Friday, October 25, 2013

Blake's Boats

Well, Megan's due date has come and gone and we are all still waiting to hold that baby, no one more anxiously than Megan herself, I know! If willing a baby to come could make him get here we would have met Blake 3 weeks ago, we're all so excited for his arrival. As for me, my excitement was put to the task of finally finishing his blanket which, when it wasn't done before the shower, I promised Megan I would definitely finish before he is born.

So I'll share it here while I wait to wrap my sweet nephew in it.


Knowing I wanted to make something original and unique I decided to create a pattern to be double-knit which would make the blanket double sided. I love the way it turned out and am happy to share the pattern with whomever would like to knit something equally special for a little boy in your life.


Blake's Boats

Needles - Size 6 circular and 14" size 6 needles
Yarn - 1000 yards each of 2 contrasting colors
           MC = main color
           CC = contrasting color
            *The MC will change depending on which side of the blanket you are working on.

The double knitting is pretty easy to get the hang of once you get into it, but the cast on can be pretty tricky so I recommend this video as a tutorial for getting started. You'll need to get familiar with the kitchener stitch to bind off the blanket so use this video to learn that if you're not sure or like me, need a refresher.

Using the double knit cast on and the 14" needles, cast on 150 stitches of each color, this will give you 150 stitches on each needle and a total of 300 stitches. From here on out I will refer to the work as having 150 stitches so assume that "one stitch" (ie. K1) actually includes 2 stitches; one from each of the RS and WS of the work.
With the circular needle start knitting the cast on stitches. The color on the needle closest to you is the RS and should get knit first (make sure the WS color was cast on last).

ROWS 1-6 - Hold both yarns to the back of the work and knit RS stitch, pull both yarns to the front and purl WS stitch. Finish the row alternating between RS and WS making sure not to get the yarns twisted.

Note: when you start a new row, cross your yarns first to make sure the sides get closed up. If you forget to do this you will have to go back or find a way to sew up the sides of the blanket later!

Before you start working the pattern, you should separate a handful of your stitches over your tail yarn by alternating putting them on two size 6 needles so you can weave in your ends. When you start working in pattern the two sides of the work will not separate. Keep this in mind as you join new balls of yarn.

ROWS 7-18 - Follow the wave pattern.
















ROWS 19-24 - Knit 6 rows of basic stockinette.
ROWS 25-42 - K3 with MC, Follow the boat pattern, K3 with MC


















Border pattern:

ROWS 43-46 - Knit 4 rows of basic stockinette.
ROWS 47-50 - K7 with MC, knit to last 7 stitches with CC, K7 with MC
ROWS 51-53 - K7 with MC, K3 with CC, knit with MC to last 10 stitches, K3 with CC, K7 with MC
ROWS 54-55 - K7 with MC, K3 with CC, K2 with MC, knit with CC to last 12 stitches, K2 with MC, K3 with CC, K7 with MC.

ROW 56 - K7 with MC, K3 with CC, K2 with MC, K1 with CC, knit with MC to last 13 stitches, K1 with CC, K2 with MC, K3 with CC, K7 with main color.

Repeat row 56 until blanket measures approx. 30 inches from the beginning. Work border and boat & wave patterns backwards till the end of the blanket.
Separate RS from WS stitches onto your 14" size 6 needles and use the kitchener stitch to close the end.


14 comments:

Unknown said...

Another way to knit double-knit is to hold both threads on the index finger(if you "throw" your yarn from the right hand), the MC yarn first then the WS yarn, closer to you or the base of the finger. You knit first with the MC yarn, then purl with the WC yarn, it will be in the right position to purl after you slip the knit stitch off the left hand needle to the right. Just knit and purl as if you were doing ribbing, but when the color change happens, just knit with the WS color, and purl with the RS color.

JoAn S.

Kim said...

Thanks JoAn, I don't know if I'd be able to re-train my brain to do it a different way after all this time, but the next time I take on a double knit project I'll see if I can make it work. I am very much a creature of habit :)

kitkatgreenfish said...

What a beautiful blanket!Simple and just awsome!Thank you for sharing the pattern.....Huggs..Kitty

MeMary77knits said...

So gorgeous Kim. JoAn, I'm going to have to sit down with you one of these days to learn that.

Anonymous said...

Love your blog! I'm sad because I don't live in or near NJ so I can't meet you or go to any of the awesome yarn shops! Whaaa! ;)

Kim said...

Thanks for the love on Blake's Boats! I love designing patterns and it's wonderful to see others who appreciate them as well. :)

Meghan said...

Kim,
I loved this pattern so much I made a blanket for my friend's first boy! I had a great time using it as my first double-knit pattern! Thanks for the charts and insight on how to make this project easy to do!
I have some photos in the link below on ravelry. I'd love to know what you think!
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/messy-crafts/blakes-boats

choral_composer said...

I'm thinking of knitting this for my friends baby, but I noticed that the wave pattern has a repetition of 20 stitches, but the blanket has 150 stitches across. Do I just knit part of the wave the last time and then knit back from that place the following row? This is how it looks in the picture but I wanted to make sure.

Also could you clarify a little more of what you mean by "Before you start working the pattern, you should separate a handful of your stitches over your tail yarn by alternating putting them on two size 6 needles so you can weave in your ends." ?

The rest of the pattern makes sense to me :)

Kim said...

Hey Peter, thanks for liking Blake's Boats! As for your questions, I did design the pattern so by knitting to the end the pattern will be continuous as shown in the pictures, just follow the pattern to the last stitch. The trick is the boat pattern is a repetition of 20 stitches but the waves repeat over 10 stitches.
As for the directions on weaving in the ends before starting the boat pattern. Watch the video in the post for the invisible cast on and notice in the beginning the 2 sample pieces. The first one you see isn't on needles and you can see the 2 sides have separated. It's almost like a pocket between the red and blue sides. Then notice the sample on the needle. All stitches for both sides are knit on a single set of needles. When you start the boat pattern the colors alternate sides and they will lock the two sides together. By separating a few inches of the stitches before knitting the boats, you will be able to access the inside of the blanket and weave in your tail before the sides get locked together. I hope this makes sense. If not, I would start knitting the blanket as I believe you'll understand better once you start creating it. Please feel free to ask any other questions and good luck!! I hope you post pictures when you are done so I can see it!

choral_composer said...

Thanks for clarifying...I can see the repetition now!

I'm looking forward to knitting it :)

Unknown said...

This is a beautiful blanket. Can you give approximate finished dimensions and also tell me if you used worsted weight wool?
Thank you!

www.essay-helper.co.uk said...

Fabulous blanket! I'm really thankful to you for the pattern you shared, Kim. It made my work easier. I changed the colors though: the boat is purple and the waves are green. It does strike the eye, but I think my sister likes it. I sent it to her for Christmas. No response still, but it may take time.
Sincerely,
Hope Franks

Kim said...

Carol, It's been a while since I made this blanket and I gave it to my sister so this is just a guess based on memory but the blanket was approximately 32 inches wide and maybe 42 inches long. I always try to make the blankets I knit a little longer than they are wide. I liked having the middle of the blanket so open because I could just knit until it was 5 or so inches shorter than I wanted it to be before I finished with another row of boats and waves. I do believe the yarn I used was a worsted weight yarn. It was a pretty standard medium weight yarn and I think the needles I used corresponded with what the label recommended.

Hope - I would love to see a picture of your purple and green blanket, I'm sure it was a fun color combo!

Unknown said...

Hi Kim,
I have been admiring your pattern for a long time and have just decided to learn double knitting and make it. I think I have the techniques learned (though not perfected) but I have a question. The center part which is all solid has no color change to hold the back and front layers together. Do they just lie on top of each other with a space between them, or is there something that has to be done to attach them together?
Thank you for sharing this beautiful pattern,
Emily