Temperature blanket: January update

It’s a few days late but I promised you an monthly update on the corner to corner knitted temperature blanket and so, here we are.

I have to say that I’m really enjoying it so far, but of course it is early days with nice short rows and it is manageable as a lunchtime/portable knitting project. I quite enjoy my lunchtime routine of checking the noon temperature and then adding my 4 rows of garter stitch for the day.

I’ll probably feel differently in June when I’m trapped under a huge woolly monster.

With the issue of portability in mind I did give some thought to creating 4 corner to corner squares - ie increasing to day 45, then decreasing to create 1 square at the end of March. The idea of more portable squares is an attractive one I have to admit. But for me, some of the aesthetic joy of these blankets is the continuation of gradient as you move through the year. Breaking it up into squares can be really stunning, visually but it’s not really the look I’m aiming for.

So, I think I’ll have to resign myself to some stay-at-home knitting for those summer months. Perhaps with a cunningly placed lap tray to keep the thing off my knees.

Knitting with yarn held double

Garter Ripple Squish - worked with 3 strands of 4ply

Some time ago, despairing of a never-ending mountain of leftover sock yarn, I knit a mahoosive ripple blanket holding 3 strands of 4ply together.

The resulting blanket is now a much loved snuggly staple in our house and usually lives casually thrown over the back of the sofa for anyone who needs it.

Knitted on 7mm needles and using over 4000m of yarn it knitted up surprisingly quickly and also made a pleasing dent in my stash.

Knitting with yarn held double or triple offers many advantages, not least the size reduction to your stash. Combining yarns of different colours, textures and even weights can produce some really beautiful fabrics that just wouldn’t be possible with just one yarn. And even better, they will be totally unique to you.

I love the marled effect you can get by combining colours - indeed I think that’s the favourite thing about this blanket of mine. And even now I can spend many a happy minute studying it and remembering the original yarns that went into it.

Some Tips: 

Swatching - yes I know - but even a little swatch will be helpful in making sure that you get a fabric you like. Technically speaking 2 4ply yarns held together should yield a DK weight but I know that in my hands at least, I get more of a worsted weight gauge. The way the yarns are spun and they way they wrap around each other during the knitting can all affect the final result. If you are planning a marl or a fade it’s always a good idea to do a little swatch first just to check that the colours play nicely together.

Winding - this is a personal one. Some people prefer to knit with the two strands coming from separate balls, some prefer to wind it into a single large ball before starting. This probably comes down to personal preference and how much you dislike tangling. If I was knitting from 2 or 3 balls I’d probably keep them separate (it also makes it easier to swap in new colours) but if I was knitting from 5 I’d have to wind it into a monster ball first.

Joining - again this is down to personal preference. With my Garter Ripple Squish blanket I used the clasped weft join to add in new colours as I wanted to and just weaved the ends in later. There is also the option to embrace the ends and go for a fringed effect if you are using up lots of odds and ends.

Ravelry - did you know that Ravelry now gives you the option to search for projects with multiple yarn strands. If you look down the search options on the left hand side you’ll see a box for ‘yarn held together’ and various options under that. This is a relatively new addition but I’ve found it to be really helpful.

As with so much in knitting, when it comes to knitting with yarn held doubled it really does come down to trial and error and finding something that pleases you - it’s great to look at other projects for inspiration but ultimately you are free to go your own way and create something truly unique.

A tale of two blankets

Top: knitted mitered square blanket, Bottom: crocheted granny square blanket

A tale of two blankets

Both are sock yarn blankets and both are well loved. 

But the crochet one took a fraction of the time (about 3 months vs 3 years) and weighs a heck of a lot more. I haven’t done the exact maths but my knitted mitered square blanket weighs about 400g (that’s approx 1600m sock yarn). The crocheted one is a bit smaller in size and weighs over 650g (well over 2500m sock yarn)

As much as a mitered square blanket will always be my first love there's no denying that a crochet blanket is a speedier way to work through my leftovers. I know that there is some debate on whether crochet does actually use more yarn than knitting but at least in my experience, the giant crochet granny square has freed up a lot more space in my leftover yarn drawer than the mitered square one ever did.

Just to seal the deal further I’m now contemplating a crochet blanket holding yarn double for even more stashbusting potential.

Our February theme for the Stash Appreciation Society is going to be holding yarn double/triple so I think I'm going to have to give this a go - in the interests of scientific research if nothing else.

If you are interested in what we are up to in the group you can find out more information at the link below - or just pop me a question.

How to knit a rounded toe

BOB Socks - with rounded toe

I’m mainly a toe-up sock girl but occasionally I do dabble in cuff down - just for a bit of variety. My husband prefers the fit of a cuff down, traditional heel flap sock, so for him this tends to be my preferred method.

One of the reasons often quoted for preferring a toe-up sock is that it avoids the need for kitchener stitching the toe closed. Personally, I quite like the zen of the process but there are times - particularly when you are in a holiday cottage miles from anywhere and you forgot to pack a needle - that an alternative is needed.

Here’s where the rounded toe comes in very handy.

Much like the crown of a hat, decrease rounds interspersed with plain, knit rounds bring the toe together to  just a few stitches, allowing the yarn to be drawn through them and the end to be woven in.

An added advantage for the more broad footed, or those whose feet don’t particularly taper is that it gives a slightly roomier toe - all the better for wiggling in.

How to knit a rounded toe: For a sock with 64 stitches:

*k6, k2tog, rep from * to end (8 sts dec). K6 rnds

*k5, k2tog, rep from * to end. K5 rnds

*k4, k2tog, rep from * to end. K4 rnds

*k3, k2tog, rep from * to end. K3 rnds

*k2, k2tog, rep from * to end. K2 rnds

*k1, k2tog, rep from * to end. K1 rnds

*k2tog, rep from * to end.

Break yarn. Thread through a tapestry needle and draw through the remaining 8sts. Pull tight, through to the wrong side and weave in end.

If you’d like to knit the socks shown above these are my BOB Socks - stands for Build On the Basics. They are cuff down with a rounded toe and you can find the pattern on my Ravelry page below.

PIN FOR LATER

How to support your LYS - without spending money

Photo by K8 on Unsplash

When we think of supporting our hard working local yarn stores it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that this must involve spending large amounts of cash on yarn. But in reality there are other, cheaper things that we can also do - especially if, as we head towards the end of January, money is a little tight.

The success of the Just A Card campaign stemmed from the comment by a closing art gallery that if everyone who had visited the shop had bought ‘just a card’ they wouldn’t have had to close the business. Businesses don’t become a thriving success because of occasional large purchases (although obviously, that doesn’t hurt) but it is the continual drip, drip of small things - regular small purchases, visits, reviews, recommendations - all count.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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With that in mind, it's worth considering all the ways you can support for LYS (or fav indie dyer) without spending any money:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
1. Leave them a review (on FB or their website)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
2. Mention them when talking about what you are making - tag them on social media or tell a friend about them.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
3. Offer to review a product for them, knit a shop sample or lend them something you have knit, for display⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
4. If they have a newsletter, sign up to it and share it with friends⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
5. Bear in mind that an LYS is also often able to fulfill online orders - when recommending places to buy online don't forget the small indie businesses at the expense of the 'big box stores'⠀⠀

Can you think of any more? Please do let me know in the comments, and let’s help to share a bit of LYS love this January.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

How to knit a Temperature Blanket - and why...

Far too much dithering over colour choices

January 2021 Update: You can find the update and the completed blanket at this post

And you can find my Temperature Blanket e-book here:

I swore that I would never do a Temperature Blanket and yet every January I would be smitten with gorgeous finished objects, fantastic visual representations of the past year in woolly form and be tempted. This year finally got the better of me and I decided to embark on my own.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about a Temperature Blanket is a year long project (usually) where you work a row or two every day.

You decide on a temperature scale and have a different colour to represent each category on that scale. For example I decided to work on a scale of 0-30 degrees Celcius, with the scale in 3 degree increments.

The important thing to note from the outset is that this is your project and you set the rules. There is no standard pattern, although others have published their projects for inspiration and education ultimately your choice of yarn/needles, your selection of colours and scale will make this project completely and utterly unique. That’s the beauty of it.

However, like all epic projects it does require some planning at the beginning. It won’t have escaped your notice that 365 days is 365 rows (or 730 for garter stitch). That is a lot of rows and in chunky yarn (or crochet) you could well end up with something the length of a hallway runner rather than a usable blanket if you aren’t careful.

Scale

Another consideration is the selection of your scale. This is obviously highly dependent on where you live. Based here in the UK we are blessed with a pretty moderate climate without significant extremes. My scale therefore can be in relatively small increments. Doing it in increments of 6 for example might result in too few colour changes to look visually interesting. Many days in summer here can be in the range 18-24 for example.

Colours and yarn

Pick a yarn you love, obviously and that fits your budget. It’s also worth bearing in mind that you might need to buy more if your estimates are off, so pick something that’s readily available and easy to obtain. It sounds obvious but you don’t have to go for the traditional blue = cold red = hot colour scheme. I’ve seen some brilliant ones where the colours are neutrals (greys or shades of natural yarn) for example that look absolutely stunning.

Time

How you pick and record the temperature is also entirely up to you. I decided to go for noon at our favourite place in the Lake District - I check it daily on a weather app. You could also access a historical weather record site for your area and do a retrospective blanket - based on a significant year for you, for example.

My blanket

After seeing some lovely knitted and crochet corner to corner blankets I opted for this style - mainly because the thought of a super long cast on did not fill me with enthusiasm. 

Yarn: West Yorkshire Spinners 4ply Signature Sock Yarn

Needles: 3mm

I cast on 3sts and I’m increasing 2 sts every right side row, until the midpoint when I’ll start the decreases. I’m knitting 4 rows (2 garter ridges) for every day.

If you are interested I’ve linked to my Ravelry project page and I’ll be doing updates once a month or so - as I’d hate to spam you with the thing. But I’m hoping that a monthly update will keep me accountable and stop the blanket from languishing in a corner.

Wish me luck. In the immortal words of Antarctic explorer Lawrence Oates “I may be some time”