Knit a Blanket to Bring Color to Your Mornings

No matter how many blankets I am working on or have finished — knit or crochet — I feel like there’s always room for another one. Blankets can make great gifts or charity projects, and it’s also just lovely (for me, anyway) to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house.

So while I have at least three blankets “in progress” right now, I’m sorely tempted to cast on a Good Morning Blanket from Purl Soho.

If you take one look at it I’m sure you’ll feel the same way.

This luscious, colorful blanket looks so squishy in garter stitch, and it gives you practice with the log cabin technique, which you’ll want to use again and again once you learn it (this is such a fun way to use stash, for example).

The version shown here is worked in a 100 percent cotton that’s light worsted or DK weight, and the throw blanket size uses 32 colors (plus the main color, which is the large white block). Assuming you don’t want to buy all of that yarn in one go, you can use whatever yarn (and weight from DK to a heavier worsted) you have on hand for this one. The contrast color balls come in 58 yard/53 meter skeins so you can probably use a lot of little odd balls from your stash to make this one.

You can also change colors more or less frequently or use these techniques to make a blanket that is larger or smaller. The pattern includes instructions for a throw and a crib-sized baby blanket, which uses five contrasting colors along with the main color.

This looks like such a fun project, and once you get the idea down it’s smooth knitting because it’s all garter stitch. It’s a perfect TV project or for whenever you need something that doesn’t take much thought.

You can get the free pattern from Purl Soho.

[Photo: Purl Soho]

Next Pattern:

I’ve been toying with the idea of making a yarn cozy or yarn ball holder on the circular knitting machine, but I haven’t gotten to it yet. In the meantime, here are some yarn cozy knitting patterns you can make with knitting needles. Use yarn to hold you yarn!

In its simplest form, a yarn cozy is just a sleeve or a little basket that holds your yarn when you’re working with a center-pull ball so it doesn’t fall apart when you knit. The easiest ones I could find are from Love in Stitches KN, which has a regular size and a mini size. They’re worked with sock yarn and there are options for making them with ribbing, faux cables and with self-striping yarn.

For bigger cakes there’s a project called We call it the “bail holder” from Nicole LeBlanc. This pattern is available on Ravelry and you can use any yarn and make it any size you like. It features an I-cord edging that has a loop in it so you can thread they yarn through the loop to keep it extra contained as you knit.

Another large one that has a slightly fancier pattern is this one by Mareike Meye. You can use any yarn and any gauge, and slip stitch pattern worked in different colors on the sides makes it a little more fun and uses a bit more stash. A strap buttons across the top to hold the ball in place and you can add a buttonhole to the middle of the strap to thread the yarn through. Check this one out on Ravelry.

Adding lace to a yarn cozy makes it fit a wider variety of balls and expand or shrink a bit as needed. Jennifer Sugarman’s Ball Sack uses sock yarn and is made to hold sock yarn. It has the option of making I-cord or using ribbon or cord you already have to make a drawstring at the top. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

Another lacy option is the yarn ball holder from Frugal Knitting Haus. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has an easy mesh lace pattern and an I-cord drawstring that’s sewn together at the ends so you could loop it over your wrist while you knit if you like. This pattern is also on Ravelry.

Speaking of wrist yarn holders, I also found this one form Knituition. This one uses sport weight yarn and has a spiral rib pattern on the body. The strap is attached to the bag with D-rings, or you could make it a little longer and just sew it into the bag.

Next Pattern:

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