Check out Knitrino and Knit with Barbara Kingsolver

May 16, 2023 by Sarah White

Barbara Kingsolver just won the Pulitzer Prize for her book Demon Copperhead, but in addition to being an amazing writer she is also a knitter.

She recently released her first (that I know of, anyway) knitting pattern, designed with Andrea Cull, inspired by her book The Lacuna.

The Lacuna Mitts are long colorwork mitts worked from the bottom up, with a variety of colorwork motifs inspired by the book. The design uses six colors and there are two sizes available, with a change in needle size making the change in project size.

The pattern is available exclusively on the Knitrino app, a new app that aims to connect knitters with independent designers and make your knitting life a little easier.

The app is free to download (and when I did it gave me a hat pattern for free) and you buy patterns right inside the app. The projects are broken down step by step so it’s easy to track your progress. Patterns with charts can also be shown as text, and you can easily keep your place in the chart as you go. Another cool thing you can do is change the colors on the chart to match the colors you are knitting with rather than the ones the designer used.

Charts and patterns can also be sized to fit whatever device you’re using, and you can click in the pattern and add notes. You also have a personal pattern section where you can add photos, pattern notes, what size knitting needles you used, etc.

Knitrino is run by two knitting sisters, and as of this writing has 24 patterns available for purchase. The app says they will have new patterns monthly, and I’m sure there will be more as designers hear about it and want to have their designs offered there.

You can check out Knitrino on their website or download the app where you do that.

[Photo via Barbara Kingsolver on Facebook.]

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Have you read?

Go Back to the ’90s with this Set of Knitting Patterns

If you want to feel personally attacked by a collection of knitting and crochet patterns as I was, check out the “90s Mod Inspired” pattern lookbook from Yarnspirations.

It’s actually a great collection of patterns for folks who want to stitch up that Y2K look again (or for the first time). There’s an oversized, striped grandpa cardigan! A (crocheted) plaid messenger bag! A boxy argyle vest, and a rolled hem sweater the likes of which I bought in a store in the ’90s and knit a replica of later.

There’s also a section of “Prep School” patterns (think “Clueless,” they’re even called things like “As if” and “Betty”) including a granny square tie and crocheted wrap skirt, and a knit cabled pullover, beret and cardigan with blocky stripes. Other sections include casual collegiate, punk and mod, and academia.

Some of the patterns repeat among the sections but there’s a nice selection for people who want a little throwback for their back to school and fall wardrobes.

Since I had this sweater, we’ll take a closer look at the Caron Cropped Stripy Sweater. The one I knit from a pattern of my own devising in the mid ’00s was tonal blues, but this one calls for two colorways of Colorama Haze, a fuzzy self-striping worsted weight yarn.

The pattern comes in six sizes, with chest measurements ranging from 39 to 60 inches (that’s 99 to 152.5 cm). Clearly that’s a lot of ease at the lower sizes, since the smallest size is meant to fit an actual chest measurement from 28-34 inches, or 71-86.5 cm.

The sweater is a modified drop shoulder worked flat in pieces and seamed. That means the stripes probably won’t match around the body but it’s still a classic look. This one does have ribbing at the neckline, where the original sweater I owned and my re-creation had rolled hems throughout, but you can do it either way depending on your preference.

Do any of these projects remind you of clothes you might have worn or knit in the past? I’d love to hear about it!