This pattern is retired and not usually available. However, I make many of my retired patterns available for a few days twice a year, and this is one of those times! It will be available from now through some time on Monday, December 2. Then it will go away again.

In the summer of 2022, I realized that I found maintaining a back catalog of hundreds of patterns overwhelming. I couldn’t do it and still release new things. So I took my old patterns down so I could keep doing new work.

A few favorites have come back, and lots of new things have come out! But the vast majority of the old patterns are retired and are no longer generally available.

However, enough folks have asked about old favorites that I make many of the retired patterns available for a few days twice a year (usually in early summer and around Thanksgiving).

• If you see the buy buttons on this page, you’ve caught it on one of the days it’s available!
• If you don’t see the buy buttons on this page, then it’s not currently available.
• If you want to hear when the retired patterns are available, subscribe to the mailing list or patreon, or keep an eye on my instagram.

Foghorn noun a horn sounded in a fog to give warning

This is a companion to Chimney and Belfry (the houses and church in the pictures at the bottom of this page).

So, your little village, your little village full of adorable houses, is it a seaside village? Because if it’s a seaside village, it probably needs a lighthouse. Maybe even two if the coast is particularly treacherous.

Because really, a lighthouse probably means a broody lighthouse keeper with a mysterious backstory. Or maybe it means ghosts. I fear there’s a higher than usual chance that a lighthouse comes with a ghost. I suspect it will provide your villagers with all sorts of opportunities for daring adventures.

What to do with the sweet, silly little things:

• Round out your village with some lovely new buildings
• Make one to remind you of the lighthouse you saw on vacation
• Decorate one to match each lighthouse you visit
• Make an alarmingly adorable housewarming present for anyone moving to the coast
• Knit a Christmas ornament

Your imagination is the limit here. I suspect you already have a whole host of ideas for exactly how you could use a few of these!

The pattern is tremendously detailed. The pattern is written for three different stitch counts, and you can adjust your gauge a bit to get a wide variety of finished sizes (and work with a variety of different yarns).

The knitting is easy. The walls are all knit in one piece, and they’re mostly stockinette in the round. The deck and roof are knit separately and are also mostly stockinette in the round. There’s no sewing up at the end (though you will want some glue!).

Each building took less than 50 yards of yarn for the walls and less than 50 yards of yarn for the deck and roof (if you’re making bigger buildings, you should be able to make them with less than 75 for the walls and less than 50 yards for the deck roof). I used a fingering weight, single ply yarn, but anything that will give you a smooth, dense fabric is fine (this is a great project for using up yarn scraps). The windows and doors are duplicate stitched on with embroidery floss once the knitting is finished.

I’ve stuffed my building with blocks (from the same set I used for the houses and church), which give the finished pieces a delightful heft and structure. You’ll also want a couple of discs for the deck and roof (coins are great, as are large buttons, or even circles cut out of plastic), and something round and translucent for the light (I used caps off water bottles for mine). I’ve got a blog post up over here with more information about what’s inside them, and don’t worry, you’ve got lots of options. If you don’t want to use blocks, I’ve also included templates you can print out and assemble to make your own out of card stock. Or if you’re the industrious type, I’ve heard from people who have cut upholstery foam to size or assembled blocks out of plastic canvas. So you do have options! But I think toy blocks are going to be your easiest and most satisfying choice.

Oh and if you’re feeling nervous about knitting something tiny and 3D, don’t worry. The pattern includes a lengthy photo tutorial with pages and pages of step-by-step photos to walk you through every part of the process. There’s also a worksheet to help you figure out your gauge (in case you’re using different size blocks than I did), a resource guide with links to techniques you might need, a printable grid so you can sketch out your windows and doors, and printouts you can use to assemble your own shapes if you don’t want to track down blocks.

The pattern is 24 pages long and holds your hand the whole way through. There are lots of pictures and lots of cheer leading and encouragement. If you take it step by step, you can totally do this!

Oh, and just to be super clear so no one misunderstands, this pattern is for the lighthouse shown in the first two pictures. The houses and churches that accompany it in the other pictures are in the Chimney and Belfry patterns. You’ll get the set at a discount if you buy all three.

These are perfect for you if:

• You knew there was a reason you had a box of blocks kicking around in the basement
• Your townsfolk are worried about ships crashing on the rocks

They’re not for you if:

• You don’t like charts (the pattern uses charts)
• You are a respectable grownup at all times and couldn’t possibly let anyone know you made something so absurd