Saturday 23 February 2013

A simple knitted blanket pattern...

So you might have seen on the facebook page I posted last October I was starting a special piece for myself - something to pick up when I had a spare few minutes and knit - nothing too taxing but something that I could keep as a bit of an heirloom piece. It was pretty chilly at the time (nothing compared to now though! brrrr) so a blanket was the first thing that came to mind! I looked for a pattern but all I could find were really complicated ones - even though they looked really nice they weren't a pattern you could follow easily in front of the tv! In the end I made it up as I went along!

Hand knitted snuggly blanket in progress made By Laura AnnThe finished hand knitted blanket perfect for snugglying under when it's cold!

I uploaded the finished article to facebook the other day and found that many people thought the same thing about wanting a non complicated blanket pattern! So for anyone else that has thought they want to have a go at making a simple blanket or throw here is the pattern I worked to to make a large stocking stitch with garter stitch border blanket... (I don't think Debbie Bliss has anything to worry about when it comes to knitting pattern writing though!)

I used 8 x Stylecraft Special Chunky and 7.5mm circular needles.
Tension 12sts x 4in

Blanket size - approx 157cm x 147cm (when laid flat)

Cast on 170 stitches.
Knit in garter stitch (Knit every row) for 18 rows or until work measures 8cm/3in.
On next row (with the wrong side facing you) Knit 10 stitches, Purl 150 stitches, Knit 10 stitches.
 *You might want to place a stitch marker before/after the 10 Knit stitches to make it easier to see where to change the stitch. (I just use a knotted loop of contrasting yarn)*
Next row Knit all stitches.
Carry these two rows on until work measures approx 140cm/55in or until the blanket is the length you'd like it.
Now repeat the 18 rows of garter stitch that the pattern started off with.
Cast off.
Sew ends in.
Snuggle with a cup of tea.

If you wanted to spice it up a little you could do the borders in moss stitch (Knit 1, Purl 1) or you could change yarn colour and do stripes!

Knitted Blanket By Laura Ann for Random Button

Enjoy!

If you try it let me know how you get on!

x





Monday 11 February 2013

Just a little bit of bunting making...

 It's been a few weeks since I last blogged so I thought I'd get back into the swing of it by sharing with you all what I've been creating over the last few weeks! Back in January I received a lovely email from a customer asking about ordering some bespoke bunting ... 60 metres of it! The customer wanted purples and lilacs in a shabby chic /vintage /pretty theme - I got together a collection of fabric choices and she selected her favourites!

The chosen fabrics - polkadots, spots, florals in purple and lilac shades.

So then the marking out of triangles ... cutting out of triangles ... sewing triangles ... ironing triangles ... connecting triangles began!! I lost count of the amount of flags this bunting used up and as each flag is double sided I couldn't even begin to imagine how many tiangles I made! I did really enjoy making it though! Especially knowing that it's going to be a part of their special day.


The bunting flags all sewn up and ironed out!The flags all in order of how they were going to be sewn up.
 
All the flags sewn together in a 60 metre length.The sequence of purple and lilac fabrics selected for the bunting.


 The large pile of finished wedding bunting.
 
 
Perfect shabby chic vintage themed wedding bunting.
 
 
 I'm sure this is going to look great in their venue! It makes the day even more special when the bride to be knows she has a unique decoration that no-one else has and that she's selected the fabrics for herself!

x