Veronik Avery

Her Bear Claw Blanket is an accomplished representation of the famous quilt pattern, impeccably rendered with the best of her trademark attention to detail. The pattern begins with the centre square and the 'claw' blocks are built upon it. The blanket is garter stitch in sport weight Koigu yarn. Definitely for someone special.

Linda Benne

Silk x 2 is the comfortable, easy-to-wear sweater that you throw on during those transitional seasons when you need just a bit of cover, but this has a feminine feel because of the luxurious yarn and seed stitched keyhole neckline.

Body-Grafix

Beverley Ann Finlay let us choose a favourite and we chose Rosie, an adorable outfit that's easy to make in DK weight yarn with self-finishing picot and moss stitch edges and a good size range for 6 months to 6 years.

Cabin Fever

Deb and Lynda Gemmel chose 1,2,3, Top Down, an "oldie but goodie" and "first venture into offering the knitter options for creating their own pullover." As named, there are 3 style options from which to choose for children ages 2 to 8. It's a great pattern to learn top down technique and it's happily in a worsted weight.

Classic Elite Yarns

Classic Elite chose their Mohair Pullover with Rib and Cables. "La Gran put Classic Elite Yarns on the map back in the 80's, so it's only fitting that this timeless sweater (and accompanying hat and mittens patterns) modeled by a young Uma Thurman in 1987 would make our list of Patternfish favourites." This is one of those patterns that put the ‘classic' in Classic Elite yarns and we're delighted to have many of them.

Elizabeth Fallone

"My favorite design is Racer. My son wanted a sweater, not too cabled. He searched all my stitch books until he found the perfect one. He then went on to describe the type of sweater he wanted and "racer" was born. David literally wore it out in its first year. The elbows rubbed completely bare and are now held together with leather patches." We want to know, when is David going to start his design career?

Barbara Gregory

"I love my Dragon Paws pattern the best; these lighthearted dragons have a cheerful energy that makes them fun to wear in the bleak days of winter and fun to knit in any season." A lovely surprise is the dragon tail that loops around to the palm of the mitt. Be sure to look at the extra photos on the pattern page.

Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton

Julia described Belinda as "an exquisite and exquisitely simple piece that you can wear on its own or layer in any way you please" and we don't think that anything more can be said about it. Except, there is waist shaping cleverly tucked into the rib and it suits hand dyed yarns perfectly.

Robin Hunter

"The Pinwheel Cardigan is my favorite because it is a surprisingly simple knit for a garment that really delivers an impact!" Robin's intrigue with circular designs inspired this adaptable and high impact version of what has become a standard.

Interpretations

Denise Powell: "After a little consultation with my design-student daughter, we have chosen the Cherry Blossom Haori. It's spring-like, fits just about everyone, and is representative of my tag line, Designs from distant times and distant places, interpreted for the modern knitter."

JCA Crafts

Again we will rely on Julia's description. The Turtleneck with Details is "…graceful and polished and positively luminous." It's exquisitely simple and as easy to create as its name; it's understated but with ‘details' that make it a knockout. The size range is excellent, from 36"-52".

Reynolds

We chose the Colorful Kids Aran style pullover but are puzzled by the name. This pullover, built for speed in a bulky yarn, can be knit for sizes 2/4 to 14/16, from 28" to 41" chest. Surely it's adult sized. What a bonus! And the hat is included. Colorful Kids is also a great pattern to try out Aran patterning for the first time.

Artful Yarns

We chose this Two Button Tunic because we like the beautifully shaped fit above and the flow below, for its interesting but not difficult lace patterning, and its adaptability to all season wear. One of us is mad for seed stitch and the fact that it enhances but doesn't dominate makes this an especially nice choice.

Unger

Unger's Patchwork Crocheted Afghan is created in patches then sewn together; it's a perfect travel project. There are 11 worsted weight yarn colours called for or go your own way and choose a riot of colour. One of us is fond of the look of a pieced afghan, the sewing together, not so much. It's less daunting to sew the pieces together as they are crocheted.

Mags Kandis

Grandma's Quilt is the kind of sweater you live in during the winter, especially in more Northern climates like Mags'. Combine that coziness with the counterpane front and all over knit and purl patterning, and you'll feel like you're wearing the most beautiful afghan, made years ago by your Grandma.

Ilga Leja

"As one of my earliest designs, the Lady of the Forest launched my career and continues to be a personal favourite, one that I wear myself whenever I have the chance." The drape of this wrap is glorious. Look at the extra photo for an alternate, very different yarn choice.

Maureen Mason-Jamieson

This Four Corners Hat is the very first fair isle design that the editor ever made. It's my all-time favourite winter hat and a very warm one with stranded band and garter stitch body. Mason-Jamieson's exellent pattern writing made my first fair isle experience fun.

Lanaknits Designs

Lana Hames has chosen her Sweetheart Top. "This top is one of our most popular summer designs, so fun to knit and so elegant to wear." The fit you get with a side to side garter stitch knit like this is nothing short of va, va, va, voom if you're curvy and maybe an understated va, va… if you're smaller. The lace at the ribs is an additional feminine touch.

Robin Melanson

Melanson is well known on Patternfish for her many masterful patterns written as a free lance designer. This winter she launched de Corvidae, her own line, and while all 5 in the first wave are stunning, Vivika is our and Melanson's favourite. Vivika pays homage to Melanson's Celtic Studies degree and is written with her characteristic thoroughness and attention to detail.

Sally Melville

Sally chose the Seductive Yarn Tunic for the best of reasons. "It's my favourite because I love the design and love my daughter modeling (on whom you can barely see the bump that will soon be my third granddaughter!). For the curious, ‘seductive' in the title refers to those variegated yarns that we so love in the skein but that disappoint in the project when they pool and stripe unattractively. Behold, Sally's solution.

Naturally

Naturally's Cropped Jacket has both style and knitting advantages. There's the sleek fit, impeccable high sleeve caps, and cropped length. As long as you create it in a skin-comfortable yarn, it will be a professional look for the office and later, out for dinner over bare skin with a hint of lace showing. We love self-finishing hems and collars especially in double seed stitch.

Danny Ouellette

"The Diamonds and Roses Shawl is probably the pattern that took me the longest to get right and the one I'm most proud of. It was a great learning experience making it. Designing and testing versions of the shawl went fairly quickly but writing the pattern and creating the charts took quite a while." And, we must add, Danny likely takes longer than many because he is an absolutely outstanding designer who will not be rushed. He writes impeccable patterns.

Perl Grey

We imagine that Adrienne Thomas must think without effort in three dimensions. Imogen, "a jacket knit side to side in one piece," as she so simply describes it, is a perfect example of her process. Perl Grey designs are novel, intriguing, and thoughtfully written with tips and reminders that make the whole process easy and fun.

Robin

Robin's Bazaar Bits and Pieces belongs in every gift giver's and charitable knitter's pattern stash. There are eighteen different things to knit: ruched tea-cozy, striped tea cozy, cushion cover, glasses case and cord, pot holder, egg cozies, pin cushion, slippers, lady's hat, snake draft excluder, scarf, lady's gloves, children's mitts, work bag, colour cushion cover, textured cushion cover, 2 coat hanger covers, and a hot water bottle cover.

Wendy

Both of these are sweet and feminine with a vintage feel. One of us especially loves the delicate lace and shawl collar on the one colour cardigan, and the other of us loves the primness of the shirt collar with lace touches only visible at close range. Both of us like the high sleeve caps and the shaping waist and shoulder.

Twilleys

This Knitted Waistcoat with Lace Panels is a fresh take on the traditional vest with shaped shoulders and back neck, pinafore-like flare, and a cable/lace panel running up the fronts. The one of us who is mad for back patterning would add the panels to the back as well.

Peter Pan

We like patterns that give good size ranges. You can make this Sweater with Shapes from Peter Pan for birth to 7 years. One intarsia pattern had to be included, and this one is a good beginner's choice. The shoulder buttons could be eliminated for an older child who might see them as babyish.

Waterwheel

Where would a first publisher's celebratory collection be without an Aran-style garment? We have 4 Waterwheel designs, all classics, with these His and Hers Waistcoats being the most classic among them. Aran weight yarn and intermediate difficulty make this our choice and a good one for cable beginners.

Red Bird Knits

Robyn Gallimore has chosen her Latvian Wedding Socks. "I love the symbolism behind the patterns and the fabulous way the self striping yarn worked out so miraculously." The brilliant sock designer, who has branched out to inspired shawls, used both Latvian braid and fair isle techniques for this all-time best seller for Red Bird Knits.

Jane Thornley

Leaf Lights is a new 3 pattern e-book from Jane Thornley. "These designs are my favourite because they take the beloved feather and fan stitch to new heights in very organic ways and are so much fun to knit." Jane is practically famous for free-form knitting. Her patterns are not really patterns at all, but rather instruction manuals that free you from knitting constraints and encourage you to use all the techniques you've so painstakingly learned in new ways.