I’ve been working on this blanket for Astrid since early December and I’m not tired of knitting it. I’m 3/5 of the way done. I say 3/5 because I’ve got five skeins of the yarn and I’ve used three. I meant it to be a baby blanket, but it’s going to be more a child-sized blanket. That’s fine, though, because then she will get a lot more use out of it.
Lots of people would consider this boring knitting. It’s a simple pattern on small yarn, and it’s a blanket, meaning it will take a long time. Sweaters for babies may be more complicated, but they take a lot less time than blankets! But I tend to go for these kinds of projects, ones that are long, and simple, that I can stick with for kind of a long time. It is taking me a little longer than it would, because I keep knitting smaller things on the side. I’ve got two other projects going at the same time as this blanket, and I’ve knit myself a pair of mittens and my cousin’s baby sweater in the meantime.
This blanket is so lovely, though, because the yarn is just the perfect weight, texture, and color. It’s Peace Fleece DK in the color “Olive Roots.” It’s olive green but it’s also got these wonderful flecks of color throughout. I originally bought it to design a shawl with tiny cables, but I quickly realized that the cables just didn’t show up in this color.
The pattern is my own. It’s just basketweave stitch with a border of garter stitch. Here’s what I’m doing:
Yarn: Peace Fleece DK in color Olive Roots, 5 skeins.
Needles: Size 5 circulars, 32″
Gauge: 25sts in basketweave pattern = 4.5″
CO 235 sts. For a neat edge, at the beginning of each row, slip the first stitch with yarn held in front as if to purl.
Knit in garter stitch until piece measures 1 and 3/4 inches.
Basketweave section:
Row 1: K10, (K5, P5) to last 10 sts, K10. Repeat this row 6 times.
Row 2: K10, (P5, K5) to last 10 sts, K10. Repeat this row 6 times.
Repeat these 12 rows until the blanket is as long as you like it. Then knit another 1 and 3/4 inches of garter stitch and bind off.
You could make the blanket bigger or smaller by adding or removing stitches in multiples of 5. Just make sure your number ends in 5 and not zero, or the directions above won’t make a basketweave pattern.
