Striped Herringbone Baby Blanket

I finally finished my first baby blanket.  My husband keeps calling this the Sounders blanket.  The Sounders are the local soccer team, which is not too bad I suppose, except that I didn’t intend to promote anyone.  Darnitall.

This took me a few weeks, partly because I'm short on time but mostly because unfortunately the stitch is not one you can shut off your brain for (except the WS resting rows).  I had to rip out a row every once in a while to fix errors.  But it’s complete now, and I think it looks pretty nice.  The stitch creates a lovely subtle wave along the bottom, and there's an interesting interlocking thing going on with the color changes.  This is not the biggest baby blanket you will see, and I have plans for a much larger one next, so I think this one will just be something for the little guy to snuggle up with.  It’s very soft and cozy with a nice drape.

The yarn I used is a worsted cotton-soy blend.  Not machine washable, which is a total bummer.  I ordered it online and I thought the website said it was machine washable.  Turns out it’s not so much.  Boo.

This pattern is modeled after the Herringbone stitch from The Harmony Guide 450 More Knitting Stitches, v2 (2004), and could be used for just about anything with a little tweaking.  It includes a 2-stitch moss border on each side to prevent the fabric from rolling inward.  The blanket in the photos has not been blocked yet, but as you can see it might not even need it.

Herringbone Baby Blanket

Worsted weight yarn, 440 yards total:

(I used 4 skeins at 110 yards each: 2 skeins spring green, 1 skein royal blue, 1 skein bright white, all Queensland Collection Bebe Cotsoy.)

Size 7 circular needles, or some really long straight needles

CO 110 st.

Pattern Sequence:

Row 1: (WS) p1, k1, purl to last st, k1
Row 2: k1, p1, *k2tog, k2, L-inc, k2; repeat from * to last 3 sts, k2, p1
Row 3: repeat Row 1
Row 4: k1, p1, k3, L-inc, k2, k2tog *k2, L-inc, k2 k2tog; repeat from * to last 2 sts; k1, p1

How to complete the lift-increase stitch (L-inc):

1. Insert the right-hand needle into the right leg of the stitch below the next stitch
2. Lift this loop up onto the left hand needle
3. Knit this picked up loop as normal
4. Knit the stitch above the lifted loop (the original stitch, which is still on the left-hand needle)*

*Be sure to knit both the new (lifted up) loop as well as the original stitch to complete the L-inc, or your stitch count will be off, which will throw off the whole pattern.  It will feel like knitting 2 stitches but it counts as one!  I made this mistake a few times…

To complete the blanket, repeat the pattern sequence, switching colors with the intarsia method. 

The sequence repeats as follows:

1 sequence white

2 sequences blue

5 sequences green

2 sequences blue

Repeat until the end, finishing with a white sequence.  With the final white sequence, complete all 4 rows of the pattern, then bind off loosely in a row 1 (WS) pattern and weave in ends.  Block if desired.