Yarn Bombing - Square Knitting Patterns

I recently joined the Wol en Naalde group on Facebook and it is an absolute treasure trove of ideas and inspiration. But more important for this new knitter are all the tips and helpful hints from real-life knitters and crocheters. Another awesome little something that I learned from joining this group is that the South African needle and hook people are going to attempt to set the world record for the largest yarn bomb by covering the steps of the Voortrekker Monument.

Yip, that is right. The largest yarn bomb ever! How cool would that be?

Yarn Indaba 2014 voortrekker monument yarn bomb

I like it :)

How is this all coming together? The lovely peeps from Yarn Indaba 2014 are organising what promises to be a doozy of an event for August 2014 at the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria. Workshops, stalls and loads of other needle and hook people, what more could you want?

So about that yarn bombing. They need 19 050 squares measuring 20cm X 20cm and 3 350 squares measuring 15cm X 15cm. And they need them all by 1 July 2014. Once the record has been set, the yarn bomb will explode into blankets which will be donated to charity. So how about it? Will you knit a few squares and contribute to this worthwhile cause? I hope so!

If you decide to do just that, here are nine easy peasy square patterns that you can use for your blocks. I used 4.5mm needles and double knit wool to knit my blocks.

Garter Stitch	Little Ladders Stitch
Garter Stitch with Ridges	Stocking Stitch with Diamond
Mock Rib Stitch	Stocking Stitch with Heart
Seed Pattern Stitch	Reverse Stocking Stitch with Star
Multi-coloured Garter Stitch

Garter Stitch
Cast on 27 stitches. Knit every row until you have approximately 15 cm of knitting. Cast off knit-wise.
Little Ladders Stitch
Cast on 28 stitches. 1^st Row: Knit to end. 2^nd Row: P4, k2, p4, repeat from to end. 3^rd Row: Knit to end. 4^th Row: P1, k2, p3 repeat from to last 4 stitches, p1, k2, p1 Repeat these 4 rows until you have approximately 15 cm of knitting. Cast off knit-wise with a wrong side (WS) row.
Garter Stitch with Ridges
Cast on 27 stitches. 1^st Row: Knit to end. 2^nd Row: Purl to end. 3^rd – 6^th Row: Knit to end. 7^th Row: Knit to end. 8^th Row: Purl to end. Repeat these 8 rows 4 more times (40 rows in total) Cast off knit-wise.
Stocking Stitch with Diamond
Cast on 27 stitches. 1^st – 4^th Row: Knit to end. 5^th Row: Knit to end 6^th Row: K3, p to last 3stitches, k3. Repeat 5^th and 6^th row 5 more times. 17^th Row: K13 in base colour, k1 in other colour, k13 in base colour. 18^th Row: K3, p9 in base, p3 in other, p9, k3 in base colour. 19^th Row: K11 (base), k5 (other), k11 20^th Row: K3, p7 (base), p7 (other), p7, k3 (base) 21^st Row: K11 (base), k5 (other), k11 22^nd Row: K3, p9 (base), p3 (other), p9, k3 (base). 23^rd Row: K13 (base), k1 (other), k13 (base). 24^th Row: K3, p to last 3stitches, k3. Repeat 5^th and 6^th row 5 times. 35^th – 38^th Row: Knit to end. Cast off knit-wise.
Mock Rib Stitch
Cast on 27 stitches. 1^st – 4^th Row: Knit to end. 5^th Row: Knit to end. 6^th Row: P1, k1, p1, repeat from to end. 7^th Row: Knit to end. 8^th Row: P1, k1, p1, repeat from to end. Repeat these 8 rows until you have approximately 15 cm knitting. End off with 4 rows in garter stitch. Cast off knit-wise.
Stocking Stitch with Heart
Cast on 29 stitches. 1^st Row: Knit to end. 2^nd Row: Purl to end Repeat 1^st and 2^nd row 7 more times. 17^th Row: K14 in base colour, k1 in other colour, k14 in base colour. 18^th Row: P13 in base, p3 in other, p13 in base colour. 19^th Row: K12 (base), k5 (other), k12 20^th Row: P12 (base), p5 (other), p12 (base) 21^st Row: K12 (base), k5 (other), k12 22^nd Row: P13 (base), p1 (other), p1 (base), p1 (other), Repeat 1^st and 2^nd row 8 more times. Cast off knit-wise.
Seed Pattern Stitch
Cast on 27 stitches. 1^st Row: Knit to end. 2^nd Row: Purl to end. 3^rd Row: K4, p1, k5, repeat from to last 5 stitches, p1, k4. 4^th Row: Purl to end. 5^th Row: Knit to end. 6^th Row: Purl to end. 7^th Row: K1, p1, k5 to last 2 stitches, p1 k1. 8^th Row:* Purl to end Repeat these 8 rows until knitting measures approximately 15cm. End off with a purl row. Cast off knit-wise.
Reverse Stocking Stitch with Star
Cast on 27 stitches. 1^st Row: Purl to end. 2^nd Row: Knit to end. Repeat these 2 rows until approximately 15cm. End with a knit row Cast off purlwise.
Multi-coloured Garter Stitch
Cast on 27 stitches. 1^st – 6^th Row: Knit to end in base colour. 7^th – 8^th Row: Knit to end in other colour. Repeat these 8 rows 4 more times using a different colour for the last two rows each time. End with 6 more rows in garter stitch. Cast off knit-wise.