kindred blanket

Hi all! I’m thrilled to share my latest knitting design with you, as it feels like it’s been forever since a new one has come down the line! Meet the Kindred Blanket:

Yep – another baby blanket design! Created for another dear friend who is having her first baby (and a little girl at that), I think that there are a lot of fun things to love about this particular piece.

For one thing, there are cables – lots of them. I just can’t help myself when it comes to cables on baby blankets, apparently! These cables are a bit unusual, with their varying lengths and an interlocking, almost chain-link type of effect.

And, of course, nothing makes cables pop like a nice reverse stockinette stitch background. I chose to have this much reverse stockinette in the background for a variety of reasons: I wanted the cables (and the columns of knit stitches at each corner) to have an especially visual/textural impact, I knew that the reverse stockinette background would flow nicely into the garter stitch border that I wanted to use, and I also liked how so much reverse stockinette would also make the “wrong” side of the blanket attractive and interesting:

To me, the reverse side almost has a bamboo or textured pillar appearance, and I like very much the idea that both sides are beautiful (because who is really worrying about which side is facing up as they’re trying to get a little one safely wrapped up in a stroller?)

What I also enjoyed about creating this blanket was its construction. Knit entirely in one piece from the center outwards, the blanket allows the cables to march across the surface in four directions for a modern spin on the classic baby blanket. There is a neat technique to the cast on to make the center of the blanket as flat and decorative as possible, which thanks to the TECHknitting blog (and the method described here) is pretty approachable and worth trying if you’re interested!

Finally, what made this blanket extra special to me was the yarn that I used. New to me, but not new to the knitting world in general, Spud and Chloe’s “Sweater” yarn is a soft worsted-weight yarn that is a smoothly plied blend of 55% wool and 45% cotton. Because the recipient lives in a warm climate, I was concerned about the warmth and heft of an all-wool blanket, so the Spud and Chloe yarn really came to the rescue! Although cotton-blend yarns can be hard/stiff on the knitting hands and can result in a heavy finished product, the considerable quantity of wool in the yarn kept the knitting light and easy without making the blanket too warm. I’d say it was the perfect balance. Even better, “Sweater” comes in a large palette of shades that cover everything from neutrals to pastels to brights, perfect for all tastes! While I chose the sweetly pale “Lilac” colorway (the exact color of which can be tricky to capture, as you can see from the photos in this post), I can easily see the Kindred Blanket worked up in a vibrant blue, like the “Lake” colorway for example, to welcome a baby boy.

That’s another thing that I love about this design – it’s easily unisex and will work for any special baby. At 31″ square, the blanket is perfect for modern strollers. But what if you want to size up, you say, and make a throw or afghan? No problem at all! Just work more repeats of the body chart (as indicated in the pattern), and you can create a square blanket to suit your needs! (Obviously, be sure to calculate how much extra yardage you’ll need….)

I think that’s it! A sweet and simple blanket to add to your crafting repertoire for when the next baby is about to arrive. I hope that you all enjoy knitting it as much as I enjoyed dreaming it up!

To learn more or to purchase the pattern, you can check out the Kindred Blanket page here. (And be sure to share your projects on the Ravelry page, too!)

xoxo Danielle

PS: Next time, I’ll share my all-new and very fun logo dreamt up just for MWD, part of my pattern template redesign/reboot….