Baby Blanket
I knit the green & blue blanket for my nephew and the pink & purple one for my neice. I went to my local yarn store and purchased 8 skeins (about 2 pounds) of coordinating yarns. Some Lion Brand Homespun (2 skeins), some eyelash (3 skeins), some ribbon (2 skeins), and a couple other skeins of various textures and colors. I wanted to make a blanket that would "grow with them" that they would use as forts as they got older, and would still be "cool enough" to take to slumber parties.
Here's a graph that may be easier to understand than my written directions. Please note that the word "ROW" does not mean 1 single row. It means however many "rows" you want to knit using one type of yarn, and will vary depending on the size of the blanket you are making.
You start from the inside of the blanket and work outwards. You need to know how to: knit (garter stitch), bind off, and cast on from an edge of a finished knit garment (like taking the loops from an edge of a knitted rectangle and using them as the cast-on stitched to begin a new row).
"ROW" 1-4: cast on 20 stitches in one yarn to begin the first small rectangle, and knit for 1-2 inches. Then cast on a new yarn and knit that for 1-2 inches. Knit about 4-5 rows of various yarns into a small 1'x1' blanket. Bind off after knitting all rows 1 thru 4.
"ROW" 5-6: Use the edge of the blanket to cast on a new row, which would be knit in the "opposite" direction. Knit 4-5 rows with various yarns in that direction, then bind off.
"ROW" 7-8: Use the edge of the blanket to cast on a new row, which would be knit in the "opposite" direction. Knit 4-5 rows with various yarns in that direction, then bind off.
"ROW" 9-10: Use the edge of the blanket to cast on a new row, which would be knit in the "opposite" direction. Knit 4-5 rows with various yarns in that direction, then bind off.
"ROW" 11-12: Use the edge of the blanket to cast on a new row, which would be knit in the "opposite" direction. Knit 4-5 rows with various yarns in that direction, then bind off.
"ROW" 13, 14, 15, 16: Use the edge of the blanket to cast on a new row, which would be knit in the "opposite" direction. Knit 4-5 rows with various yarns in that direction, then bind off.
Sew in the ends and your blanket is ready! I made a 3'x3' blanket for my Neice & Nephew. One key to making this work is using yarns of similar "bulkiness" - knitting a worsted weight next to a lace weight will result in stretching of the lace weight and cause the blanket to "ripple".
