Valley Yarns First Violet Baby Blanket Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns First Violet Baby Blanket

What Is Being Made

The Valley Yarns First Violet Baby Blanket is a soft and vibrant knitted baby blanket designed by Kirsten Hipsky. Available in three finished sizes—28, 32, or 36 inches square—this blanket is designed to coordinate with the First Violet Pullover. The blanket features a striking construction with a garter stitch mitered square at its heart, single-row jogless stripes around the middle section, and log cabin garter stitch borders that frame the entire piece.

Techniques Used

This blanket employs several intermediate knitting techniques to create its distinctive visual structure:

• Mitered Square Construction: The inner square is worked using a mitered technique, starting from a single stitch and increasing outward with strategic yarn-overs and knit-front-and-back increases placed on either side of a center marker. This creates the characteristic diagonal lines of a mitered square.
• Jogless Stripes: The blanket features single-row jogless stripes in the middle band, a technique that eliminates the visible jog that typically occurs when changing colors at the beginning of a round in circular knitting.
• Log Cabin Garter Stitch Borders: The outer frame uses a log cabin construction method worked in garter stitch, where bands are added sequentially around the central square to build up the blanket's dimensions.
• Worked Flat and in the Round: The pattern transitions between working flat on circular needles and working in the round, allowing for efficient construction of the various sections.
• Pickup and Knit: Stitches are picked up and knit along the edges of completed sections to seamlessly join new bands to the existing work.

Stitches Used

The Valley Yarns First Violet Baby Blanket relies on fundamental knitting stitches executed with precision:

• Garter Stitch (St st): The primary stitch throughout the blanket, created by knitting every row when working flat or alternating knit and purl rounds when working in the round. Garter stitch provides texture, warmth, and a classic aesthetic.
• Knit-Front-and-Back (kfb): An increase stitch used in the mitered square to create the gradual expansion from the center point outward.
• Make One Left (m1L) and Make One Right (m1R): Paired increase stitches used in the outer frame rounds to maintain the blanket's square shape while expanding outward evenly on all four sides.
• Stockinette Stitch (St st): Referenced in the gauge measurement, indicating portions of the pattern worked in stockinette for comparison and structural integrity.

Materials: Yarn and Needles

Yarn: The blanket is knitted using Valley Yarns Valley Superwash DK Hand-Dyed, a worsted-weight yarn composed of 100% Merino Superwash wool. Each skein contains 100 grams and yields 274 yards. The pattern calls for two colors: Cobalt (color A) and First Violet (color B). Yardage requirements vary by size: the smallest 28-inch blanket requires 2 skeins of Cobalt and 2 skeins of First Violet; the medium 32-inch size needs 3 skeins of Cobalt and 2 skeins of First Violet; the largest 36-inch blanket requires 4 skeins of Cobalt and 2 skeins of First Violet. The Merino Superwash fiber is ideal for baby blankets, offering softness, breathability, and easy care through machine washing.

Needles: The pattern specifies US size 5 (3.75 mm) circular needles in both 24-inch and 32-inch lengths, or whatever size is needed to achieve the correct gauge. Circular needles are used throughout, even for sections worked flat, allowing the knitter to accommodate the growing number of stitches as the blanket expands from the center outward.

Gauge

The pattern specifies a gauge of 5.5 stitches and 8 rows per 1 inch when worked in stockinette stitch. Achieving the correct gauge is essential for the blanket to reach its intended finished dimensions and for the various construction techniques—particularly the mitered square and the border expansions—to work as designed.

Difficulty Level

This pattern is rated as beginner