My new Point Reyes Blanket is an easy
knit and purl design for experienced beginners.
It is reversible with a modern and graphic texture.
Hi, I'm Kristen and welcome back to my channel, Studio Knit.
This blanket is an easy knit and purl, beginner friendly,
and reversible, meaning that both sides,
the front and the back are completely identical
and looks great however it's displayed.
The blanket is constructed with a seed stitch border.
The body of our blanket is in the parallelogram stitch.
My Knit Stitch pattern book includes this texture
or this blanket design, I've modified it
to create a larger motif.
You can see that its stockinette and reverse
stockinette shapes have opposite sides.
They are both parallel and equal in length
creating a beautiful symmetry of a parallelogram.
Geometry aside, this blanket design just looks really cool.
This parallelogram pattern is
24 stitches across
and then 28 rows.
If you enjoy the look of this Point Reyes blanket,
please like up this video.
It lets me know that you'd like to see more
knit and purl blanket designs like this.
For our knitting supplies
we're using yarn that is bulky weight number five.
You can use any fiber or yarn brand of your choice.
I'm knitting with Cascade 128.
It's a super washed merino wool that I enjoy knitting with.
It has really great stitch definition.
It's washable and really soft.
This yarn is wound in skeins
so that means you will need to wind it into yarn balls
using a yarn swift and ball winder.
And my blanket colors are in Georgia Peach and silver.
Our knitting needle is a circular number 10 US,
I'm using a 36 inch length.
Now we are knitting the blanket flat
but the length of the circular needle
allows us to knit it all the way up in one piece,
absolutely no seaming required.
And of course, you'll want some cute scissors
and a tapestry needle on hand.
Step 1 is casting on our stitches.
The number of stitches that you'll cast on
depends on the blanket size that you've chosen.
My knitting pattern specifies exactly how many stitches
to cast on, depending on your blanket size.
Step 2 is the blanket's bottom border
and this is in the seed stitch.
We are knitting 10 rows of the seed stitch.
The odd number rows, rows 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9,
we are repeating K1, P1,
so that's a knitting 1 and purling 1,
repeating it, knit 1, purl 1 all the way down the row.
And for the even number rows, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10,
we are beginning by pearling 1, knitting 1,
and repeating that pattern all the way down the row.
Your knitting instructions and row-by-row pattern
is available on my website totally for free at Studio Knit.
I also have a printable PDF pattern that is
available for purchase over in my Studio Knit shop.
You'll see that I provide the blanket size
with the specific dimensions,
the yarn amount that you'll need in yards or meters,
and then how many stitches you'll be casting on.
The parallelogram stitch is a big 28-row repeat.
So I also include how many pattern repeats to expect
for each blanket size you choose.
Step 3 is knitting your blanket body
in the parallelogram stitch.
We're beginning with six stitches of the seed stitch.
so we already have the seed stitch on the bottom,
we are also including it on both sides,
so it's six stitches to begin with of the seed stitch.
And I highly recommend placing stitch markers.
I'm just using a little scrap yarn to let me know
where the beginning of the parallelogram stitch is.
So I'm taking a different yarn color
and placing as a stitch marker after the 12th row
at the middle of the parallelogram stitch pattern.
It just really helps you
keep track of exactly where you are.
And then after the 24th stitch,
again place another marker to help you know
when the next pattern repeat is on your needle.
And continue knitting your parallelogram stitch blanket body
until you get to the top border,
which again is in the seed stitch.
So we are just knitting the seed stitch for 10 more rows
and then we are binding off our stitches.
I'm just using the basic bind off
that I do for most of my projects, cutting our yarn,
weaving it through that tapestry needle,
and weaving in my yarn ends.
I always like to block my blankets.
I use blocking mats and these little T-pins.
I wet block it by spraying it with a bottle on both sides.
Spray both sides down, and you can see
the difference of how, fresh off your needles,
your blanket does look great
but it does have a little bit of a rumpled look.
But once blocked, your blanket looks really smooth
and if you're photographing your work,
it gives it that perfect finishing touch.
I have more easy knit and purl
blanket designs for you to check out.
Click on this video and I will see you there.
(quick guitar music)