Living like an Ant in a Grasshopper world

8 Holiday Knitting Patterns for Christmas Stockings

November 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment
ball of red wool yarn

photo by simplyla

With only 5 short weeks left until Christmas we sometimes feels as though we don’t have enough time to think let alone knit up a few great gifts. With Thanksgiving just a few days away for most of the Frugal Family Life readers, the air is crackling with a mixture of excitement, stress, fun and panic is equal portions. Holiday music is playing in the malls. Many folks have their holidays lights up and will begin trimming the Christmas trees over the holiday weekend.

As I looked through my own holiday decorations the other day, I realized that some of our Christmas stockings are getting a bit tattered looking and it might be time to get some new ones. Which led me to dig through my yarn stash and do a search for free Christmas Stocking patterns. I’m going to attempt to get 2 matching stockings knit this year. Below are 8 free Christmas stocking patterns I’ve found online this week but I haven’t settled on a pattern yet. I love the simplicity and old fashioned feeling of the Striped Christmas Stocking. The Fisherman (or Aran) Stocking is so elegant in that creamy wool. Nicky Epstein’s Stocking is so fun and lively. My yarn stash has yield nothing that would be suitable for Christmas Stockings so I have a hunch that I’ll be leaving the final stocking decision until I’m in the yarn shop tomorrow to choose.

In the meantime, here are 8 lovely free Christmas Stocking patterns to knit that range from very basic to intermediate knitting levels.
I’ll share some photos of my stocking progress soon.

Christmas Stockings to Knit

Knit Christmas Stocking Pattern Books

There are some great knitting books with just Christmas Stocking patterns out there as well!

Filed Under: Christmas, Holidays Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Frugal & Green: Make Your Own Reusable Washclothes

July 20, 2009 By 4 Comments

One of the easiest ways to live a little more frugally and a little greener at the same time is to stop using paper towels and start using washable cloths instead. Knit or crochet cloths are easy to make and are a great replacement for those paper towels. They’re absorbant, durable, washable, soft enough to wipe or clean even the most delicate surfaces yet the fabric texture has great scrubbing abilities.

They can be used as dishcloths, facecloths, washcloths, and cleaning rags and can be tossed in the wash.  They’re a great way to use up those little odds and ends of yarn leftover from other projects too.

Dishclothes Galore!

Dishclothes Galore!

Whether you are an experienced knitter or crocheter or someone who has never attempted to knit or crochet before the patterns below are simple and quick to make up and the clothes will last for years. I do recommend though you pick different colours for different uses if you’re planning to make both dishcloths or scrubbing clothes as well as facecloths.

If you’ve never knit or crocheted before here are a couple of tutorials. Washcloths are a great way to learn to knit or crochet as the patterns are pretty simple and even if the first few don’t turn out perfect – they’ll still be great scrubbing rags.

Filed Under: green living Tagged With: , , , , , , ,