Dream Blanket Knitting Pattern

Dream in Color Rocketry Baby Blanket

What Is Being Made

The Rocketry Baby Blanket is a modular knitted blanket designed for infants and small children. The project consists of six individual squares that are seamed together and finished with a coordinating border, creating a finished blanket suitable for gifting or personal use. The design allows for creative color customization through the use of multiple yarn colors in striped patterns.

Craft and Project Type

This is a knitting project classified as a blanket and throw. The pattern was designed by Lindsay Pekny and is available as a downloadable PDF from Dream in Color Designs (pattern P606). The blanket is worked flat on circular needles in individual square components before assembly.

Techniques Used

The Rocketry Baby Blanket employs several intermediate knitting techniques:

• Worked Flat: Each of the six squares is knitted flat using circular needles in rows rather than in the round, making this accessible for knitters who prefer traditional flat construction.
• Seaming: The six completed squares are sewn together using a tapestry needle, allowing the knitter to arrange the squares in any desired configuration.
• Stripes: Color changes are introduced strategically throughout the pattern, with new colors introduced on right-side rows beginning at Row 18, then every 16 rows thereafter. This creates horizontal striped patterns within each square, with the knitter able to choose varying stripe arrangements for each of the six squares.
• Decrease Shaping: Each square is shaped using paired decreases (slip-slip-knit and knit-two-together) positioned symmetrically on either side of a center marker, creating a tapered square that narrows from 100 cast-on stitches to 4 stitches.
• Circular Border: After the squares are seamed together, stitches are picked up evenly around all four sides of the assembled blanket. The border is worked in the round with corner increases and is finished with alternating knit and purl rounds for a refined edge.

Stitches Used

The pattern utilizes fundamental and intermediate knitting stitches:

• Knit Stitch (k): The primary stitch forming the stockinette stitch base of the blanket.
• Purl Stitch (p): Used in the border rounds to create textural variation and a finished edge.
• Slip-Slip-Knit (ssk): A left-leaning decrease worked by slipping two stitches individually as if to knit, then inserting the left needle through both stitches and knitting them together as one.
• Knit Two Together (k2tog): A right-leaning decrease that combines two stitches into one.
• Knit Front and Back (kf&b): An increase stitch used in the border to shape corners and maintain even stitch distribution around the perimeter.
• Stockinette Stitch: The primary fabric texture, created by alternating knit rows on the right side and purl rows on the wrong side, resulting in a smooth, classic appearance.

Materials

The Rocketry Baby Blanket is worked using Dream in Color Classy worsted weight superwash merino yarn. The pattern calls for six colors of this yarn; the pictured example uses colors 210 Beach Fog, 160 Blue Lagoon, 150 Happy Forest, 130 Strange Harvest, 270 Lipstick Lava, and 180 Visual Purple. Superwash merino provides durability and easy care, making it ideal for baby blankets that require frequent washing.

Needles: US size #7 circular needles are used throughout the project for working the flat squares and the border. Circular needles are employed here for their versatility and ability to accommodate the large stitch counts required for the blanket squares.

Notions and Tools: The pattern requires stitch markers to track the center decrease lines within each square and to mark corners during border construction. A tapestry needle is essential for seaming the six squares together and weaving in yarn ends.

Gauge and Finished Dimensions

The pattern is worked at a gauge of 4.5 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch. This gauge is measured over a 4-inch swatch and should be verified before beginning the project to ensure the finished blanket achieves the intended dimensions and drape.