This was the pattern that got me back into knitting. In the last two
years of high school, I started knitting less and less. By the time I
was packing for college, brining my knitting with me didn’t even cross
my mind.
It wasn’t until the winter after graduating that I realized I needed
something that I could do after work and on the weekends instead of just
sitting around and watching Netflix. I was browsing on Pinterest one
day for craft ideas or other things I could
do in my spare time and saw this pattern. It was an interesting
concept, for sure, and I liked the idea that I could just keep going
until the blanket was big enough or until I got bored with it. So I
ordered some yarn online and asked my mom to send my
knitting needles and supplies in the next box she was sending. A week
or two later, I was casting on and I haven’t stopped knitting since.
This pattern is relatively straight forward. You only have 10 stitches on your needle at a time, you knit up the side of the blanket, picking up stitches from the edge as you go, the corners are mitered corners, and then you keep knitting. You go around and around until the piece is the size you desire. I really liked the idea of only have 10 stitches on the needle at a time as casting on hundreds of stitches for usual blanket patterns was very intimidating and knitting lots of squares that I would need to sew together just seemed like too much of a bother. This 10 stitch blanket seemed like the perfect match! The pattern spirals out from the center, which makes playing with color fun. I’ve seen quite a few projects on Ravelry that were knit out of a verigated yarn which made the final project very interesting. This blanket definitely looks different on the two sides, one being smooth, and the other having ridges where you picked up the edge stitches as you were knitting around. The blanket is knit in garder stitch, so the front and back would look the same if it wasn’t for the ridges. In the pattern, there are two options for how you could pick up the edge stitches – one which leaves half a stitch and ends up looking like a series of slashes (//////) as the border. The other option leaves a full stitch V as the boarder (>>>>>>). I prefer the more noticeable V boarder, but that is all up to personal preference.
The only real tricky part of the pattern are the corners. Especially the center when you have to do two mitered corners back to back. Each mitered corner gives you a 90 degree turn so at the very center, you really want to do a 180 degree turn since the 10 stitches give you such a narrow strip to work with. The written directions for the mitered corner, I thought, were a bit confusing to read. So I found a tutorial by Very Pink Knits on YouTube which really walks you through, step by step, the process of making this blanket. Once you do a few sides and corners, you can pretty much put away the pattern and just knit for as long as you’d like.
Another thing I found difficult is, after the blanket has grown a bit, that the weight of the blanket pulls on the stitches on the needle, especially the ones on the end. This makes it difficult when picking up the edge stitches and, in some cases, left my ridge stitches a bit too big and stretched out. I ended up knitting most of the last 1/3 of this blanket at my computer desk and put the blanket on the desk so it would be supported and closer to my hands so it didn’t stretch as much. I know some knitters knit with their hands low in their lap, and in that case, the stretching probably wouldn’t be an issue for you. However, I like to have my hands at about chest height, so I really needed the extra support of the table.
The blanket pattern basically says to continue knitting around until you reach the desired size and then cast off. I took it one step further and crocheted a scalloped edge around the blanket. I learned, again, from Very Pink Knits and her Crochet for Knitters series video (link). I think it just added that polished effect to the blanket. Other than the edging, I didn’t modify the pattern at all when I made it.
Possible modifications I’d like to try:
I ended up bringing this blanket into my office since it is lap-sized and good for covering my legs at my desk. I’ve gotten many complements on it, and it is holding up nicely!
Ten Stitch Blanket pattern available for free on Ravelry
This pattern is relatively straight forward. You only have 10 stitches on your needle at a time, you knit up the side of the blanket, picking up stitches from the edge as you go, the corners are mitered corners, and then you keep knitting. You go around and around until the piece is the size you desire. I really liked the idea of only have 10 stitches on the needle at a time as casting on hundreds of stitches for usual blanket patterns was very intimidating and knitting lots of squares that I would need to sew together just seemed like too much of a bother. This 10 stitch blanket seemed like the perfect match! The pattern spirals out from the center, which makes playing with color fun. I’ve seen quite a few projects on Ravelry that were knit out of a verigated yarn which made the final project very interesting. This blanket definitely looks different on the two sides, one being smooth, and the other having ridges where you picked up the edge stitches as you were knitting around. The blanket is knit in garder stitch, so the front and back would look the same if it wasn’t for the ridges. In the pattern, there are two options for how you could pick up the edge stitches – one which leaves half a stitch and ends up looking like a series of slashes (//////) as the border. The other option leaves a full stitch V as the boarder (>>>>>>). I prefer the more noticeable V boarder, but that is all up to personal preference.
The only real tricky part of the pattern are the corners. Especially the center when you have to do two mitered corners back to back. Each mitered corner gives you a 90 degree turn so at the very center, you really want to do a 180 degree turn since the 10 stitches give you such a narrow strip to work with. The written directions for the mitered corner, I thought, were a bit confusing to read. So I found a tutorial by Very Pink Knits on YouTube which really walks you through, step by step, the process of making this blanket. Once you do a few sides and corners, you can pretty much put away the pattern and just knit for as long as you’d like.
Another thing I found difficult is, after the blanket has grown a bit, that the weight of the blanket pulls on the stitches on the needle, especially the ones on the end. This makes it difficult when picking up the edge stitches and, in some cases, left my ridge stitches a bit too big and stretched out. I ended up knitting most of the last 1/3 of this blanket at my computer desk and put the blanket on the desk so it would be supported and closer to my hands so it didn’t stretch as much. I know some knitters knit with their hands low in their lap, and in that case, the stretching probably wouldn’t be an issue for you. However, I like to have my hands at about chest height, so I really needed the extra support of the table.
The blanket pattern basically says to continue knitting around until you reach the desired size and then cast off. I took it one step further and crocheted a scalloped edge around the blanket. I learned, again, from Very Pink Knits and her Crochet for Knitters series video (link). I think it just added that polished effect to the blanket. Other than the edging, I didn’t modify the pattern at all when I made it.
Possible modifications I’d like to try:
·
Different weight of yarn
·
Different number of stitches on the needle
·
Making small squares and then sewing them together
·
Scrap yarn project
o
This would be a very long work in progress piece, but playing with the way the colors would work together might be fun
·
Using cotton yarn and making washcloths, pot holders, dishcloths, etc
I ended up bringing this blanket into my office since it is lap-sized and good for covering my legs at my desk. I’ve gotten many complements on it, and it is holding up nicely!
Ten Stitch Blanket pattern available for free on Ravelry
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