We are big fans of Patons Sierra yarn here at March Yarns and it lends itself to so many projects! It's soft, the colours are beautiful and it is perfect for either knitting or crochet. Last winter many customers came into the shop wanting to knit a baby blanket as a handmade gift for a new baby and were unsure where to start. I've written up a few simple patterns to help out and this Gentle Moss blanket is the first. This pattern is easy and looks great as well as feeling so soft and squishy. The finished blanket looks sophisticated and almost like a woven fabric. If you want to make it bigger into a larger throw or single bed topper just add more stitches and keep knitting!
This blanket is knitted in a Moss Slip Stitch which allows you to knit with different coloured yarns and get a very colourful effect without all the ends to weave in. The contrasting, solid colour can be any wool that you prefer to knit with. If you choose wool over acrylic you will need to calculate quantities based on the meterage, not the grams.
Finished size:
Pram cover size 75cm x 100cm. If you would like to modify the size of the finished blanket and make it larger you can increase the number of stitches, but it is important to note that the pattern requires an uneven number of stitches for the moss stitch to work.
Needles: 5.5mm circular needle with 100cm cable or longer. Note: 5.5mm needles are larger than is usually required for 8ply yarn but it makes for a softer, squishier blanket. You will need needles long enough to comfortably hold the number of stitches. I recommend using a long circular needle for this blanket so that the needles comfortably fit all of the stitches and so that the weight of the knitting is held on the cable and in your lap instead of being held by your hands, arms and wrists.
Yarn: 8ply yarn in 2 shades. This blanket looks best if one of the yarns is multicoloured. Using graduated, transitioning or multi-coloured yarn for Yarn 1 produces many different colours in the blanket without having to change yarns!
Yarn 1: Patons Sierra - Glacier Lake (3190) 150g/375m x 1 ball
Yarn 2: Panda Magnum 8ply - Natural (2038) 100g/271m x 2 balls
Tension/Gauge:
A particular tension or gauge is not essential for this blanket.
Abbreviations:
RS Right Side
yfwd Yarn forward
yb Yarn back
k Knit
sl Slip stitch from left needle to right without knitting it. Slip purlwise (as if you were going to purl the stitch)
Instructions:
Using Yarn 2, cast on 155 stitches
Row 1 (RS): k1 (sl 1, k1) to end of row
Row 2: k1, (yfwd, sl 1, yb, k1) to end of row
Change to Yarn 1
Row 3: k2, (sl 1, k1) to last stitch, k1
Row 4: k2, (yfwd, sl 1, yb, , k1) to last stitch, K1.
Change to Yarn 2
Repeat rows 1 – 4 until the blanket measures 100cm, or desired length, knit 1 row in Yarn 2. Cast off. Weave in any ends.
Close up of the right side:
The wrong side/other side looks like this:
Border:
Crochet two rows of (UK) double crochet around the blanket to give it a nice border and finished look. I used a 3mm hook and only crocheted into every second stitch to stop the blanket from having a wavy edge. I crocheted 1dc, 2ch, 1 dc into the corners on the first row and 2dc, 2ch, 2dc in each corner on the second row.
Happy knitting, and knit your love into every stitch. Hmm, how would this blanket look in Patons Sierra Canyon Glow with a dark blue contrast?? Amazing, I bet.
