Soft Hues and Cuddly Yarn Make a Warm Welcome

by Christy

With only a couple weeks to spare before my dear friend Carrie’s baby shower, I knew I could knit something warm and cozy in time. After spending an afternoon looking at patterns for baby blankets, hats, sweaters, and booties, I knew one thing: there are some pretty ugly patterns out there for baby knits. Ugh! I think that’s one of my problems with baby clothes and décor; it’s all so cutesy wootsy. Where are the cool patterns for kids?

I found a sweet sweater and hat pattern, but when I looked at the required materials, I was dismayed, "H hook? What the h? That ain’t knittin’, that’s crochet!" Abandoning the thought of learning to crochet, and learning it well enough to create a gift with my new skills, the search began anew. At a loss, I invented my own pattern using an adult blanket pattern as my springboard. It’s a simple design requiring only the knit and purl stitch.

My squares are 10 inches square worked in stockinet and reverse stockinet stitch, and I knit 9 of them. So with the 2-inch border, my finished blanket is about a yard square. I used the colors that I knew Carrie was using in the nursery, but even working this entire blanket in one color would be nice due to the varying textures in the blocks.

Materials:

3 skeins of yarn, each 185 yards (I used Lion brand Homespun, available at most larger craft stores, in Seaspray, Rocco, and Williamsburg)

Size 11 needles

Tapestry needle

Tape measure

Iron with steam feature

Directions:

I’ve recorded the steps I took to make my blanket a yard square. Adjust this pattern accordingly if you are working with a different yarn or needle size, or if you want to make an adult-sized blanket.

1. Cast on 30 stitches.

2. Knit 15 stitches, bring the yarn to the front of the piece, taking care to keep the yarn taught, and purl the remaining 15 stitches.

3. Continue knitting the first 15 stitches and purling the last 15 stitches for four or five rows until you can get a good measurement of the width of your square. Mine measured 10 inches across, so I knit until my piece measured 5 inches high; the halfway point of my square.

4. Now, purl the first 15 stitches, bring the yarn to the back of the piece, and knit the last 15 stitches. Knit until the piece measures 10 inches high from the beginning and bind off.

5. Knit 8 more squares like the first. Alternating color if you wish. Weave in the ends of the yarn with the tapestry needle. Steam the squares; do not iron them.

6. Lay the squares out, taking care to alternate the patterns of the blocks. Using the yarn as thread, bind the blocks together. Do so by overlapping the edges slightly and sewing them together. Make three long strips first, and then bind the strips together so the corners of the blocks all meet up nicely. My pieced together blanket measured 30" x 33".

6. For the trim, cast on 5 stitches and work in stockinet stitch, but always slip the first stitch and knit the last stitch regardless of if you are on the knit or purl side of the piece. This will make a nice finished edge. Knit until trim piece measures 2 inches longer than a side of the blanket. Knit 3 more strips like the first.

7. Bind the trim to the blanket putting the nicest edge of the trim out. Sew one end of the trim flush with the end of the blanket, and the other end extending 2 inches.

Now you’re done with your blanket! As a friend suggested, perhaps you have just knitted someone’s Blanky, and that is a very rewarding feeling! I hope Carrie’s baby enjoys using it as much as I enjoyed creating it.

If you’ve never slipped a stitch, simply pass the stitch onto the right-hand needle without knitting it and continue knitting as normal.

I knit very loosely, and the yarn I used is pretty nubby, so… when I bound the pieces together, I couldn’t get the knotted end to take. What I ended up doing is catching the knotted end of the yarn with the needle on my first complete stitch. Perhaps this photo will help…

scraps | fridge | porch | table | stump | travels | us | archives

© 2002 craftygal.com. All rights reserved.