Free Knitting Patterns Online

West County Calendar: Week of June 15

Wednesday, June 15

FREE CONCERT: Clayton United Methodist Church presents a free concert by the Logansport Children's Choir at 7 p.m. June 15 at the church, 101 N. Bemiston Ave. The choir is traveling to New Orleans for the Crescent City Children's Choir Festival.

Thursday, June 16

LIONS CLUB BARBECUE: The Chesterfield Lions Club holds a barbecue from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. June 16-17 on the parking lot of the Four Seasons shopping center, at Olive Boulevard and Woods Mill Road. The menu includes ribs, pork steaks, brats and hot dogs, with sides of coleslaw, baked beans and chips. Large orders of $50 or more are delivered within five miles. Proceeds provide support to various needy organizations in the area. To place a large order or for more information, call Elmer at 314-378-4758.

GUYS, GRILLS & GOOD HEALTH: Couples and singles enjoy barbecue fare from the Grillin' Fools and interact with St. Luke's Hospital physicians and other health experts at the Guys, Grills & Good Health program, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. June 16 at Mungenast Lexus of St. Louis, 13700 Manchester Road in Manchester. Also featured are health screenings, beer and wine, and food from Villa Farotto. The fee is $25 per couple or $15 per person. Registration is required in advance. Visit www.stlukes-stl.com or call 314-542-4848.

DANCE PERFORMANCE: The Dance Center of Kirkwood presents its annual Spring Performance at 6 p.m. June 16-17 and 10 a.m. and 1:30 and 6 p.m. June 18 at St. Louis University High School, 4970 Oakland Ave. The performance features preschool through high school-level ballet, tap and jazz, and adult ballet. For tickets, call 314-821-6663 or visit www.dancecenterkirkwood.com .

FREE CONCERT: Downtown Kirkwood's annual summer concert series features a free performance by Erin Bode from 6:30 to 9 p.m. June 16 at Kirkwood Station Plaza, 120 S. Kirkwood Road. Call 314-775-2921.

SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE LECTURE: The Town & Country Green Team Commission presents a lecture on sustainable architecture by architect Dan Hellmuth of Hellmuth+Bicknese at 7 p.m. June 16 at the Longview Farm House, 13525 Clayton Road. Hellmuth discusses the Tyson Research Center's Living Learning Center, one of the greenest buildings in the world and an H+B design.

Friday, June 17

BOOK SALE: The Parkway School District holds its annual book sale from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. June 17 and 8 a.m. to noon June 18 at Highcroft Elementary School, 15380 Highcroft Drive in Chesterfield. All books cost 50 cents. Admission is free.

Where to Find Free Knitting Patterns Online

Where to Find Free Knitting Patterns Online

By Staysik

There are a whole lot of fabulous knitting patterns that are available for free online. It is sometimes hard to sort through the not-so-great patterns, but this article will give you some tips for finding that great pattern that you’re looking for.  Also, some of the websites, Ravelry for instance has made searching for a pattern so easy that you will just love it- but don’t stop at Ravelry- visit the other sites for their great patterns too!

Step1

 Many yarn companies have free patterns on their websites- one really wonderful source of free knitting (and crochet) patterns is Berocco yarn’s pattern library.  Lion yarn also has a huge database of patterns, and Elann.com and Knitpicks.com are good sources as well. Others to try are Yarnia PDX, and DMC. You can do a search for “yarn companies” and many will have at least a few free patterns to choose from- some more than others.

Step2

 Try websites like Cut Out + Keep, which have all sorts of crafts, along with knitting patterns but you can sort through their database of patterns very easily.  Also try Craftster, which is the same (many types of crafts, knitting included).  There’s a good community of crafters and knitters on both these sites, and they have great opportunities for networking and help, or tips when you need them, with some very impressive projects on display. 

Step3

Ravelry has a fantastic catalog of patterns, many of them free (the patterns that are not are relatively inexpensive). Sign up with Ravelry and search for free patterns – you will find a wonderful resource on this website, with advanced searching features and fabulous patterns!  There’s no doubt that every knitter and crocheter finds Ravelry their go-to website and source for patterns and networking with others, it’s just a really well-designed site.  Ravelry has a lot of groups to join, with plenty of other knitters willing to help you when you have a problem with a pattern or just a question, and you can share your finished product as you are creating it with the various groups you’ve joined.

Step4

Look for forums and online magazines with free patterns- Anticraft is a good one, so is Craftster, Craft Magazine, Oh My Stars, Knitting Daily, and Knitting help.com all have really great patterns for free.

Step5

Another very fantastic source for finding online patterns for free is Knitty-an online magazine, which features very talented designers and you can check their archives for more patterns.  Many of the knitting magazines have some patterns that are only available online, so be sure to look into these for each issue, and they are free.  Knit1, Interweave Knits, Knitscene and Vogue Knitting all have really wonderful, high-quality, stylish patterns.

Que's Official Internet Yellow Pages, 2005 Edition

Beautiful Knitting Patterns

Loom Knitting Pattern Book, 38 Easy, No-Needle Designs for All Loom Knitters

Stitch 'n bitch, the knitter's handbook

Mary Thomas's Book of Knitting Patterns