Whether you've just finished a big sweater or are about to knit your first stitch, picking the next project comes down to three things: how much time you have, what your skills are ready for, and what you'll actually wear or use.
A Norwegian version of this page is available on Strikketips.no
Start with time and skill
For babies and kids
Small garments use little yarn and make good gifts: a bonnet, a baby sweater, a hat.
Quick and easy
A last-minute gift or a break between big projects: a cowl or a headband.
Something for you
A sweater in a yarn you love — the big project that's worth the time.
What to knit through the year
How we'd plan a knitting year. None of this is a rule — knit what you want, when you want — but matching the project to the season means you finish it when you can wear it.
- Fall: hats, cowls and mittens, so they're off the needles before it gets cold. A hat is a good first project in the round.
- Before the holidays: gifts. We'd pick small things we can finish — a hat, a cowl, a set of dishcloths — and start them well before we need them, rather than a sweater against a deadline.
- Winter: the big wool project. A sweater is a good thing to have on the needles through the coldest months.
- Spring and summer: cotton and linen, and smaller, portable projects — socks travel well.
Easy things to knit
If you're a beginner, or just want a relaxing knit with little counting, choose patterns in garter stitch (knit every row) or simple ribbing (knit and purl).
- Dishcloths: a good first project. Knit in cotton, and the size doesn't have to be exact. Our simple knitted dishcloth pattern is free.
- A cowl: a first project in the round — knit around until it's tall enough.
- Headbands: knit flat and seamed, or in the round as a tube.
- Garter stitch scarf: knit back and forth until it's long enough or the yarn runs out.
Where to find free knitting patterns
1. Our pattern gallery
We've collected patterns from around the web, and the gallery can be filtered to show only the free ones.
2. DROPS Design (Garnstudio)
A yarn company that publishes free patterns written for its own yarns, in several languages including English. To use a different yarn, the yarn substitution calculator works out how much you need.
3. Ravelry
A pattern database and community site for knitters and crocheters. Its pattern search can be filtered to show only free patterns.
What's popular to knit now?
We keep our trend roundup separate, with a source for each claim, rather than guessing here.
Read our sourced roundup of this year's knitting trendsFrequently Asked Questions
What should I knit now?
Start with how much time you have and what you'll actually use. A beginner does well with a dishcloth or a cowl; with more experience, a top-down sweater or a pair of socks. By season, we'd knit hats and cowls in the fall, small gifts before the holidays, a wool sweater in winter, and cotton or linen in the warm months.
What can you knit that is easy?
A cotton dishcloth, a garter-stitch scarf, a ribbed headband or a cowl. The dishcloth and scarf need only casting on, knitting and binding off; a ribbed headband adds purling, and a cowl adds knitting in the round.
Where can I find free knitting patterns?
Our pattern gallery can be filtered to show only free patterns. DROPS Design (Garnstudio) publishes free patterns written for its own yarns, and Ravelry's pattern search lets you filter for free patterns.
What is popular to knit now?
We keep a sourced roundup of this year's knitting trends on our trends page, rather than repeating claims about what is popular that we can't back up.