The Comfort Blanket KAL is back for 2024

The Comfort Blanket KAL 2024

Back by popular demand - the Comfort Blanket knitalong returns for what I think is the fifth year running. We started in 2019 and although we may have lost a year somewhere in the pandemic we are still going strong.

For the unitiated this is a KAL for those who have bought my e-book 'How to knit a mitered square blanket'.

On purchasing the e-book you get a link to a new-for-2024 dedicated Facebook group. The link to the Facebook group is on the back page of the e-book. The e-book also contains the pre-KAL information on yarn choices and blanket square sizes so that you have a little time for plotting and planning before we get started on May 13.

The KAL originally ran over a 4 week period but don't worry, I'm not expecting you to knit a blanket in a month. Instead each week we focus on a different aspect of knitting a mitered square blanket, giving you time to experiment and plan what will hopefully be a long-lived and much loved project.

If you are new to the joys of mitered square blankets allow me to pursuade you of some of the benefits:

• perfect for stashbusting

• allow you to play with colour

• squishy garter stitch

• no need for seaming - squares are joined as you go

• endlessly adaptable - go as large as you like or make a small lap blanket

Convinced yet?

If you have any questions please just email me or pop a comment below and I’ll do my best to get back to you as soon as possible

Returning KAL’ers

If you took part in a previous years KAL or if you’ve bought the e-book before and are yet to get started, you are more than welcome to join the group too. Just keep an eye on your emails (the email you used when you purchased the e-book) and I’ll let you know as soon as the Facebook group is open for business.

Why is my mitered square wonky? - And other questions

This question seems to come up a lot when people first start knitting mitered square blankets and a wonky square can cause a great deal of consternation if you are new to process.

By wonky, I mean a square that looks to be a little more diamond shaped than the nice, neat mitered square of fond imagination.

The simple solution is often the best one in knitting (and life) - just keep going. The first square often looks a bit weird but it gains structure and support from adjoining squares.

If that's not a metaphor for life I don't know what is. If in doubt just keep going and draw on those around you for support.

Seriously though, it's easy to give up at the first attempt, or to repeatedly try to produce a perfect square to start off what's going to be your wonderful magnus opus. But, even if the square looks a little lopsided it's generally best to just keep going.

As you are knitting garter stitch there will inevitably be some stretch and ‘give’ in your knitted piece and this will become more pronounced, the fewer stitches you have on the needles. Once you start to add squares on either side then stability will return and the stitches on either side will help to pull the recalcitrant square into shape.

If the problem is that you aren't happy with the fabric- too loose or too rigid, then obviously readjust your needle size and start again. But if it's just an issue of geometry, keep going and all will be well.

Other mitered square articles you might find helpful:

How much yarn do you need for a mitered square

How to knit a mitered square blanket

How to knit a mitered square blanket - updated for 2023

If your list of autumn/winter knitting plans includes a Mitered Square blanket then you might be interested to hear about my e-book: How to Knit a Mitered Square.

Re-written and expanded for 2023, this 10-page e-book takes you through how to start and build a Mitered Square blanket of your very own.

It includes written directions and photos to help you on your way as well as the approximate yarn amounts needed for squares of various sizes - and in different weights (sock weight, DK, and sock yarn held double).

Not all mitered square blankets need to be knit with sock yarn of course, but it isn't always easy to judge the size of squares and the amount of yarn needed to knit them.

This e-book aims to remove some the guesswork and provide you with a solid set of suggestions on how to create a truly unique mitered square blanket.

How much yarn do you need for a Mitered Square

If you have ever contemplated the size of your leftover yarn bag and thought of making a mitered square blanket, then this is a post to bookmark and come back to for reference.

Ever obsessed with using up my leftover yarn - which mysteriously keeps replenishing itself when my back is turned, I took it upon myself to do a little investigation and work our how much yarn I needed for mitered squares of varying sizes in both DK and sock weight yarn.

The results I present below for your knitting pleasure because as we all know, the only thing more frustrating than running out of yarn with just a few rows to go, is ending up with lots of slightly smaller balls of yarn (that are too small for the square size you’ve chosen).

I have to add the caveat here that YMMV - your mileage may vary.

I weighed these squares on my digital scales which only go down to 1g increments so there may be some rounding up/down. Also your gauge and specific yarn weights might give different results, but hopefully the amounts below will serve as a guide.

Yarn amounts for sock weight yarn:

Using a 3mm needle and at a gauge of 28sts per 4”. In the list below 10x10 is shorthand for 10 sts by 10 sts.

10x10 1.5" less than 1g
15x15 2" 2g
20x20 3" 4g
25x25 3.75"6g
30x30 4.25" 8g
35x35 5.25" 11g

Yarn amounts for DK weight yarn:

Using a 4mm needle and at a gauge of 21sts per 4”

10x10 2" 2g
15x15 3" 4g
20x20 3.75" 8g
25x25 4.5" 14g
30x30 5.5" 18g

You can find all of this information along with my in-depth tutorial for creating your very own Mitered Square Blanket in my e-book, which is for sale at the link below.

If you’d like to read more about Mitered Square Blankets and their construction - I have a blog post and tutorial here that might help.

The Comfort Blanket KAL is back for 2023

I'm delighted to be able to announce that the Comfort Blanket KAL is back for 2023. It ran very successfully in 2020 and 2021 but last year I missed it due to the death of my Dad.

The year doesn't seem complete without my most popular KAL event though so I figured it was a good time to dust it off and relaunch it for another year.

Tell me more...

The Comfort Blanket KAL 2023 is a 4 week KAL which walks you through every step of planning and getting started on your mitered square blanket journey. I say journey because these blankets - typically knit from leftover yarn are generally considered to be long term projects. No one is expecting you to knit a blanket in 4 weeks - please don't worry.

Instead the KAL is intended as a springboard to get you started, with ideas and inspiration as well as practical tips for planning and construction.

The KAL will start on May 1st and each Monday for 4 weeks you'll get an email with that week's topic. The information will also be available within a dedicated Facebook group where you will be able to hang out with fellow Comfort Blanket KAL'ers and chat about your various projects.

And at the end of the KAL you’ll get an ebook containing all the information from the 4 weeks, along with a few other tips and tricks.

Previous year’s participants

If you took part in the previous KALs sit tight, as the joining instructions to the Facebook group and your automatic invitation will be heading your way soon. 

We all know that these blankets are a labour of love and you are welcome to come and join us again to add some more mitered squares to your work-in-progress. Or if you are a finishing superstar and you want to join in with another - because one mitered square blanket is never enough - it would be lovely to have you on board too.

Done is better than perfect

I've been doing a lot of thinking about perfectionism this week - partly as a continuation of last week's Tuesday Tip where I talked about the one piece of advice I'd give to all knitters.

Handknits are meant to have imperfections in them - it shows they were made by a human being not a machine.

That being said, it reminded me of when I shared a photo of my mitered square blanket - back in the day when I thought it was finished - and someone helpfully popped up to point out the square where the line runs in the opposite direction.

Luckily I'd seen it already, and decided that I could very easily live with it. But if I hadn't, or I was of a more fragile disposition I'd have been really upset.

But people of course love to point out others mistakes, it's a real human trait and well recognised psychologically.

In fact brands/companies will sometimes include an intentional error in their social media posts - as the slew of people pointing out the typo or the flaw will boost engagement.

Essex Is United - is a community FB page which started during the pandemic and they are past masters at this. They usually include a tiny error - in a jokey way - and then stand back and watch their comments section explode as people fall over themselves to point it out. It doesn't even matter that 120 people before them have done so, they still want to add their comment.

Why do humans do this? I've no idea

But in knitting terms, it's probably best that if you see a mistake in someone else's work that they are proudly sharing online - that you pretend you didn't