#NeedleworkMonday : Knitted lap blanket in acorn stitch - 210119
That's part of my latest finished project. It's a lap blanket I made in Marriner's Super Chunky acrylic that a friend gave me ages ago.
The label suggests size 10 knitting needles, but as I didn't have them at hand I used size 8 and it looks fine to me. It's 60 cm wide by 100 cm long and it weighs 392 g.
I cast on 52 stitches altogether : 8 stitches went to the border (4 stitches each side in seed stitch) and then the rest (48 stitches) went to the body of the blanket which mainly had 'acorn stitch' but then I switched to a simple 'basket weave' stitch.
The knitting grew fast but it was rather heavy to handle (in my humble opinion).
That's what I've been making and looking forward to seeing more acorns :D
Happy stitching !
work by @cryptocariad
Thank you to @crosheille for starting #needleworkmonday and @muscara, @shanibeer, @marblely for hosting it .
Perfect timing @cryptocariad . . . I've been meaning to ask you . . .
When I knitted the baby blankets the pattern said to knit the side edging after the rest was finished. So I had to pick up stitches on the side and then knit garter stitch. I found it quite hard to get the right number of stitches evenly spaced and it was the only part of the project I didn't enjoy.
So . . . I was wondering . . . is there a reason why they suggest knitting the side borders that way? Does it hold the shape better for example? Or is it just aesthetic?
I've been wondering about it ever since and your green blanket reminded me to ask as mine was a green blanket too. 😁
Would it work just as well to knit the side edges in garter stitch as I went along do you think? It sounds as though that's what you did with this project.
Hello @gillianpearce ! Nice to hear from you.
I actually did 4 rows of seed stitch + the 4 stitches (in seed stitch) each side. This created a 'natural frame' for the lap blanket. I considered garter stitch and nearly went for that :D
I don't know about knitting theory or 'traditionally' how things should be done. I just normally break all rules and go for fast and practical alternatives to what's in rule books. It actually often works.
I wonder what stitch the body of the blanket you were knitting was like. Perhaps it was a question of aesthetics (looks) and the designer just thought it looked better like that. Picking edge stitches seems always time consuming to me - so how did the corners work out?
Depending on the stitch it may be that it would stretch otherwise and doing the edge in a different way helped keeping the shape of the piece.
Mine was heavy to deal with; what was yours like? Do you have photos ?
Thank you @cryptocariad. I'm not around so much these days but I'll seek out my old post about the baby blanket and make another post from it later so you can see it.
The corners were fine but it took quite a bit of blocking to get them nice and square. I wouldn't normally bother but as it was a blanket for my first grandchild I made a special effort. 😁
It was pretty heavy as I made it in bamboo and add an extra pattern block at the bottom and the side to make it bigger than the pattern suggested.
I'll make a post later and tag you in it so you can see. 😁
That will be great, @gillianpearce ! I look forward to seeing it ! It actually sounds like a traditional blanket destined to become an heirloom 😁
Pretty color and interesting Acorn stitch. Looks like a bit of a pain to do so switching to basketweave makes sense.
Happy #needleworkmonday!
Thank you, @jamethiel - I have actually found more of the same yarn (not really that brilliant to wear) so I'll be making another lap blanket :D
inspired by nature or maybe the mighty oak is copying your pattern ha ha
I'm always inspired by nature's colours, @steven-patrick. The stitch patterns were fun to see in big scale :D
Beautiful blanket and great use of the acorns in your photos.
Thank you, @jluvs2fly. I'm always surprised to see how vibrant the green of fresh acorns can be like these 'apple green' acorns.
Ooo I love acorns (because they are so cute) and your acorn+basketweave stitches are so pretty! I love the texture. I tried basketweave once and I keep losing count the number of stitches and ended up with a pretty uneven stitch 😄
Thanks, @marblely... You may be able to see below that the first rows of the pattern were a bit bigger than expected as I was adjusting my row counting :D
Very nice, @cryptocariad!))
Posted using Partiko Android
Thank you, @innahandmade :D
Love the look of that stitch!
So do I, @watchfulmomma; it's full of texture :D
I hadn't seen this acorn stitch before - it makes an interesting fabric and works well with the yarn :)
I like the texture of the stitch, @muscara. It actually looks good in finer yarn so it's a good stitch to add to my repertoire :D
beautiful refreshing color !!! I like this pattern! I have not knitted such patterns before and I have never knitted a blanket. I wish you success !!!!
Thanks, @tali72 !
This is the first time I have ever seen or heard of the Acorn stitch! This is why I love Monday’s, I get to learn and find out so much that I wouldn’t have time to do on my own . It’s a pretty stitch!
Some stitches are known by different names, @crosheille. I like this stitch because it's a variation of the basket weave stitch :D