Use Your Stash to Knit a Blanket That’s Full of Charm

I have been working (if you use the term working incredibly generously because I haven’t touched it in a couple of years) for many, many years on what I hope will one day be a giant (6 foot by 6 foot) garter stitch blanket worked in strips that are joined as I knit.

It’s a great winter project because it’s big enough to sit under while I knit, and it’s a good place to put all the random odd balls I’m not using in all my other projects.

I was reminded of that giant stash buster when I came across the pattern for the Charm Blanket from Purl Soho.

Like the classic yo-yo quilts that use little bits of fabric left over from other projects, this blanket is designed to look like it was assembled from random bits of leftover (though in reality it calls for 40 mini skeins of fingering weight yarn in a wool, alpaca and linen blend).

The yarn is held double in this project, made of individual garter stitch octagons that are joined as you work.

Of course if you have tons of leftover solid colored (or even multicolored) sock yarn or want to buy the kit you can absolutely do that, but I noticed that the pattern calls for size 8 US/5 mm knitting needles, which would be perfect for making this blanket with single strands of worsted weight yarn instead.

And I, for one, have a lot more bits of worsted weight yarn lying around than I do fingering weight.

Whichever way you choose to make it, this blanket as shown measures 36 by 48 inches, or 91.4 by 122 cm. You could of course continue in the same manner and make it as big as you like. Maybe it can be your never-ending project like my giant garter stitch strip blanket.

You can grab the free pattern at Purl Soho.

[Photo: Purl Soho]

Bust Your Stash and Keep Warm at the Same Time [Knitting]

This is a project that kind of stopped me in my tracks when I saw it while scrolling Ravelry. It’s such a fun contrast of a semisolid color worked in stockinette stitch and a more tonal yarn worked in a feather and fan variation.

(See more about feather and fan in this post on my blog; I also have a feather and fan scarf if you want to practice.)

The Nitty Wrap from Renate Dziedataja is worked in fingering weight yarn from a Finnish mill, and the name is the Finnish word for meadow. You of course can use whatever yarn you have handy.

It’s even more interesting because the project is worked from one short end across to make a long rectangle, and the two different sections are joined using intarsia. Generally we think of intarsia as being used for colorwork, so this is a fun different use of it. The lace section is charted in the pattern but it’s pretty easy to follow.

And of course it’s totally optional but to add a little more interest and tie the two colors of yarn together the designer also added some embroidery along the short edges on the stockinette side. A drawing of what she did is included but you can also add different designs if you’d rather.

The shawl has I-cord edgings to give it a nice finished look that doesn’t take away from the organic simplicity of the design.

As shown, the shawl measures about 22.5 inches/57 cm wide and 59 inches/150 cm long. You can of course adjust this according to your preference, the amount of yarn you have and the gauge you are getting. Try a thicker yarn to make a wider shawl if you like.

This pattern is available in English and Latvian for free on Ravelry.

Photo: Renate Dziedataja

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