Knitted Bookmarks

 

Knitting a bookmark is a great way of practicing your skills either as a beginner or as a more experienced crafter who wants to try a new knit stitch/pattern.

As a bookmark is generally small, it doesn't require a great amount of yarn so it doesn't matter if it gets messed up in the process.  

I've created 2 of these bookmarks for beginners and the other is for those who feel confident enough to try a new pattern.

The first bookmark is the most basic but a classic at the same time.

The beauty of this style is that you can make it any size you like in garter stitch, you don't really need to count rows.

This style includes a few decreases at the bottom on each side which I did by knitting 2 stitches together (K2tog), leaving 2/3 stitches on my needle which were then cast off.

It's not counted as a 'tassel' but more of a 'fringe' despite looking like a solitary tassel.  This was done using a crochet hook and looping the centre of the yarn strands around it and pulling it through the point of the bookmark part way and then pulling the tails of the strands through to knot it.

Remember to sew in any loose ends to neaten the bookmark up (see photo).

The next bookmark is another simple garter stitch rectangle but using multiple coloured yarn - this gives you the opportunity to learn how to change yarn at the end of each row.

To change yarn so that the wrong side is all on the same side, you will need to make a note of which row (odd or even number) you cut the yarn.

By doing this, you will leave yourself long strands of yarn which can be sewn in later to neaten up the edges and can also show you which side you changed yarn if you wish to repeat it (like a natural stitch marker).

Here is a photo of the 'wrong' side of the bookmark to show you what the colour change looks like in garter stitch.

   'Wrong side'

The last bookmark is more complicated and therefore would be more suitable for someone who has experience with knit and purl stitches as well as being able to read a pattern.

This pattern is called diamond stitch and is a 8 row repeating pattern.

To do this effect you will need to follow these instructions:

Cast on a multiple of 9 stitches (mine was 18 stitches just for reference).

Row 1 (right side) K 2. *p 5, k 4, repeat from * to last 7 stitches then p 5 and k 2.

Row 2: P 1, *k 7, p 2, rep from * to last 8 stitches then k 7 and purl 1

Row 3: P

Row 4: Rep row 2

Row 5: Rep row 1

Row 6: P 3, *k 3, p 6, rep from * to last 6 stitches then k 3 and p 3

Row 7: K 4, *p 1, k 8, rep from * to last 5 stitches then p 1 and k 4

Row 8: Rep row 6.

Rep rows 1-8 to form pattern.

My bookmark is 48 rows for reference (so the pattern is repeated 6 times) and then cast off.

I have include a photo of the 'wrong side' so you can see the reverse.

This was my first time attempting the diamond stitch - it took me a lot of concentration (as I get easily distracted) but it didn't actually take too long to make up.

I hope that you have found this useful - especially if you are a beginner and are looking for an easy way to perfect your knitting.