by Gillian Taber

Created on: June 30, 2009

Knitting, once a useful way to clothe your family and a skill passed from generation to generation, has become a hobby today. There are still thousands of people who enjoy knitting and use it as a form of creative expression and relaxation. Finding a plentiful supply of free knitting patterns can be an arduous task. The following websites offer both free knitting patterns and excellent variety to inspire knitting enthusiasts.

Knitting Pattern Central is a vast resource. It works as a free knitting pattern directory, linking to other resources. With over 50 categories, including afghans, baby clothes and even dish cloths, there is sure to be something to suit any knitter.

As an example, the word Halloween returned a selection of Halloween themed clothes and toy ideas such as little ghost toys and a Halloween trick or treat back. The patterns are clear and easy to print off. The directory uses a + to indicate external sites that require a free registration to access patterns and * to show patterns that open in the PDF format. There is also a great section for tips and tricks with contributions from real people who share their knitting experiences and tricks of the trade.

The Daily Knitter is another fabulous resource. Their knitting patterns are divided into three initial categories - Daily Free pattern, Free Knitting Patterns and Exclusive Free Knitting Patterns. There is easy access to several other sections of the site including Knitting News, Knitting Directories and Knitting Help. There is also a knitting forum where you can share your enthusiasm with others.

Clicking on the Free Knitting patterns tab takes you to another page where you can choose from an extensive selection of categories. For example, clicking on the 'pets' category takes you to a list of available patterns. Choosing 'cat vest' leads to an external site with a very cute cat sporting the vest and access to the pattern download in the form of a PDF file. The site is easy to use and offers a wide range of patterns.

Knitty.com is an online knitting magazine that offers more than just free patterns. There are informative articles about knitting which offer help and advice for your knitting problems. Knittyspin deals with those knitters who like to spin their own wool before knitting. The Coffee Shop is a knitting forum that currently has over 27,100 members and appears very active. Alongside a knitting directory, a blog and extensive archive access, there is much more to Knitty.com than patterns.

The free patterns are also impressive. They are bright and modern, simply asking using to pick up those needles. There is also a useful glossary of terms on the pattern page and an indicator for the level of difficulty for each pattern. The 'Deadliest Crab' pattern, taken as an example, was clearly illustrated and the pattern was easy to follow and simple to print off.

A final resource is the site, Ringsurf.com. This is a site that collects external sites and lists them by category. The given page is for the knitting 'ring' and includes a wide variety of sites that offer free patterns. There are over 300 members of the ring and virtually every kind of knitting pattern is to be found on the list. An excellent place to start your search for that pattern you have in your head but can't seem to find.

Once you start looking, there is an almost infinite amount of free knitting patterns to be found on the web. Your only problem will be finding time to knit all the ones you fall in love with.

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