Valley Yarns Paradise City Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Paradise City Blanket

What Is Being Made

The Paradise City Blanket is a knitted throw blanket celebrating Northampton, Massachusetts, a city historically nicknamed "The Paradise of America" by 19th century singer Jenny Lind. This intermediate-level knitting project creates a finished blanket measuring 46 inches wide by 56 inches long, composed of 25 individual blocks that are knitted separately and then sewn together to form the complete design.

Project Overview and Design

Designed by Julie Turjoman and Susan Baron, the blanket features five different gansey block designs, each worked in five different color variations. The gansey tradition—a form of patterned knitting with roots in British textile heritage—is adapted here to use only basic knit and purl stitches, making the colorwork accessible to intermediate knitters. The 25 blocks are arranged in a grid pattern and assembled through seaming, allowing crafters to work in five vertical strips if desired to simplify the construction process.

Knitting Techniques Used

This project employs flat knitting worked on straight needles, with all blocks constructed using fundamental stitch techniques. The blanket utilizes gansey design patterns, which are traditional geometric motifs created through combinations of knit and purl stitches rather than color changes. The construction method involves block assembly, where individual rectangular sections are knitted flat and later joined together through seaming. Crafters have the flexibility to work blocks individually or organize them into five vertical strips before assembly. The pattern includes stockinette stitch for the main fabric and selvage stitches along the sides to facilitate clean seaming.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

The Paradise City Blanket is worked exclusively in knit and purl stitches, eliminating the need for complex colorwork techniques. The gansey block patterns create texture and visual interest through strategic placement of these basic stitches. Stockinette stitch forms the foundation of the fabric and appears as selvage stitches on block edges for assembly purposes. The pattern notes that blocks may be worked in five vertical strips, and crafters can optionally eliminate the top and bottom stockinette rows between blocks if working in strips, while maintaining the side selvage stitches necessary for proper seaming.

Yarn and Materials

The blanket is constructed using Valley Yarns Northampton, a 100% wool yarn available in two coordinated colorways. Each colorway requires 2 skeins each of 5 different colors, plus 1 additional skein of the border color, for a total of 11 skeins per colorway. Each skein contains 100 grams and 247 yards of yarn.

Colorway 1 features: Caribbean Heather, Lake Heather, Deep Periwinkle, Dark Navy, and Amethyst.

Colorway 2 features: Autumn Heather, Rust, Fawn, Dark Green Heather, and Gold.

The project requires US size 8 (5.0 mm) needles or the size needed to achieve the specified gauge. Additional materials include a tapestry needle for seaming the blocks together. The recommended gauge is 19 stitches and 28 rows over 4 inches in stockinette stitch, measured after blocking.

Finished Dimensions

• Blanket: 46 inches wide by 56 inches long
• Individual blocks: 9¼ inches by 11 inches

Skill Level and Construction Notes

Rated as Adventurous Beginner to Intermediate, this project is accessible to knitters with foundational skills who are ready to tackle a larger, multi-part construction. The pattern provides flexibility in assembly methods: blocks can be worked individually in any order, or organized into five vertical strips to streamline the seaming process. Crafters are encouraged to leave yarn tails 12 to 16 inches long during knitting to use these tails for seaming, which adds efficiency to the finishing process. The use of only knit and purl stitches makes the gansey patterns straightforward to execute while still creating sophisticated visual texture and depth.