Knitting New Years Resolutions
Do you make New Year’s Resolutions?
Yes, some people might find them pointless and assume that breaking them is inevitable. But rather than striving only for absolute perfection, why not aim for steady, incremental success instead? Consider the meaning behind creating them — and the worth of the reflection, intention, and small acts that go into the process. I’d argue that it’s precisely in that mindful effort and the lessons learned along the way that the real value resides.
Whether you’re working on personal growth, building your skill stack, or setting intentions for the new year, don’t forget to include your crafts in the plan too! Most of us use knitting as a way to unwind and decompress, but it also feels productive and deeply gratifying. So here are our favorite suggestions from Poison Grrls:
Choose a project that seems a bit out of your skill set. Some of our most challenging projects include really cool details that you might apply to other projects. And the feeling of accomplishment is just so worth it.
Choose an on-level project to fill a dearth in your wardrobe. This might be a pattern you’ve made before and know you love, but want in a different color, or a different sleeve length, or maybe the fit or yarn wasn’t right and you just want to give it another try.
Choose a simple project that might be your “background project” as I like to call it. This is a project where I know there are few to no really difficult parts that require a lot of attention, and I can work on it while I watch tv. This may or may not include long portions of stockinette in the body or sleeves, or it might be an accessory I can make a few of to gift next year.
So that’s three projects right there. I love to have about that many going at once; you can work on them according to your mood or energy level.
Want more guidance and structure? Watch this space and make sure you’re signed up for our newsletter.
Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year, and looking forward to many makes in 2026! ✨
The “Reindeer Games” Cabin Sweater
The holidays are coming again, and with it, another Christmas sweater! We love getting to be a part of making the holiday season special and bringing a little light to the knitting world this time of year. When we released our first Christmas sweater, the “Betty & Judy” Lodge Sweater, we never expected the response it received! That sweater remains one of our most knit patterns, and it’s truly a joy seeing them show up on Instagram all winter long. That began our tradition of creating a new holiday sweater design for you gals every year— and we are keeping it going!
This year’s pattern, the “Reindeer Games” Cabin Sweater, introduces an exciting new skill we haven’t explored in our patterns before—the zipper! We provide clear photos and detailed, step-by-step instructions to guide you through sewing it in with ease. The pattern calls for super bulky weight yarn that knits up incredibly fast, making your project both fun and ready to wear quickly. We really hope you love making and wearing this cozy, vintage-inspired sweater! Thank you for letting our patterns be a part of your holidays!
The “Reindeer Games” Cabin Sweater is the perfect knitting pattern to create just in time for Christmas. Its large gauge yarn knits up super quickly, and is just as warm and cozy. The adorable reindeer motif adds a charming touch, making this sweater wonderfully festive for all your Christmas gatherings and cozy lounging around the log cabin throughout the winter season.
Knit seamlessly from the bottom up. Uses a combination of stranded and intarsia.
“Rockin’ Around” the Aluminum Tree
Rockin’ around...” Be the aluminum tree that lights up the party! Inspired by everyone’s favorite mid century aluminum trees! Choose holiday colors that sparkle, or go with two other contrasting colors for a twinkly starburst minus the kitsch you can wear all season long. An homage to the atomic holiday icon of 1950’s and 60’s Americana!
Here’s a new holiday sweater, inspired by everyone’s favorite mid century aluminum trees! With the Betty & Judy Lodge Sweater and the Night Before Ski Sweater being some of our most popular patterns, we thought it was time to bring you another kitschy knit for 2021! An homage to the atomic holiday icon of 1950’s and 60’s Americana.
The “Rockin’ Around” Holiday Sweater features a circular yoke construction, knit completely in-the-round and seamlessly. (Shout out to all those who prefer not to purl. We got ya!) We have sized this pattern in XS-4X, but as usual we also include information on how to adjust for your perfect fit. Ill-fitting ugly Christmas sweaters are a thing of the past! You can get your kitsch on and keep it cute at the same time.
We utilized acrylic blend yarns for this design to achieve a super glittery tinsel-y look. It would also be a fabulous season-long look in any wool you might use for colorwork. Go with classic holiday colors, or two other contrasting colors for a twinkly starburst minus the kitsch.
For your enjoyment, we made this pattern easy to follow, we guide you through measuring your swatch, choosing your size, customizing your size, casting on (or modifying), and we even give you options for your shaping instructions in both measurements AND round counts! This is useful for personal preference as well as variance in row gauge. We also selected this construction and gauge carefully to be as speedy as possible for all the ahem..last minute knitters, no shame on that game!
So whatever you are knitting, we hope you have a rockin’ holiday season in style!
DIFFICULTY: 2.5/5
RESOURCES:
Main Color Yarn : "Encore Starz" by Plymouth Yarns (pink);
Contrast Color Yarns, held together: "Eyelash Dazzle" by Ice Yarns (silver) + "Rockstar" by Ice Yarns (silver grey)
