The holiday season is approaching, that means it’s time … to knit … a thousand pairs of socks!

Just kidding!

I’ve been on a break for the past few months as I focus on my PhD, but over the past year I’ve collected some interesting space-themed knitting patterns that I thought would be great gift knits!

We’ll look at 15 patterns, going from quickest/easiest to most complex. All of these will have some kind of astronomy-theme, some of them are very subtle!

Mitts

Cosmos Mitts

First off are the cosmos mittens by the Yarn Citizen Design Team. What’s unique about these is that the main design is embroidered on after you knit the mitts, meaning you don’t have to do any colour work or complex techniques!

That being said, this pattern uses 4 ply weight yarn with 1.5 – 2mm needles, which could make the mitts a bit fiddly. The pattern is completely free and comes in 2 sizes, although I think you can adjust the sizing depending on the number of stitches in the ribbing.

You can view and download the embroidered Cosmos Mittens here.

Meander Mittens

Next up we have the Meander Mittens by Lotta Groeger. I’ve not seen fingerless mitts like these but there are a couple things I like about these. First, the spirals remind me of spiral galaxies and phase spirals such as the one in the Milky Way. I also like how Lotta switched the colours between the mitts, so when you put your hands together they connect!

The colour work is done in the round, so you don’t have to knit back and forth (if that’s something you like to avoid). The mitts are worked using sport weight yarn and 3.5 – 4 mm needles. The price is €3.50 which is on the more affordable side!

You can find the Meander Mittens here.

Space Mitts

The final pattern in this category is the space mitts by Koni Knits. These mitts feature one of the coolest colorwork designs I’ve ever seen!

The mitts are worked in the round from the cuff up. They feature a Latvian braid splitting the cuff and the colour work, and use 4 ply yarn with 2.5 – 3mm needles. This is a free pattern, but it comes in one size only. I think you could either shave off a bit of the colour work on the sides if you wanted to size down, or you could use sport yarn to size up.

Find the Space Mitts here.

Socks

Our second category (and one of my personal favourites for gifts) is socks!

Twinkle Socks

The first sock is the twinkle socks by Lea Anderson. There are very cute socks which feature a very small amount of colourwork around the cuff. I quite like how the little stars pop out and grab your attention, and I think having less colourwork really works to the socks’ benefit!

The sock design seems to be like your typical sock: cuff down, slip stitch heel and gusset, then toe. This would be ideal if you want to keep things simple but you don’t want to just make a plain vanilla sock. These socks are worked with 4 ply yarn and 2.5 mm needles, and are $5 for the pattern.

You can purchase the pattern here.

Charmed Stars Socks

Now if you want just a little more colourwork, then the Charmed Stars Socks by Shae’s Stitchery is for you! I’ve actually knit these socks before, and I recommend the pattern! It was very clear to read, and I had no trouble making the socks. In fact, my second sock took only about 7 hours to knit!

These socks feature a stellar colourwork cuff, but they also have a gradient background. This would be ideal if you have little scraps of similar but slightly different colours around, although you can also use a plain background!

These socks use 4 ply yarn and 1.25 mm needles (I used 3 mm to get gauge). The pattern costs $6.

You can find the Charmed Stars socks here.

Star Glimmer Socks

Now if you really want a challenge i.e colourwork everywhere, then the star glimmer socks is for you!

These are some of the prettiest socks I’ve ever seen, featuring stellar-themed colourwork that continues from the cuff to the toe. It’s worked top down, with a short row heel. Don’t feel intimidated by all the colourwork, if you find that you struggle to maintain an even gauge when transitioning between colourwork and plain stockinette sections in your knitting, a pattern like this could work in your favour!

These socks are $6.50 and use 4 ply yarn with 2.5 mm needles.

You can purchase the Star Glimmer Socks here.

Himmel Og Hav

Himmel og Hav (Sky and Sea) by Cita Steinmeier is one of the most unique sock designs I’ve ever seen! While most socks are toe up or cuff down, these are worked heel outward! This is how you get the spirals to radiate outwards around the heel.

I’m currently knitting these for my supervisor, and while the pattern is a little sparse on the wording I’ve had no trouble understanding what to do! Despite the sock looking a little odd when it’s laying flat on my desk, it has a spectacular fit!

The spiral colour work reminds me of the phase spiral in the Milky Way (hence why I’m knitting these for my supervisor), which is why I included them here. The socks use 4 ply yarn with 2.5 mm needles. This pattern is on the more affordable side, costing 40 Krona (DKK).

You can find Himmel og Hav here.

Hats (and one Shawl)

Whirlpool Galaxy Hat

The Whirlpool Galaxy Hat by Haley B-E is an absolute classic! Directly inspired by the Whirlpool galaxy, this hat is constructed flat with the galaxy knitted in intarsia on one side. Haley includes a more traditional fit hat and a looser beanie style pattern!

Haley recommends worsted weight yarn and 4 mm needles. Also, it’s completely free!

Find the Whirlpool Galaxy hat here.

Swirly Hat

If you liked the Meander Mittens and wanted something matching to go on your head, then I recommend the Swirly hat!

The swirly hat features two-armed spirals, making it more accurate to the spirals in a typical spiral galaxy! These spirals can be knit using regular stranded colour work, so no intarsia here! The pattern uses DK yarn and 4 mm needles, and is $7.

You can find the Swirly hat here.

Starlit Hat & Shawl

These are technically 2 separate patterns but I wanted to include both since they’re made for each other.

The starlit hat by Kyla Shea Overbay is a stunning colour work hat pattern that features lots of different stars and a unique broken colour work rib!

The complementary shawl features a similar design, but is worked in the round to create a double-sided cozy scarf with inverted colours on the other side!

The hat uses worsted/aran weight yarn with 4 – 5 mm needles, and the shawl recommends sport weight yarn with 3.75 mm needles. It’s a bit challenging to find a yarn brand that does sport/dk and aran versions of the same yarn, but I think Malabrigo’s Arroyo and Rios share many colourways, and you could easily play around with cascade’s range of yarns too!

You can find the starlit hat here and the shawl here.

Sweaters

I’ve saved the most challenging ones till last (I don’t recommend doing that with your knit list!)

Stranded Alchemy

The Stranded Alchemy Top by Elly Coa is a beautiful celestial-themed top with little moons around the yoke. It’s worked top down in the round and works short rows into the design. I think this would be ideal for someone who is quite into solar system physics, and might prefer a subtle nod to their interests!

The pattern includes notes for different sleeves, yokes, and finishes. The top has 8 sizes, going from a 80 – 120 cm bust. The pattern recommends sport weight yarn with 3 – 3.5 mm needles, and is available for $10.50.

You can find the pattern here.

Talviyö Yoke Sweater

The Talviyö sweater by Reetta Heino is a personal favourite, and if you have a friend who loves the Northern lights (and they’re knit-worthy), then knit this one for them!

The construction is very “traditional”, i.e it’s worked bottom up in the round, and then the body and sleeves are joined together and then the yoke is worked. This sweater uses one of the best yarns of all time, Léttlopi!! I totally recommend using this yarn, it is built for colour work! If I were to make this sweater, I think I’d go with celery green for the aurora borealis, and black for the background.

There are 6 sizes and the recommended needle size is 4 – 4.5 mm. The pattern is available for €9.32.

You can find the pattern here.

Galaxy Sweater

Moving away from the solar system, next up we have the galaxy sweater by Beyond Fond Knits. This is quite a unique design, you don’t come across sweaters like these! The design features lots of one-armed spirals evenly spaced around the body and sleeves.

This sweater has a dropped shoulder construction. It’s worked bottom up in the round, with the neck portion worked flat. The sleeves are then worked. The pattern includes 3 sizes ranging from 37 – 49 inch bust. It’s also very affordable at only $5.

This might be more of a challenging knit, as the floats will be very long so you’ll need to manage your tension very well, and you’ll need to be sure your gift recipient will not snag their nails on the floats! The recommended yarn weight is sport, so if I were to knit this, I’d try cascade heritage 6.

You can find the pattern here.

Stars in A Summer’s Sky

This is a real showstopper! The Stars in a Summer’s Sky by Subito Farm Designs is a stunning colour work jumper featuring a gorgeous starry yoke with a gradient background, very similar to the charmed stars socks.

This sweater is worked bottom up in the round. The body and sleeves are all worked up, and then they’re joined together and the yoke is worked.

This pattern recommends dk yarn and 3.5 mm needles. I’ve been wanting to cast this on for ages, but I just can’t find the right yarn. I’ve been eyeing some gradient yarns by Kauni, but ideally I’d want something easily available in the UK. Subito Farms recommends their own yarns, but I don’t think I’d be able to get that shipped. Perhaps in the next administration!

you can find the pattern here.

That’s all my patterns for this year! Thanks for your patience while I take time off, it’s been a busy year with the PhD and other things, but once I’m able to settle down I’ll get back into the swing of things!