Another Baby Blanket? Yes I know.... I love them.
However, this time I have been working on a new approach (for me) of knitting a baby blanket, by incorporating a knitted decorative border without picking up stitches or sewing them on independently. While still managing a look of reversiblity.
I can't lie, I am very pleased how its turning out. I will share a preliminary photo or two.
SO.......HOW'S IT DONE????
I have worked up a pattern that is knit in two halves ,then grafted together to look as if its one piece. Each piece can be worked independently, one at a time. OR both halves can be worked at the same time on a longer (about 40") circular needle,...... which is what I did.
Today, I'm going to touch on how to knit both halves at the same time, along with a couple of tricks trade secrets and suggestions to make things just a little easier.
HOW TO KNIT TWO HALVES AT THE SAME TIME?
To begin,
- Choose a 40" or 47" long circular needle. I used a 40" needle.
- Secondly, use a barrel style row counter, one that doesn't slide off the needle, but will move back and forth on the circular cord...I prefer the Clover brand for precisely that reason, it moves on the cord without falling off the needle. This row counter becomes a very important aspect of keeping track of your knitting progress....
- of course, the row counter keeps track of what row number you are on,
- but, it ultimately becomes the indicator of where you are within the row, especially when you have to put down your work
- you will also need to wind 2 balls of yarn. I recommend 2 separate balls verses pulling from the inside and outside of the same ball. It will be just less confusing in the end. I also keep each ball in a Ziploc-style plastic bag, this helps to keep things neat and tidy.
- stitch markers in two (2) colors are very helpful to keep track of the pattern repeats and I used it visually to know which half (first half or second half) I was working on.
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Now that you have your tools and your yarn.....its time to get started.
Wait, wait.....
OK. I admit, that's a little bit of a tease, since the pattern has not been published yet, but all the same, I wanted to give you some visuals to get a better understanding of what you will be doing.
Cast on for the first half with the first ball of yarn, then cast on for the second half on the same needle using the second ball of yarn.
While working the first row, place stitch markers to divide each repeat. I used orange stitch markers for the first half and aqua stitch markers for the second half.
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This is much easier than it may seem. In the next post, I will share some additional pictures of how to keep track of where you are when working a particular row.
Until next time.......
Happy Knitting!