Review: Cozy Stash-busting Knits

Jen Lucas is perhaps best known for her Sock Yarn Shawls books, but she's got a fun new collection you should check out if you like quick knits and heavier yarns! I received a review copy of this collection from Martingale Press, and if you're an accessories person, I think you'll want to grab a copy ASAP.

Cozy Stash-busting Knits includes 22 accessory patterns for DK, Worsted and Bulky+ weight yarns. These projects are perfect for those random skeins you find in your stash that just jumped into your shopping cart, even though you had no specific plans for them. 

The book is divided into 3 sections by yarn weight, so you can easily browse all the patterns for your particular skein of stash yarn without flipping back and forth all over the book. That said, if you like a design from the bulky section, for example, but have DK weight yarn at hand, Jen has included tips for working with different yarn weights for many of the projects!

True to Jen's style, this book is pretty shawl heavy (8 by my count, plus 5 scarves and cowls), but also includes 2 headbands, 3 hats and 4 mittens/fingerless mitts. 

A few of my favorites:

Damsel: This is the cover design, and I love the look of a lacy shawl in heavier, DK weight yarn!

Lacon: I love winding cables, and a bulky yarn makes for a quick project.

Montgomery: I'm already thinking about these for fall--the yarn shown here is Wool-Ease, which is mostly acrylic; I think those cables would really pop in a sturdy wool.

Astrid: I'm a big fan of slipped stitch cables, they have such a crisp, clean look. I'm thinking about resizing this one for the kiddos.

The patterns do not, for the most part, include instructions for multiple sizes, which is to be expected for shawls, scarves and cowls. Several of the hats do include a second size, and most of the patterns use very flexible stitch patterns, which means they can stretch to accomodate larger sizes. Jen has also included tips for resizing for a number of the patterns. 

If you are a gift knitter, this would be a great collection to have on hand for your holiday knitting--with heavier yarn, these pieces are quick-to-knit, and you have a wide variety of projects to choose from. I also think this would be a great addition to your library if you like or want to try some heavier-weight shawls.

Be sure to check out all the patterns over on Ravelry. You can purchase the Cozy Stash-Busting Knits book PLUS ebook for $24.99 from Martingale Press, or get the ebook only for just $16.99!

All photos courtesy of Martingale Press

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