Back in July 2020, I released my Summersweet Blanket pattern, a design that I had created for a special friend’s baby girl. Fast forward one year to July 2021, and I’ve got another blanket design to share with you, this time created for another special friend’s new baby boy. This is the Randolph Blanket.
Cabled medallions, created by intertwined columns of ribbing, take center stage in this refined blanket. As with all of my designs geared toward babies and children, I think this blanket works equally well for boys and girls.
Smaller, feather-like cables provide abundant background texture while the professional i-cord edging ensures that the blanket edges lie flat. (And of course I made sure that the cables flowed seamlessly into the ribbed borders! It’s all in the details sometimes.)
The blanket is shown in the carriage blanket size but the pattern also includes a larger lap throw size. And because both of the ribbing and cable panel patterns are written out and charted, you can easily customize your own blanket size by just adding or removing pattern repeats.
The blanket is worked flat in one piece in a worsted-weight yarn. For this design, I wanted a solid-colored yarn because it underscores the great stitch definition in the cable patterns. The yarn featured here is Knit Pick’s Swish Worsted, a 100% Merino wool yarn that is also superwash for ease of washing. I chose the “Marine Heather,” a luminous deep blue yarn with flecks of lighter green. The multidimensional nature of the color really added extra depth to the fabric! And Knit Picks has an enormous palette of colors to choose from; there are easily over 40 colors that range from classic neutrals to rich jewel tones and fun, bright tones that will work for every knitter (and every recipient)!
From a knitting standpoint, Swish Worsted is perfect for knitting a project with plentiful texture and cables. The yarn is smooth and bouncy, making it easy to knit with, and once it’s washed, the yarn blooms beautifully to create a lovely balance of crisp stitch definition and soft, drapey fabric.
I’m really pleased with the final result, which I hope strikes a balance of being both classic/timeless and modern/useful/fresh. I’ve known the recipient for decades and I wanted this blanket to represent our connection, the way that lives interwine while moving forward over time. I hope that, if you choose to knit this design, you can also feel that same sense of love and connection with your recipient.
You can find the pattern here on Ravelry and here at DCD. And, happily, it’s 20% off through midnight EDT on August 2nd with the coupon code “randolph“!
Happy knitting and happy Summer!
xoxo Danielle
PS: I took these pictures at one of my favorite local natural spots on a near-perfect Summer’s day. I didn’t intend for the pictures to have such a Jane Austen feeling to them (and maybe I’m the only one who has that impression hahaha!), but I love how they turned out. Makes me want to pack up a picnic, a good novel, and head back to that bench.
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