Shadow Stripe Baby Blanket | Purl Soho

Don’t tell the socks and sweaters, but my favorite thing to knit (or crochet!) is blankets. I guess because my background is in painting, I have a real affinity for the blank canvas, a four-sided shape of pure potential. But what I love most about making blankets is that in the end you have… a blanket! A thing that comforts and warms, a thing that babies and children hold dear, a thing that brings happiness into everyday life.

Shadow Stripe Baby Blanket | Purl Soho

If a blanket is a painting, then the Shadow Stripe Baby Blanket is high Minimalism, circa 1966. The bold geometry of horizontal stripes is intercepted by a shift in color halfway through every other stripe. The technique is simple, but the impact is totally satisfying!

Shadow Stripe Baby Blanket | Purl Soho

And since we’re knitting for babies, I used Blue Sky’s super cuddly Worsted Cotton. Unlike most other cottons, this one invites companionship with its cushiony spring and surprising softness. I love this palette of crisp, nautical blues with its summertime freshness, or choose our natural colorway which assembles three misty neutrals for a more subtle statement.

Shadow Stripe Baby Blanket | Purl Soho

Wielding your yarn the way a painter brandishes her brush, enjoy this fun knit, and end up with a beautiful blanket to boot! -Whitney

Designed by Purl Soho designer, Whitney Van Nes.

Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, and #PurlSohoShadowStripeBabyBlanket. We can’t wait to see what you make!

Materials

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  • 7 skeins of Blue Sky’s Worsted Cotton, 100% cotton. Each skein is 150 yards/ 100 grams.
    • Color A: 3 skeins; approximately 450 yards required.
    • Color B: 2 skeins; approximately 300 yards required.
    • Color C: 2 skeins; approximately 300 yards required.

Here are two of our favorite palettes…

BLUES, from top to bottom:

  • Color C: 2 skeins of Indigo
  • Color B: 2 skeins of Mediterranean Blue
  • Color A: 3 skeins of Drift

NATURALS, from top to bottom:

  • Color C: 2 skeins of Sleet
  • Color B: 2 skeins of Drift and
  • Color A: 3 skeins of Tulip

You’ll also need…

Gauge

18 stitches and 32 rows= 4 inches in garter stitch

Size

25 inches wide x 30½ inches long

Notes

Intarsia Tips (Changing Colors)

Our Four Corners Baby Blanket pattern employs this same intarsia technique and has photos to accompany these instructions. You can check them out right here.

CHANGING COLORS ON THE RIGHT SIDE

When switching from one color to the next on the right side of the work, bring the old color in front of the new so that it is “trapped” between the new working yarn and the knitted piece. Knit the first stitch of the new color normally.

CHANGING COLORS ON THE WRONG SIDE

When changing colors on the wrong side of the work (between purl stitches), “trap” the old color by bringing it behind the new working yarn. Purl the first stitch of the new color normally.

Pattern

With the Color A, cast on 112 stitches. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.

*Slipping the first stitch of every row knitwise with the yarn in back (wyib), knit until piece measures 2½ inches (or 11 “ridges”, i.e. 22 rows).

Cut yarn.

NOTE: The next row will be a “right side” row. For the rest of the pattern make sure you always start stripes with the right side facing you.

Next Row (right side): With Color B, k56; with Color C, knit to end of row. (See Intarsia Tips above for how to properly switch colors.)

Next Row (wrong side): With Color C, slip 1 knitwise wyib, k54, p1; with Color B, p1, knit to end of row. (Again, the above Tips will help you change colors correctly.)

Next Row: With Color B, slip 1 knitwise wyib, k55; with Color C, knit to end of row.

Repeat the last two rows until the colored stripe measures 2⅛ inches (or 9 ridges, i.e. 18 rows), ending with a wrong side row.

Cut both yarns.

Join Color A and knit 1 row (without slipping the first stitch).

Repeat from * five more times.

With Color A, knit 1 row, then slipping the first stitch of every row knitwise wyib, knit for 2⅜ inches (or 10½ ridges, i.e. 21 rows)

Bind off loosely.

Weave in the ends and admire your work!