Sweet Treats: Free Baby Blanket Pattern

My newest niece is due to born sometime in the next few weeks and I am SO excited. I know she's going to be a little sweetie. I've been busy making her presents.

The first is this blanket I knit.


It's my own pattern (sort of--see notes below) and I love how it turned out. I wanted to use colors that were girly, but not too babyish. I originally thought I would do pink, cream and brown (inspired by Neapolitan ice cream), but ended up doing three different pinks (pale pink, medium pink, and raspberry pink) and a chocolate brown after finding this lovely yarn at my local yarn shop.

The yarn is Berroco Comfort Chunky. I loved how soft it was and that it was both machine washable and machine dryable. I couldn't resist the lovely colors. My only disappointment is that it is less soft after washing.

The stitch pattern is from The Stolen Moments Wrap by Amy M. Swenson. I made this wrap for my cousin Christie and really enjoyed it. At the time, I thought of adapting it to make a scarf for myself. I ended up adapting it to make a blanket instead.


I wanted to use two different colors at one time to have a more subtle mixing of colors and so I could use nice big needles. I did "subtle stripes" by using two colors at a time for four rows and then changing one of the colors for the next four rows. I altered the order of colors after the first 8 repeats and then altered them again after 8 repeats of the new order. I just didn't want the blanket to look "too stripey." See pattern below for more details.


Pattern: Sweet Treat Baby Blanket by me (Using the stitch pattern from The Stolen Moments Wrap (pdf) by Amy M. Swenson--Thank you, Amy!)
Yarn: Berroco Comfort Chunky (50% Super Fine Nylon/50% Super Fine Acrylic/100g/3.5oz/150yds/138m)--one skein each of four different colors (A=medium pink, B=pale pink, C=brown, D=raspberry pink)
Needles: Size 15 circulars
Finished size (after washing): 30" wide (cast-on edge) x 23" long.

Abbreviation Guide:
K = Knit
YO = Yarn Over
SK2P = Slip 1 stitch, Knit next 2 stitches together, Pass slipped stitch over knitted together stitches

Instructions:
Cast on 63 stitches using two strands of yarn held together (1 strand each of 2 different colors--A &B).
Rows 1 & 2: Knit all stitches.
Row 3: K4, YO, SK2P, [YO, K1, YO, SK2P] 13 times , YO, K4.
Row 4: K2, Purl until there are two stitches remaining, K2.

Drop A and add C, do Rows 5-8 with colors B & C.

Row 5: K2, YO, SK2P, [YO, K1, YO, SK2P] 14 times, YO, K2.
Row 6: K2, Purl until there are two stitches remaining, K2.
Row 7: K4, YO, SK2P, [YO, K1, YO, SK2P] 13 times , YO, K4.
Row 8: K2, Purl until there are two stitches remaining, K2.

Rows 9-12: Repeat Rows 5-8 with colors C & D.
Rows 13-16: Repeat Rows 5-8 with colors D & A.
Rows 17-20: Repeat Rows 5-8 with colors A & B.
Rows 21-24: Repeat Rows 5-8 with colors B & C.
Rows 25-28: Repeat Rows 5-8 with colors C & D.
Rows 29-32: Repeat Rows 5-8 with colors D & A.

Rows 33-36: Repeat Rows 5-8 with colors A & C.
Rows 37-40: Repeat Rows 5-8 with colors C & B.
Rows 41-44: Repeat Rows 5-8 with colors B & D.
Rows 45-48: Repeat Rows 5-8 with colors D & A.
Rows 49-52: Repeat Rows 5-8 with colors A & C.
Rows 53-56: Repeat Rows 5-8 with colors C & B.
Rows 57-60: Repeat Rows 5-8 with colors B & D.
Rows 61-64: Repeat Rows 5-8 with colors D & A.

Rows 65-68: Repeat Rows 5-8 with colors A & B.
Rows 69-72: Repeat Rows 5-8 with colors B & C.
Rows 73-76: Repeat Rows 5-8 with colors C & D.
Rows 77-78 : Repeat Rows 5-6 with colors D & A.
Rows 79-80: Knit all stitches with colors D & A.
Bind off all stitches.


The order of color combinations reflects the order I used for my blanket. Please feel free to do your blanket in whatever order that appeals to you.

I stopped after twenty repeats because I was almost out of yarn. You can make your blanket as large as you desire by doing more or less repeats. Also, if you want a wider blanket, simply cast on more stitches. If you want a more narrow blanket, cast on less stitches. Just keep in mind that for this stitch pattern, you must cast on a number of stitches equal to a multiple of four plus 7. For example, 4 x 14 = 56 + 7 = 63.

*I am still a novice pattern writer, so please let me know if you have any questions or concerns related to this pattern. Again, the stitch pattern is not my creation, but is found in Amy Swenson's free pattern, the Stolen Moments Wrap.

The second present for my niece is a variation on a lovey. I had bought some fun fabric to make a lovey, but then I saw this great book in the library and decided to adapt one of the patterns to make a lovey doll. Here she is:



Isn't she adorable? Another sweet treat for my sweet new niece. I hope she will like her goodies!