Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Baby Miter Blanket

I finished the baby miter blanket yesterday with the leftover* corntastic yarn:

*leftovers plus 2 extra skeins to make the colour scheme work

The blanket was inspired by the Mitered Square Blanket in Mason-Dixon Knitting by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne. But instead of stocking stitch, I used all garter, and alternated the colours every 2nd row.

Here's the basic instructions for my version of the pattern:

  • Cast on 40 stitches. (Place a marker between the 1st 20, and the 2nd set of 20 stitches.)
  • Row 1: Knit all stitches
  • Row 2: Knit until 2 stitches before the marker, k2 tog. Slip marker, ssk, knit to end.
  • Change colour.
  • Repeat row 1 and 2 (changing colour after every row 2) until you have 2 stitches left -- k2tog and pull yarn through.
  • Sew all squares together. Add a crochet border (double crochet around the edge, working 3 dcs into every corner).

Things I would have done differently:

1. Plan the colour scheme out in advance -- it wasn't until I was 2/3 of the way through that I decided to match up the colours so that each outer edge would match the colour of the edge it was placed next to, and each inner colour would match the inner colour of the squares that it was placed next to. You can only imagine how long I played with this 'puzzle' until I found a way to make it work, and then fill in the blanks.


2. Leave the ends until the end -- I thought I was being good by weaving in the ends of each square as I went along. If I was smart I would have left longer tails, and used these for sewing the squares together. As it was I think I did 2x the amount of sewing that was necessary.


3. Wash and block; do not iron -- I washed and blocked, but because I'm impatient and wanted a picture, I decided to throw in the dryer and then just iron the edging. Bad idea -- turns out this yarn doesn't agree with a hot iron! Luckily it was just an edge and I pulled the iron away before any real damage was done!

So there you have it. It's done, and will be winging its way back to the UK this week.

14 comments:

Terrie D. (StarSpry) said...

I love it! It looks so cute :D

Anonymous said...

That thing with weaving in the ends is so 'me'. It just wouldn't have dawned on me. Ends get me every time but I think in this case it's been worth the effort. It's really lovely.

Susan Luni said...

That blanket looks perfect! It's got just the right amount of randomness and order. Your color scheme worked very well; it was worth your extra effort.

Stacey said...

Another great baby blanket Sam! Way to go!

Kim said...

Stunning work. It's a darling blanket. I admire the patience you have to sit and seam all that up :)

Anonymous said...

Wow!!! It's fantastic!

Bea said...

Really really pretty. Makes me want to start a bright colorful blanket!

Corwink said...

I love how this turned out. Great colors!

Anonymous said...

What a great blanket and beautiful gift! You did a great job!!

Thanks again for helping me on Sunday! You are an amazing friend! We are home now!

Love ya, my friend!
Nachaele

cassidy said...

Hey Sam! Where did you get your blocking board? It looks huge, but I think I need one just like it =) I hope you are well...your knitting is just so beautiful.
Cassidy

WandaWoman said...

That baby blanket is just amazing. It's so beautiful. Did you get it mailed out?

Joanne said...

Absolutely stunning. It makes me want to make one. One day, perhaps, but I'm going to keep your adjustments in mind, in the meantime. BRAVO!!

Anonymous said...

WOW - that is a beautiful blanket. Lucky baby!

Anonymous said...

Hello~I found your blog via Terrie. This blanket is amazing! Finished the day my fifth grandchild is born. It has a place to go already though, I see...