Valley Yarns Bergamot Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Bergamot Baby Blanket and Lap Throw

Project Overview

The Bergamot is a knitted baby blanket and lap throw designed by Julie Turjoman, crafted to become a cherished heirloom piece. This intermediate-level project showcases the beauty of textured cable work while remaining accessible to knitters looking to expand their technical skills. The pattern offers two finished sizes: a smaller baby blanket measuring 29" x 30" and a larger lap throw measuring 48½" x 67½", making it versatile for gifting occasions such as weddings, housewarmings, and new baby celebrations.

Materials and Yarn Specifications

The Bergamot is designed to be worked with Valley Yarns Valley Superwash Bulky, a yarn composed of 100% Superwash Merino Wool. This fiber choice provides exceptional practicality for a baby blanket, as the superwash treatment makes the finished piece machine washable and durable enough to withstand years of regular use and care. The baby blanket size requires 8 skeins of yarn, while the larger lap throw requires 30 skeins. Each skein weighs 100 grams and contains 109 yards. The sample shown was worked in Color 16 Misty Lilac, a soft, versatile shade suitable for various nursery and home décor settings.

Needles and Gauge

This pattern is worked on US size 10 (6.00 mm) 40-inch circular needles, or the size needed to achieve proper gauge. The recommended gauge is 15 stitches and 20 rows over 4 inches in stitch pattern, blocked. Achieving accurate gauge is essential for obtaining the correct finished dimensions and ensuring the cables and lace elements display properly throughout the blanket.

Construction Technique: Bottom-Up, Worked Flat

The Bergamot is constructed using the bottom-up method, meaning the blanket is begun at the lower edge and worked upward toward the top. Although circular needles are specified, the piece is worked flat, utilizing the circular needle's length to accommodate the width of the blanket while working back and forth in rows. This construction method allows knitters to try on or assess the blanket's progress as it grows, and to easily bind off when the desired length is achieved.

Stitch Techniques and Pattern Elements

The Bergamot features a highly textured design built on three primary stitch techniques:

• Cable Stitches: The pattern incorporates cable crossings, including 2/1 left cable (2/1 LC) and 2/1 right cable (2/1 RC) maneuvers. These cables create the dimensional, twisted columns that form the visual focus of the blanket and require the use of a cable needle to temporarily hold stitches while crossing them over one another. The cable work is distributed across the width of the blanket in a repeating pattern, providing visual interest and textural depth.
• Lace Elements: Lace stitches, created through yarn overs (yo) and decreases, are interspersed throughout the pattern to add openness and elegance to the design. The combination of yarn overs with decreases such as knit 2 together (k2tog) and slip, slip, knit (ssk) creates small eyelets and decorative holes that lighten the overall appearance of the bulky yarn blanket.
• Knit and Purl Stitches: The foundation of the pattern relies on basic knit (k) and purl (p) stitches, which create contrast and definition around the cable and lace elements. Purl stitches are used strategically to frame and highlight the cables, while knit stitches form the primary fabric.

Additional Materials and Tools

Beyond yarn and needles, the pattern requires a cable needle for executing the cable crossings, stitch markers to help track pattern repeats across the width of the blanket, and a tapestry needle for weaving in yarn ends and finishing the piece. These standard knitting notions ensure clean, professional results.

Skill Level and Pattern Complexity

Rated as an intermediateskill level project, the Bergamot challenges knitters to master cable techniques while managing a larger, multi-row stitch pattern. The pattern includes detailed row-by-row instructions with abbreviations and repeating pattern sections, requiring knitters to track their place and maintain consistent tension throughout. The combination of cables, lace decreases, and yarn overs makes this an excellent project for kn