Baby Blankets For Sweet Dreams

Hello again…it’s me! I promised you some baby blanket patterns awhile ago, so I thought would make good on that now! I have been busy this past year babysitting my youngest grandson, Zach, who is now 17 months old. In this post I am sharing four of my recent baby blankets but there are many more…

I was so excited about baby boy #2, Zach. I made tons of stuff for him, and I’m just sharing a few items in this post. I love this pattern by leeleeknits.com . For the blue and gray blanket above, I purchased 5 skeins of the blue yarn and 2 skeins of the gray chunky baby, 100% Acrylic yarn. I had extra and made the the multi-color hats. I used US 10.5 size needles. Circular needles work well for heavy blankets such as this project. This type of needle is more comfortable and prevents strain on your wrists and arms when working on items with weight.

Recently my dear niece Katie and husband Nick were expecting their first baby. Below is a baby blanket gift that I made for Baby Max this spring. FYI, Max can expect a few other handmade items in his future. This is a super chunky baby yarn. I went up a needle size using US11 size needles. Baby blankets are my favorite gifts to make. They are always appreciated and thinking of babies gets my creative juices flowing. Feel free to play with patterns and make them your own by choosing colors, textures, and weight of yarn making your blankets one of a kind. Baby blankets can be made in all sizes and the gauge is not so important unless you want to get the exact size as stated in the patterns. I take some creative license with the size. I purchased the same number of skeins, so this one turned out pretty big, crib size.

I currently don’t sell items commercially but I was honored when my son asked be to make a PookieKnits blanket for his friends that had a baby boy this last year. The second example is called “Where the Sidewalk Ends” is by FiftyFour Ten Studio and can be found at ravelry.com/designers/fifty-four-ten-studio or etsy.com/shop FiftyFour TenStudio. I used Lion Brand Wool Ease yarn. Making the crib sized blanket took 5 balls and made a nice big chunky style blanket. Size 11 needles using a circular knitting needles helps with the weight of the blanket and prevents wrist and arm fatigue. Great pattern for watching a movie or holding a conversation while knitting. It’s easy to follow knit and purl instructions. I have made 3 other blankets using this pattern in the largest size using an Italian wool yarn that is multicolored, giving a totally different look and feel.

We have developed lots of friends over the years but some of the dearest are our soccer parent friends. Now that we are all be coming grandparents, I find lots of reasons to make baby gifts. The next blanket was made for a traveling high school soccer team mate of Angela’s. This pattern is for those of you who like to make things by increase and decrease on the diagonal. The blanket is similar to the Front Porch Shawl in one of my previous blogs. I love the border that this pattern creates. A simple but elegant design.

I had fun with this pattern, I was curious if this could really be made from a single ball of Lion Brand Pound of Love. Yes it can be done!

• LION BRAND POUND OF LOVE®
• 1 ball
• Large-eyed, blunt needle
• Circular needle size 8 [5 mm] 24″

SIZE:
30″ square

Last but not least is another blanket I made for Zach. I took a picture of it draped over the bassinet I used for both Tony and Angela. Years ago I made the blue eyelet skirt with quilted lining for them to sleep in their first days.

I love a good basket weave baby blanket. In a previous post, “Why I Knit”, I tell my story of how I came and returned to knitting, which is also a basket weave. The above pictured pattern you can find the pattern at Yarnspirations. This blanket is made using 2 balls (390 yards) of Bernat Baby Blanket, 100% polyester yarn and US 11 size needles. I use 100% acrylic or 100% polyester for most of the baby blankets I make, because they are machine washable and dryable. I always recommend cool water wash and low heat for drying.

I have been busy with lots of projects including sewing, embroidery, and knitting. I will share more ideas soon.

Keep knitting and sewing,

Love, Debbie