Sunday, December 14, 2008

Softly Striped Cozy Throw Pattern


This blanket was made using Jo-Ann's Rainbow Boucle yarn, available in all sorts of colors at any Jo-Ann's store. It was a super easy project for my first throw blanket, and still so cozy and fluffy! I would recommend this pattern to any beginner who wants to try their hand at making a throw blanket. Beware, though, if you have trouble knitting with boucle or other novelty yarn, or have never tried, as it can be difficult to see what you are working on.

Basically, if you know how to cast on, bind off, knit, and purl, you can throw this throw together fairly easily, although it did take me a long time to complete. It's blocks of garter and stockinette stitch, knit up diagonally to give it those lovely stripes.

Use two balls of yarn at once, but make sure you match up the color variegations so that your stripes will come out right. You might have to trim quite a bit of yarn off in order to get this.

Use size 11 (8.0 mm) needles. I recommend starting this project on straight needles, then switching to circular when it gets unruly, but I really dislike circular needles. If you like working with them, then by all means, work it on circular needles all the way through.

A notion that I found extremely helpful was a row counter. Unless you like counting over and over again to find out what row you're on, I would highly recommend picking one of these handy dandies up. Stitch markers also help save you the headaches of counting stitches. Since you're knitting in blocks, just use them to help remind you when to knit and when to purl. If you don't have any large enough to fit the needles, just use a loop of yarn in a different color.

Cast On 12 stitches
Rows 1-23: Knit

Row 24: Knit to end, Place Marker, then CO 12 st
Row 25: K 12, Purl 12, PM, CO12
Row 26 & all even rows unless otherwise noted: K
Odd rows 27-47: K12, P12, K12

Row 48: K to end, PM, CO 12
Row 49: K12, P12, K12, P12, PM, CO 12
Odd rows 51-71: K12, P12, K12, P12, K12

Row 72: K to end, PM, CO12
Row 73: K12, P12, K12, P12, K12, P12, PM, CO12
Odd rows 75-95: K12, P12, K12, P12, K12, P12, K12

Row 96: K to end, PM, CO12
Row 97: K12, P12, K12, P12, K12, P12, K12, P12, PM, CO12
Odd rows 99-119: K12, P12, K12, P12, K12, P12, K12, P12, K12

Row 120: K to end, PM, CO12
Row 121: K12, P12, K12, P12, K12, P12, K12, P12, K12, P12, PM, CO12
Odd rows 123-143: K12, P12, K12, P12, K12, P12, K12, P12, K12, P12, K12


Row 144: Bind Off 12, K to end
Row 145: BO12, K12, P12, K12, P12, K12, P12, K12, P12, K12
Odd rows 147-167: K12, P12, K12, P12, K12, P12, K12, P12, K12

Row 168: BO12, K to end
Row 169: BO12, K12, P12, K12, P12, K12, P12, K12
Odd rows 171-191: K12, P12, K12, P12, K12, P12, K12

R0w 192: BO12, K to end
Row 193: BO12, K12, P12, K12, P12, K12
Odd rows 195-215: K12, P12, K12, P12, K12

Row 216: BO12, K to end
Row 217: BO12, K12, P12, K12
Odd rows 219-239: K12, P12, K12

Row 240: BO12, K to end
Row 241: BO12, K to end
All rows 242-283: K
Row 284: Bind off all stitches

Finishing: Weave in yarn tails

Congratulations! You now have a neato diagonally striped throw blanket!

6 comments:

Unknown said...

thank you for taking the time, last year, to post the picture of your lovely throw. I started the pattern yesterday and kept thinking I was doing something wrong until I saw your's. Appreciate your help! - Ellen, Detroit, MI

Anonymous said...

Just started the throw last night and quickly realized the pattern inside the yarn label was incorrect.
K 1-24
Next row: cast on 12, k to end - ???etc (more errors to follow)
Thankfully I found the correct pattern here and I'll continue on. LOVE the yarn. I wish there were a way to let Sensations or at least Joanne's know.
Thanks for the pattern - looks like great fun.

Unknown said...

Hey,
What's it mean when it says "using two strands of Rainbow Boucle, cast on 12 sts."? How are you supposed to use the two skeins at once?

Jennifer Juniper said...

Thank you so much! I found your blog and used it to make the blanket! It was much less confusing than the way the package explained it (I'm new to knitting and learned how from youtube). I messed up a few times, but ultimately I'm happy. Thanks again!

(Oh, one thing, though, I think you have too many rows for the last part. You have it at like 40 rows, I think it should be bound off at row 264, no? Well, that's what I did. Thanks!)

@jsloan87, you hold the strands together and stitch as if they are one strand!

Caderyn said...

@Gina
The CO12 and K to end would mean (bear with me):

You have 12 sts on the left needle. Cast on 12 more sts. You now have 24 sts on the left needle. Knit 24 sts. You now have two middle blocks and one RIGHT block.

When you turn the piece it becomes two middle blocks and a LEFT block.

Cast on 12 to the RIGHT of your two blocks on the needle and you now have tow middle blocks with a left and a right attached to a middle. Knit the 24 rows to make a complete 3 blocks and continue adding a block on each side in two separate turns.

Hope this helps anyone who has some difficulty reading this! :)
I had to read it a couple times to understand it...

Caderyn said...

@jsloan87

Two strands used together would mean buying two spools of yarn from the same dye-lot and using both strands together counting them as one stitch.

Another way of using two strands together if you are making a small project would be to use both ends from one skein. Finding the middle strand is always a pain because a big clump usually comes out with the tail, but it saves money! :)