I’m not a big fan of knitting difficult things.
I prefer to make things that LOOK complex but are relatively easy to knit.
However, there are some crazy knitters out there that like a challenge.
That got me thinking about what makes for a “Hard” knitting pattern.
I think it boils down to three things:
-
Time to knit
I’m not talking about time in days or weeks or even months. How many hours is it going to take to knit the entire project. Another way to measure this is how many stitches need to be knit to complete it. -
Pattern complexity
I’ve found the most difficult patterns to have an immense amount of detail throughout the ENTIRE project. Whether its lace knit on both sides of the fabric or some insane intarsia pattern, when you have to think about EVERY stitch, that’s not easy. -
Finishing details
It’s not enough to just knit the main body of the project. Some projects require a lot of finishing to…finish. Maybe it’s a lace border around the edge knit in four different directions, or inset pockets that are lined, or a crazy button band. Finishing is where a lot of WIPs become UFOs, and the more you have to do, the less likely it’ll get done.
Difficult Types of Knitting
Certain knitting traditions are known for incredibly complicated, challenging knitting.
These include (but are not limited to):
- All over Aran cabled sweaters
- Shetland lace shawls
- Estonian lace shawls
- German lace shawls (seeing a pattern here???)
- Bohus stickning sweaters
- Pretty much anything designed by Alice Starmore or Kaffe Fassett
- Something called Tvåändsstickning 😳
Most of these types of knitting focus on having lots of detail be it with cables, lace, or colorwork.
They require a lot of attention to execute properly.
The Hardest Knitting Patterns
So what are some of the hardest patterns out there?
Here are three we think could vie for the top spot
Lusta Sweater by Frida Franckie
Why is it hard?
It’s a sweater with a lace yoke that includes a ton of bobbles, ruffles, more lace, picot edging, more bobbles, more lace, and fringe. I’m exhausted just describing it.
The Princess Shawl by Sharon Miller
Why is it hard?
Just look at it! 👀
A shawl like this can take a year to knit, and traditionally needed to be made of yarn so fine that you could pull the entire thing through the wedding ring.
A Winter Wedding Coat by Meret Buetzberger
What is it?
This coat uses double knitting AND stranded colorwork AND 28 different colors of yarn!
Not only are you basically knitting TWO coats at the same time, you’re also knitting it to go past your knees.
Conclusion
So there you have, a few examples of genuinely difficult patterns to knit.