep V neck that almost probably reaches your belly button or further down and then you apply this colour afterwards and watch it sort of come together and I've seen a few progress photos on Instagram I just think it's so so beautiful. So this is really unusual but really minimal as well which is something that is right up my alley. Now let's talk about some neck accessories because I have been as I say pretty cold and I've really enjoyed wearing my shawls and my scarves in work which is odd because I haven't really worn them through winter but it feels a bit wrong to sand in work in my coat so I like to wear my knitwear and I like to accessorize when I get a bit too cold. So a pattern that I've just discovered today is the Flynn Shaw by Maxim Cyr or Max the Knitter and I think this is extremely striking this pattern it is a fingering weight pattern or light finger weight pattern and at first glance I thought this was going to be a shawl or wrap it's more of a wrap really in terms of its shape but it is actually worked in mosaic knitting which I think is really really cool and I could totally see myself making this maybe using one color of a commercial yarn and then holding you know holding with not with it using as the second color a hand dyed yarn which I think is really cool and I think the reason this is on my radar is because I'm going to a yarn festival in a week's time so I'm kind of trying to find patterns that I may or may not buy yarn for. So yeah this is something that is definitely on my radar right now. In terms of smaller neck accessories one pattern that I purchased ages ago and still have a knit is the Lindahl toddler I don't know how it's pronounced by a designer called Vilton again I'm really sorry if I'm mispronouncing this I think I went down a little bit of a rabbit hole with this designer because she does a lot of color work short row garter stitch kind of patterns I think it's actually short row garter stitch color work that's the right way around and I just think it's so cool and so striking and this is something I could definitely make with some leftovers as well which is why it appeals to me because it doesn't look scrappy but it would be a really suitable scrappy pattern and you just need some fingering weight yarn for this I think it's designed for mini skeins which again would be really cool if and it comes in several sizes I think where you can sort of decide how big you would like to make this little scarf I've also seen some versions of color changing yarn which is really cool as well and yeah I think this would be something I really enjoy wearing sort of going into the warmer spring months. Next let's talk about another neck accessory but a bigger one well depends on how big you like to knit it. I just came across this pattern today it's called the My Buddy Wrap by Casuarina Girl and this is a free pattern and it is a tip to tip sort of shallow V scarf it is it is very sort of Sophie Shawl, Sophie scarf shaped if you get what I mean but it is worked in brioche stitch and apparently there are loads of different options in terms of size and yarn as well it's kind of a choose your own adventure pattern which I think is really cool and again it's one of those where you can wear your yarn and make sure you use all of it up which is something that really appeals to me as well and I do love a bit of brioche knitting I recently tried to make a brioche pattern and I kind of ran out of steam because it was cardigan and it was a lot of work and I decided to repurpose that yarn for something else but I think a shawl or scarf like this would be a really fun way to do some brioche again so definitely another pattern that I might consider buying yarn for at a yarn festival. Let's talk about a proper summer accessory how about the Cambodia Hat by Suzanne Moore or Paula Strickett. Now this pattern has been around for a while since 2019 and it is designed in the Rara Raffia by Woolen The Gang. This is a yarn that is basically made out of paper and she has made quite a few different designs with this yarn this is a crochet sort of bucket hat and I think it looks really really cool I really like this design and I've been eyeing this up for years and the main reason it's on my radar right now is that we sell this where I work so the yarn shop I work in has actually got two separate buildings it's a very interesting concept there's the old yarn shop and there's the new yarn shop and that also has a cafe and a coffee lounge where you can sit and knit it's very cool this is in the old shop but I've got access obviously to all the yarns that we sell in either of these buildings and I have actually looked at all the colours and there is a really beautiful sort of lilac purple that I would love to use to make this summer hat I think that'll be so cool I'd love to wear this on the dog walk or something or when I'm hanging out in the garden and knitting in summer so this is a pattern that is almost certainly going to get made in the near future. A pattern that I cannot get over how cute it is this is the Fisher Folks Fancy Soft Set another tongue twister why none other than stone knit let's be honest if you're thinking about cool colour work socks we think stone knit and if you're a regular viewer you will know that I don't knit socks very often if hardly ever and I'm not sure if I ever shared this on my channel but I actually once took part in a sock knitting competition called Sock Madness and it was madness and it ruined me for socks for a very long time I actually won that competition which was really really cool and it kept me busy during Covid when I had nothing else to do so no regrets whatsoever but I've hardly knit a sock since but these socks are so cute specifically the lobster ones are the ones that I would really like to make and I've actually been eyeing up some other patterns by recently as well and maybe just maybe I will get into knitting socks again I just need to find a better method to knit colour work socks because I tend to knit socks with double pointed needles and I tend to knit colour work two-handed and maneuvering the yarn the needles around when you're knitting with double points whilst holding yarn in each hand it's quite tricky so if you have any tips for me please let me know I'm not a fan of magic loop because I always get laddering on either side and I can't handle nine inch circulars I have tried I think I just need more fabric to grip so if you have any tips for me when it comes to colour work socks please let me know because I really think I need to have these lobster socks in my life I think the fish socks are pretty cool as well but the lobster ones are the ones that I really would like to have another pattern that has been on my radar recently is the double date cardigan by wintersweather knits and this actually came up because I was looking for striped cardigans because I purchased some yarn work and then I realized I didn't really know what I wanted to knit with it and I really like the look of this because it is a bit more unusual so from my understanding this pattern is worked side to side and it is a decay weight pattern and it features some mosaic colour work so you don't have to do anything stranded it says just one colour at a time it is a loose fitting boxy cardigan and it has a really pretty button band and pockets that are sort of hidden underneath the fabric that you access from the side which I think is really cool so this is a pattern that I may well be casting on in the near future as well I've got lots of plans as you can see I don't have very much time but I have a lot of plans so we will see if I get around to this one and the last pattern I'd like to share with you today is the chapter cushion as you might know I can't get through a pattern roundup without mentioning lily but this time let's talk about a homeware pattern because this is a pattern that I may well consider making to work so the way it works where I work is that I can knit during quiet times in the shop but I just make things that we either then sell in the shop or I make things that are samples so that you can see you know what it will look like if you knit these various different colours together or how some a pattern that we sell looks like knit up I think it's really really helpful for people to have this visual sort of aid when they come and shop with us but I think this would be a really cool dual purpose pattern because I could use some yarns that we have in the shop I could make this really cool mosaic knit cushion that I have been eyeing for ages that I also have in my library and it could then live in the lounge upstairs on one of the sofas where you can sit and knit I just think this would be a really cool full circle kind of experience so again this might be something that I might suggest that I make in work sometime soon but then again I would quite like to have that cushion in my own home as well so we will see those are all the patterns that I have to share with you today I really hope that you enjoyed this kind of pattern roundup that's a bit more random let me know if you like this format or if you prefer when I talk about a very specific topic like I have done in the past because otherwise I will keep doing these kind of videos because this was really fun for me just browsing and just collecting patterns that I like the look of has been a lot of fun so please let me know what you think please leave me a comment down below let me know what you're working on at the moment and with that I wish you a happy afternoon morning evening wherever you are and happy knitting see you soon