Sampler blankets and throws are great stitch tutorials

photo knitscribble

Sampler baby blankets and throws can be knit in squares and sewn together or knit as one piece. Blankets are lovely fall and wintertime projects, as the colder it gets and farther you knit, the warmer you are.


This Aran christening blanket seen here was knit as one piece with one colorway of yarn and a separate border knit in cotton and sewn on. Knitnscribble also ran a quarter inch ribbon through the fluted lace top and tied the ends in a bow at each corner before gifting.





While the pattern for the Aran blanket was not written down, sadly, I can tell you that I used the Harmony Guides: 220 Aran Stitches and Patterns for all the Irish stitches which include: plaited cable, evokes the interweaving of family life; honeycomb, the rewards of a good life; trinity, symbolizes the Holy Trinity; Tree of Life, and moss stitch, for the rich and abundant growth of mossy soil.

The finished measurement was approximately 30 x 40 inches, using 3 skeins of Bartlett Yarns fisherman 2-ply, and about 2 skeins of Jaeger creamy cotton DK, discontinued; best match, according to YarnSub is Essentials Cotton DK available at Loveknitting, 142 yds (130m) @$4.05 per skein. (So glad to see a near perfect match for Jaeger in so many beautiful colorways.)

Harmony Guides have good directions and charts for the number of rows and stitches needed to complete your own unique combinations of Aran stitches. Reviewers write that the earlier publication versions are better and there are several available on Amazon.



The cotton fluted lace stitch pattern is here, knitted separately and sewn on at finish.

The traditional sampler baby blanket or throw is knit in squares and then sewn together after. Frankie's Blankie, free pattern by Frankie Brown, provides you with a single pattern a week through 2018 and is another great stitch tutorial, a virtual "masterclass in knitting." It's not too late to begin this project as all the stitched square patterns are available free on Ravelry. You can make the baby blankets smaller, too; knit them as carriage blankets.

photo by Frankie Brown

Also, sampler blankets can be a super yarn stash buster! If your stash is separated into DK, sport, worsted, and bulky gauges, you are ahead of the game. If not, this method is a super way to organize your yarn.

photo by Frankie Brown

Thanks for reading, and as always, Happy Knitting!