Boy oh boy has 2024 flown by! I started the year off with my Master’s research project and now I’m a PhD working on galaxies! Speaking of which, I thought I’d curate and share a list of my top astronomy and space themed knitting patterns that are perfect for Christmas gifts!

These are all very low cost or free, and are relatively quick knits that should take less than a week. Accompanying the patterns will be a short description including the yarn weight, and I think I’ll add my personal recommendations!

Let me know if you’ve knit any of these! I haven’t tested these patterns so unfortunately I can’t say whether the pattern is good or not.

Whirlpool Galaxy Hat

The Whirlpool Galaxy Hat by Haley B E is a unique hat pattern based on Messier 51 a.k.a The Whirlpool galaxy.

This is a really simple and basic hat pattern, with the main feature being the galaxy. I really love how the galaxy is the main centrepiece of the design and it really pops out from the dark background!

This pattern is completely free, the Ravelry link is above but you can also find the pattern directly on Haley’s blogspot here. She offers two versions: a regular tight hat and a more slouchy beanie.

This hat is worked in the round with a simple 1×1 rib edge. The galaxy is charted separately which can be used for other projects too. I would say if you have experience with knitting a basic hat and stranded colourwork, this would be the perfect pattern for you. However from what I can tell, you will have to carry a lot of floats around the hat, so you could actually work this flat and work the galaxy as though it were intarsia.

The pattern recommends Cascade 220 in midnight blue and cream, which is a Peruvian aran-weight wool (very thick and warm). I quite like the cascade yarn, but I probably would have gone for a more realistic colour palette and gone for jet or galaxy as the background colour, and lavender heather or faded denim for the galaxy. But that’s just me!

Andromeda Mittens

The Andromeda Mittens by Emily Bujold are a work of art! These mitts feature a detailed design of Andromeda split between both hands, and a background fair isle pattern. These are not for the beginner, but if you have experience with double pointed needles and 4 ply colour work I would go for it!

The pattern is quite affordable at $3USD or about £2.50. It requires 5 colours, 2 for the background, and 3 for the galaxy with the white being used for both. That may intimidate you, but the galaxy is actually just duplicate stitched ontop of finished mittens, which are worked in the round in the traditional style.

The pattern recommends Tosh merino light by madelinetosh, which I haven’t been able to come across near me. Since it’s a 4 ply yarn merino wool, you have many options for alternatives! Personally I would go for Jamieson and Smith’s Jumper weight 2ply yarn (it is 4 ply weight despite the name I promise!). I’d choose 1A (white) and 77 (black) for the mittens, but I honestly can’t pick a colour for Andromeda. There are just too many blues and purples that could work perfectly!

Galaxy Mitts

If you want a more simple pattern for mittens but still want a galaxy design, then I’d recommend Ruth Dorrington’s Galaxy Mitts. These are fingerless mitts (but you can always adapt them into gloves or mitts) which feature a simple galaxy design on both hands and a contrasting color rib.

This pattern is really affordable at £1.50, and with three colours you could make multiple pairs for lots of friends! Ruth recommends knit by numbers 4 ply by John Arbon textiles, which is a merino and blue faced Leicester blend. However I can’t seem to find any which is a shame because it looks lovely! I’d say a good substitution could be Jamieson and Smith 2ply, but if you are looking for a merino wool you could also go for King Cole’s merino blend 4ply. I’d go for black and dark grey for the body and rib respectively, and Larkspur for the galaxy.

Space Feet Socks

Focusing on keeping our feet warm, up next is the space feet socks by Karolina Adamczyk. These are gorgeous cuff-down socks with a stranded colorwork pattern, with the gradient look coming from the background yarn! My jaw would drop if someone knitted me these!

The socks are worked with 4 ply yarn. Karolina recommends a couple specific yarns, namely DROPS fabel (I love this yarn personally!), Zauerball Crazy (I also like this yarn), and Lang yarns Jawoll magic degrade and super wash (I haven’t tried these but they look lovely!)

These are lovely yarns, but if you don’t have access to them any 4ply sock yarn will do! I quite like Opal’s 4ply yarn range for socks, and wool will help the colorwork blend into one fabric. Although if you’re looking for something a little more sturdy you could use a 4 ply cotton.

Auld Lang Syne

There are quite a few sock patterns on Ravelry that have some kind of celestial/space design, but I was drawn to the Auld Lang Syne socks by Louise Robert. It’s a free pattern that features a basic black sock with either white or gold colour work stars and moon. These socks are knit cuff down and are in one size only, however you could just add some extra plain black stockinette stitches to the sides, or go up to 6ply if you are knitting these for someone with very large feet. Based on my gauge and size, I would personally only have to add 2 stitches to each side to get a good fit.

The recommended yarn is Louise Robert Collection SUPER SOCK which is a merino nylon blend, however you could use pretty much any sock yarn.

Star Illusion Scarf

I thought this was such a clever and cool scarf design. This is the Star Illusion Scarf by Elle Smith. It’s a free pattern that is an illusion knitting piece, which is where you strategically purl some stitches within a garter stitch background to make certain colours pop out at different angles. It sounds tricky, but trust me it isn’t! And a pattern does all the work for you (except the knitting)!

I love the stars, but I thought it could also look nice if there were moons in there too. I tried searching for something on Ravelry with both, however the only one I found didn’t actually have a digital pattern. So instead, I found this Moon and Star Illusion chart by Dawn Huddlestone. You could incorporate the Moon design in between the stars.

Both patterns are free and the scarf recommends Caron Simply Soft Brites. I think I’d go for black and an accent colour. Maybe gold?

Spacetime Cowl

Our final and probably the most intricate pattern is the spacetime cowl by Inger Berg. We’ve covered the spacetime hat before a few years ago, but I had no clue she released a cowl pattern too!

This is a really simple plain tube with ribbing on each sides, but the real showstopper is the colour work design! I’ve worked this pattern before (the hat pattern but same design) and I really recommend it! It’s a simple and easy to read pattern which comes with a handy chart.

I used Opal Rainforest and Opal Uni 4ply for my hat and the vest I made, but Inger gives a huge list of recommended yarns! The pattern is 50NOK which is about £3.70, so it’s a little higher than the patterns we’ve covered previously but not a lot.

That wraps up my knitting gift list for today! Let me know which one’s your favourite, or if you’ve had any experience with these patterns! I’m personally very keen to knit the Andromeda mittens!