The Atkinsons

New Blanket for Baby Boy

Well, I did it again. Knitted something that I'm not 100% in love with- typical. I always end up feeling like I didn't nail the colors like I wanted to. I really need to get a color specialist or something. Someone I trust will pick the right colors for me so I can knit it without stressing about how it will all look in the end. Stephanie Cirac? Anyways here it is! My knitted blanket for baby boy. I didn't think it would take so long but I took breaks from it and I ALWAYS forget how long it takes to stitch things together (when you do a project that requires it.) I always swear every time after I do a project that requires a lot of stitching that I will never do it again... but then I always do. It's a knitters life for me. 

Olive decided when I was photographing the blanket that it looked just too inviting not to sit on. That's the point right? :)

Here is my brief tutorial on this blanket. I used this pattern from Martha Stewart as a guideline. I used measurements based on some of the baby knit blankets on purlbee, the end blanket seems to be about 28" by 30". I cast on 130 stitches total (based on the purlbee blankets) and I knew that I wanted the length to be about 30" so I mapped out what I wanted the width of each piece to be. (I roughly copied the width and length of each individual piece based on portions similar to the Martha pattern, but you can do whatever you want!) I drew out a little map of the lengths, widths, and color combinations and then I just followed my little map! Then after I had knitted all the pieces I stitched them together with basically a loose mattress stitch to show contrast, weaved in my ends, and I was done! Whew. Unless you are stressed about stitching together at the end, I would recommend this to anyone, even beginner knitters! You feel accomplished when you make each piece (which doesn't take too long) and then you get to see it all come together in the end! 

So there you have it! Happy knitting! 
(Or whatever you fancy.)

Side note: Weaving in and using a contrast yarn can be hard because there is no where to hide loose yarn, but what is nice about this blanket is that haphazard loose stitch looks really good so don't try to worry about making it look too perfect- it will give you lots of allowance later on, trust me.