Friday Five: Five patterns on Knitty that we love

Welcome to a new blog feature-- five random things on Friday. It will always be on Friday, and there will always be five things; but while they will always have a common theme within the five things, overall they will be entirely random from week to week.

Hot Tamale:

This rockabilly inspired skirt is hot hot hot: guaranteed to make you the belle of the bowling alley. Customize with embroidery, optional drawstring or elastic waistband, a sassy lining or no lining at all.

Sharon loves her some Jodi Green... I will leave the telling of Sharon's trials and tribulations with this skirt to her, though.

Knucks:

Reluctant to commit to the permanence of a knuckle tattoo, but yearning to express yourself? Here is your solution. Embroider the eight-letter text that says you onto these quick-to-knit fingerless gloves and the world will know just what you stand for. Knit your Knucks from the knuckles down -- a fast knit on size four needles. Working down allows you to split the yarn into two balls and knit until the balls run out -- achieve extra-long matched-length gloves with no anxiety. Choose between a ribbed cuff with a sewn cast-off and a textured cuff with a crab stitch edging. Included are simple tutorials for both. Learn something new, yo.

I can not even tell you how many times I've made this pattern! Sadly I have never done the embroidery, as I can not embroider my way out of a paper bag. But I love this easy-to-modify pattern, and it's awesome for one-skien projects (or even half-a-skein)!

Monkey:

I would like to say that I knit these socks because I was inspired by falling leaves, the angles of tree branches as they part from mighty oaks in a V-shape, or allude to poetry and art. But let's face it: the true driving force behind these socks was ADDICTION. There was no other way to get them off my back than to knit them.

I may be one of two sock knitters in the free world who has not made this pattern (though I was gifted some!). Sharon has made them and agrees that the pattern is highly addictive, making you want to work on nothing else.

Tubey:

Last winter in the midst of a snowstorm in NYC, I found myself on a bar crawl. Despite the weather, we were determined to stick it out. Each time we changed location, we all put on multiple layers to brave the cold. Every time we arrived at a new place, we all started peeling layers off so we'd look a bit less like snowmen. As we layered up preparing for another trek, my friend and I started discussing one of the garments she was wearing. It was a lightweight sweater with no armhole seams and a square neckline. The garment construction stuck in my mind. During a stash-diminishing exercise, I started playing with creating a chunky, stripey ribbed interpretation. This sweater is literally made from two tubes, one for the body, and one for the shrug-like sleeves. The rib makes the body nice and fitted, and really warm. However, the square neckline makes this a cute sweater to wear on a cold night out. The sleeves are stockinette, and very slightly belled. It can be tried on as you go, and easily adjusted to fit the way you want. It's a fast knit, and there is no seaming!

Tubey may be the Monkey of the pullover world. I've made it. Kelly's made it. Ouida's made it. Betharoopie's made it. Anyone else? I'm even planning on making another. I can guarantee from seeing it on myself and all my friends that this pattern is flattering on just about every single body type out there (if you know what I mean, ladies).

Samus:

One of the latest additions to my video game fanatic husband's collection was a Metroid game, starring a futuristic orange-armored warrior heroine named Samus Aran. I immediately thought of this in a knitting context and wondered what sort of Aran sweater Samus might wear when she's not saving the world from evil. Instead of a traditional up and down cable pattern, these cables are worked separately to make them sideways. The patterned band was adapted from the Saxon Braid in Nicky Epstein's Knitting on the Edge. The body of the cardigan is worked back and forth in one piece to allow an uninterrupted cable across the bottom of the sweater. Both charted and written instructions are included for the cable pattern. An applied i-cord edging finishes the rough edges for a more modern feel.

Say-muss. Shay-muss. However you say it, it's beautiful! Both Sharon and Kelly have made this (Kelly's not quite done with hers yet) and it is a fantastic first-cardigan project.