Falling Bobbles Blanket
Knitting bobbles is like putting the cherry on top. You work along in happy anticipation until the gratifying moment you get to create a big, tasty bobble. Our Falling Bobbles Blanket is filled with these gratifying moments!
The blanket begins with a heavy concentration of bobbles that, as you knit, tapers down to a less-frequent few. Purl Soho’s incredibly soft and cozy Lanecardate Feltro lends each bobble extra substance and playfulness.
If you love the yarn used in this project, you’ll love all of our other yarn, too! Explore our 35+ lovingly created yarn collections, in nearly every natural fiber and spectacular color you can imagine… Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn shop!
On size 15 needles, our Falling Bobbles Blanket is a quick knit… and a fun one, too, with dozens of cherries on top! -Kristy
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Kristina McGowan. Click here to see even more of Kristina’s designs!
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, and #PurlSohoFallingBobblesBlanket. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- 9 skeins of Purl Soho’s Lanecardate Feltro, 75% superfine wool, 25% Caregora angora. Approximately 900 yards required.
- US 15 (10 mm), 32-inch circular needles
Shop our wonderful collection of super bulky-weight yarn to find a suitable substitute for this project, and remember that it’s always a good idea to check your gauge before you cast on… Our All About Gauge Tutorial shows you how!
Gauge
10 stitches and 13 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch
Size
Finished dimensions: Approximately 34 inches wide x 47 inches long
Notes
mb [make bobble]: *[Yo, k1] three times in the same stitch; turn work so wrong side is facing you and slip 1 purlwise, p5; turn work so right side is facing you and slip 1 purlwise, k5; turn work so wrong side is facing you and [p2tog] three times; turn work so right side is facing you and slip 1 purlwise, k2tog, pass the slipped stitch over. (If you’ve never made a bobble, you may find our 5 Stitch Garter Bobble Tutorial helpful. The details are not exactly the same but the concept is!)
You always make the bobbles on a right side row.
If you wish to modify the pattern, be sure to cast on a multiple of 6 stitches plus 5. For example, 6 x 10 = 60, plus 5 = 65.
Pattern
Cast on 83 stitches. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.
Work 4 rows of stockinette stitch, starting with a right side knit row and ending with a wrong side purl row.
**Bobble Row A: K5, * mb (see Notes, above), k5, repeat from * to end of row.
Work 3 rows of stockinette stitch, starting and ending with a purl row.
Bobble Row B: K8, *mb, k5, repeat from * to last 3 stitches, k3.
Work 3 rows of stockinette stitch, starting and ending with a purl row.
Repeat from ** five more times. [12 total Bobble Rows]
Bobble Row A: K5, * mb (see Notes, above), k5, repeat from * to end of row. [13 total Bobble Rows]
***Work 7 rows of stockinette stitch, starting and ending with a purl row.
Bobble Row B: K8, *mb, k5, repeat from * to last 3 stitches, k3.
Work 7 rows of stockinette stitch, starting and ending with a purl row.
Bobble Row A: K5, * mb, k5 ,repeat from * to end of row.
Repeat from *** once more. [17 total Bobble Rows]
Work 7 rows of stockinette stitch, starting and ending with a purl row.
Bobble Row B: K8, *mb, k5, repeat from * to last 3 stitches, k3. [18 total Bobble Rows]
Work 11 rows of stockinette stitch, starting and ending with a purl row.
Bobble Row A: K5, * mb, k5, repeat from * to end of row. [19 total Bobble Rows]
Work 11 rows of stockinette stitch, starting and ending with a purl row.
Bobble Row B: K8, *mb, k5, repeat from * to last 3 stitches, k3. [20 total Bobble Rows]
Work 15 rows of stockinette stitch, starting and ending with a purl row.
Bobble Row A: K5, *mb, k5, repeat from * to end of row. [21 total Bobble Rows]
Work 19 rows of stockinette stitch, starting and ending with a purl row.
Loosely bind off all stitches as follows: *K2tog tbl (through the back loop), place stitch back on left needle, repeat from * to end of row. Cut yarn and pull it through the remaining stitch.
Finish
With the right side facing you, join yarn and pick up 2 stitches out of every 3 rows along one long side edge.
With the wrong side facing you, bind off, as above.
Repeat for the other long side edge.
Weave in the ends and block as desired.
Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our free knitting patterns and knitting tutorials, buy one of our many knitting kits and yarn bundles, and shop for beautiful yarn. We have over 35 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 100’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!
Love the blanket, but will you please oh please create a simple hat pattern for this lovely yarn! pretty please!!
This is a beautiful blanket that I would love to knit!
I have an allergy to wool, could you recommend a replacement yarn that would do the pattern justice.
Thank you,
Marshalle
Hi Marshalle! Thanks for writing! A nice yarn that comes to mind would be Blue Sky Alpaca’s Worsted Cotton (https://www.purlsoho.com/worsted-cotton.html), which you could work doubled to achieve a similar thickness. You would have to experiment and make a swatch to see what needle size might be best (likely around an 11), but the pattern itself would be easy to adjust as it is a multiple of 6 stitches plus 5. I hope this helps and please let us know if you have any additional questions as you substitute the yarn!
Kristy
Any thoughts on the total yardage you would need if knitting with size 11 needles?
Thanks!
Hi Ginny,
Thanks for writing in! It is hard to say exactly without knitting a large swatch and weighing it to see how many stitches and bobbles you get per yard. However, our Cozy Corners Blanket is knitted with Worsted Cotton and is a similar size to the Falling Bobbles blanket, and it takes 1,050 yards, so I would recommend getting at least 1200 yards to be on the safe side. Any yarn that hasn’t been wound can be returned for store credit.
I hope that helps!
Julianna
Thanks!
How does this design stand up to washing?
Hi Brenda,
In hand washing (which we recommend for this yarn), the blanket stands up very well! The sample seemed even softer after it was dry, but maintained lovely stitch definition. And any of the bobbles that compressed a bit when wet, easily fluffed back up after they were dry. I hope this helps answer your question and please let us know if you have any more!
Kristy
Where does the angora come from ? I am very disturbed by the realization that the rabbit fur is horribly ripped from their bodies with no concern for the pain. I will not buy anything that says Angora in the description.
Hi Dana,
It’s an important question and we’re glad to let you know that the angora, which comes from China, is procured without any harm to the rabbits. Lanecardate guarantees the highest level of responsibility, care and social conscious respect in the making of their yarn and they adhere closely to DEFRA Animal Welfare standards. We appreciate your concern and thanks for writing in!
Kristy
Is there any reasonable easy way to adapt the pattern to a stroller size blanket of about 36×40? Would a yarn w angora in it be okay for a baby stroller blanket or do you carry any yarn of similar weight and gauge that would not have any angora in it? Thank you SO much for your help. I love your creative patterns.
Hi Fran,
It would not be hard at all to expand the width and shorten the length of the blanket, we would just need to figure out those adjustments based on the yarn you’d be using and the gauge you get with it. If you decide not to use the Feltro, a good substitute might be our Super Soft Merino, which is also beautifully light and soft and would work well in same needle size range (https://www.purlsoho.com/super-soft-merino.html). Once we know your yarn and gauge, we can easily figure out the adjustments and make sure that the blanket will be the size you need!
Thanks,
Kristy
I HATE circular needles…can I use long straight needles instead? The bulk of the yarn doesn’t bother me. My stitching style is rather odd…long needles…left one under armpit…giving me two free hands. I cramp up using circular. Weird, I know!
Hi Janice!
Not weird at all! How long is the straight needle that you would be using? My only thought/concern would be getting 83 stitches of the Feltro to fit on a straight needle. I imagine the stitches would need to be quite condensed in order to fit, and that you’d need your straight needle to be quite long (at least 15-18 inches or so would be my guess), but let us know, and thanks for writing!
Kristy
I have 7 skiens of Alchemy Superfine Merino 128 yards/50 grams. Would this work for the bobble blanket? Thank you, Tere
Hi Tere,
The Alchemy Superfine Merino will have a much finer gauge than the Feltro we used for our sample (It has a recommended needle size of 5 and we used a 15), but this isn’t to say that you couldn’t create a version of the blanket using the same stitch pattern! You would just need to work up a small swatch to see how stitches and rows you were getting to the inch and would need to cast on a multiple of 6 stitches plus 5 to make the pattern work. Let us know if you have any questions as you try the stitch pattern out and we’d be happy to answer them. Good luck and thanks for writing!
Kristy
About how many hours did it take to knit this? I know people knit at different speeds, but any frame of reference would help!
Hi Mariah!
I’d estimate that it took about 40 hours to complete the blanket, knitting at a fairly average speed. I hope this helps! Thanks for writing!
Kristy
The bobbles look like punctuation marks to me. A sea of periods.
Hi Meredith!
That’s such a fun comparison! They really do!
Kristy
I absolutely love this pattern, and have some yarn that will work beautifully for it.
My only comment is why does it take 7 pages to print a pattern that is really only 2 pages long? PLEASE consider editing your great patterns where they are a little more print friendly.
Thanks.
Hello Becky!
We have a PRINT button available on every pattern and tutorial on the upper right hand corner below the photo banner. Feel free to click that button to print out a version with or without photos, or just to save the PDF of the pattern if you’d like. Hope this helps you for the future! We’re glad to hear you like this pattern! -Alyson
Would the DROPS Andes yarn work as a substitute for the Lanecardate Feltro?
Hi Karen,
The DROPS Andes yarn would work for this blanket, although the recommended needle size for it is slightly smaller than the one we used for our sample. We used size 15 and DROPS Andes recommends 13. You would just need to knit up a small swatch to see what gauge you were getting and could easily add one or two less repeats if needed. The stitch pattern is a multiple of 6 plus 5 stitches. If you work up a swatch and have further questions, please let us know! Good luck!
Kristy
Dana,
I saw yarn being spun directly from a rabbit at a fiber arts fair last winter. The rabbits were huge, and adorable, and seem to shed prolifically. The hair is combed out and collected and then spun into yarn like with any type of gathered fiber for spinning, based on what I observed.
Mary Jane
I have been coveting the bobble blanket I spied on the tv series Elementary on Joan Waton’s bed. This is a fantastic interpretation and just perfect 😀 I promise myself one for next winter (southern hemisphere). Thank you!!
Hi Jana, that’s so fun! I just looked up the blanket you mention and vintage chenille is really beautiful. To achieve an even closer look to that blanket, you may consider keeping the concentration of bobbles more dense throughout. Good luck!
Kristy
This pattern, like all your other blankets, is simple is but funky! My question is whether or not the edges curl due to the stockinette stitch. All of my projects using stockinette stictch, curl drastically on the edges inward. I would want the blanket to lie very flat. Would you suggest using seed stitch with the bobbles to achieve a similar effect that lays flat and if so do you know if that would require more yarn?
Hi Sarah! Thanks for writing in, it’s a great question! There was slight curling prior to blocking the blanket and adding the edging to the sides (picking up stitches along the edges and binding off). But if you’ve experienced drastic curling in the past, seed stitch would be a great choice, as would garter stitch. I would recommend getting an extra skein just in case you run short. If you don’t wind it, you can return any unused yarn for store credit for up to 6 months (https://www.purlsoho.com/return-policy/), and it might be good just to have an extra as a back up (the sample took very close to all 9). Good luck, and please let us know if you have any further questions!
Kristy
I love the ombre. How can I substitute with another yarn you may have in stock?
Hi Faye!
It should be easy to substitute another one of our yarns! Do you have one in mind? One suggestion would be our Super Soft Merino, but whatever you choose, we would be glad to help you figure it out!
Kristy
You can find videos on youtube showing grooming/combing angora rabbits to get the fur for spinning into yarn. The rabbits like it! Not painful at all. No ripping! I don’t know where she got that idea.
It’s when the fibre is produced on a larger scale, ie. to continuously supply stores and factories around the world, that the welfare of the rabbits is overlooked. Seeing small demos on YouTube or at yarn fairs doesn’t represent what truly goes on in the large-scale industry. I’d especially be wary of animal fibres produced in China, as they have a very poor reputation for animal welfare. If you really want to use fibre like angora, try to find a very small producer who can talk to you openly and honestly about how their animals are treated. Or better yet, knit with plant fibres!
Hi, I started to knit this blanket. I got the whole thing well underway and last night I unknitted the whole thing because, even if I followed your pattern word for word, my bobbles did not end up looking like the beautiful boobles in the pictures. With this pattern, my bobbles were more “flat” and had a gap on the side, which made them unnactractive. Did you use the same bobble pattern as above to make the blanket in the picture? Do you have another bobble pattern that would make them more strudy, round and tight instead of flat?
Thank you!
Hi Laurence,
Thanks for writing and sorry to hear that the bobbles have been giving you a bit of trouble! One thing to try when bobbles are looking flat, is to go down a needle size. Are you able to get the recommended gauge for the blanket? Often, tightening up your gauge can help the bobbles keep their form. Gaps on the side of the bobbles happen much in the same way that they do when working a cable stitch, but they are also mitigated considerably with the right tension. The sample does indeed show the bobbles described in the pattern. Please let us know if this helps and if you have any further questions!
Kristy
I am a beginner to intermediate knitter. I have never done bobbles before. I keep dropping stitches by mistake on the bobble rows. I started with the required 83 and after 1 row of bobbles, I have 80 left on my needles. Any thoughts on what I’m doing wrong? I looked at the 5 Stitch Garter example, but it’s tough to see exactly what is going on.
Hi Chris,
Sorry that you’ve been having trouble with the bobbles! In making a bobble, you are essentially creating several stitches into one stitch. When you yarn over and knit one three times into the same stitch, you are creating 6 stitches that will be the body of your bobble. You will work 4 rows with these 6 stitches. For the first row, you’ll turn your work so that the wrong side is facing you and will slip 1 stitch purlwise, and purl the remaining 5 stitches. On the next row, you will turn your work so that the right side is facing you and will slip 1 stitch purlwise, and knit 5 stitches. On the third, you will turn your work so that the wrong side is facing you and will purl two stitches together three times. For the last row, you will turn your work so that the right side is facing you and will slip 1 stitch purlwise, knit 2 stitches together and then pass the slipped stitch over it. When you are done making the bobble, there should only be one stitch left. I’m not sure where you might be losing stitches, but you have accidentally knit two stitches together that shouldn’t have been. A useful check is to count your stitches after each bobble row and make sure you have 83. Although it’s frustrating to go back a row if your count is off, at least you will know right away and won’t have to undo more than one row. I hope this helps and please let us know if you have any further questions!
Kristy
Hello ! I have an additonal question.
So I finished last night knitting the blanket (yay!)
However, the last step I have to do if the “finish” where it says :
Finish
With the right side facing you, join yarn and pick up 2 stitches out of every 3 rows along one long side edge. With the wrong side facing you, bind off, as above. Repeat for the other long side edge. Weave in the ends and block as desired.
Can you lease elaborate? I really do not understand this part and my good friend who is a pro in knitting has been confused but it as well. Also, if you would have a close up picture of what it should look like that would be great.
Thank you !
Laurence
Hi Laurence,
Sure! Picking up stitches along the side edges of the blanket and then binding them off is just a way to create a nice, clean edge and to help prevent any curling that might occur. You will take your needle and draw stitches up along the side edges (picking up two stitches one after the other and then skipping the third) all the way across. The stitches need to be spaced out a bit so they don’t bunch up and that is why you only pick up 2 out of every 3. When you have all of the stitches picked up and on your needle, you will turn your work and bind them off by knitting the first two stitches together through the back loop, and then placing that single resulting stitch back onto your left needle, and repeating these two steps until you reach the end of row. Please let us know if this helps clarify and we can email close-up images of the edging to you shortly as well. Thanks for writing and good luck!
Kristy
I’m also confused by the border part – the instructions say to join yarn so are you just picking up the side stitches or picking up and knitting the side stitches?
Hi Erica,
You’ll pick up and knit along the long-side edges so as to have live stitches on your needle.
All the best,
Adam
At the end it says to bind of on the edges; what is the benefit of doing this? It is just leaving me confused.
Thanks!
Hi Kirah,
Picking up stitches along the side edges of the blanket and then binding those stitches off is just a way to finish the blanket and is an extra step at the end that can help provide a tidy edge and prevent any curling that you might have. Adding the extra row of knitting helps reinforce the edges a bit. It’s not a necessary step in completing the blanket, but can provide nice, clean edges. I hope this helps clarify and please let us know if you have any further questions! Thanks for writing in!
Kristy
I love this blanket – but I’ve just noticed after my 6th row of bobbles – I have 51 stitches now! Started with 83! How on earth is this happening?! Any ideas? I’ve not slipped any stitches – I just don’t understand it
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Hi Odette,
Thank you writing and very sorry for the delayed response! How frustrating to inexplicably be losing stitches! Have you been able to figure it out? Our only thought is that you may be inadvertently knitting stitches that you shouldn’t be when creating your bobbles. A useful check would be to count your stitches before and after a bobble row just to see if your stitch count has decreased. If the problem does have something to do with how you are working your bobbles, you may find our 5 Stitch Garter Bobble Tutorial helpful. The details are not exactly the same as the blanket, but the concept is! (https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2013/03/02/bobble-5-stitch-garter-bobble/). Please let us know if this helps, thanks again for writing and good luck!
Kristy
I would really love to do this as a baby blanket, how would I go about that?
Hi Kristin!
Thank you for your interest. We think that the blanket is already a great width for a baby blanket, but to shorten in you could end it when you find it’s long enough, after a stockinette section. Loosely bind off all stitches as explained in the pattern. Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.
Kindly,
Anna
Working on this blanket right now, coming along nicely.
I bought 9 skeins of yarn from the sale, green – I am worried that I am not going to have enough to finish this
Does it typically take 9 skeins. I don’t think you have any of the green color left from the sale.
Hi Joan,
It’s great to hear that the blanket is coming along nicely! Although we regrettably don’t have more of the Light Green Feltro available, the good news is that with 9 skeins, you should have enough to make the blanket. We made our sample with 9 skeins with a bit left to spare, so you should be okay. I hope this helps! Thanks for writing,
Kristy
My daughter is getting ready to have her first baby and so of course, I MUST get started on a blanket. I love this but worry about the bobbles. If I were to do this one, how would you adjust the size to suit a baby blanket? Or if you have other suggestions for a baby blanket, I would welcome them!
Thank you!
Robin
Hi Robin,
Congratulations and thanks for writing! To make the bobbles a bit smaller than we did, you could try working them with fewer stitches at the outset. To do this, you could try making them this way: *[Yo, k1] two times in the same stitch; turn work so wrong side is facing you and slip 1 purlwise, p3; turn work so right side is facing you and slip 1 purlwise, k3; turn work so wrong side is facing you and [p2tog] two times; turn work so right side is facing you and k2tog. This should help decrease the size of your bobbles, and you could knit up a small swatch to see if you like it! We also have many lovely baby blankets to choose from! Our Super Easy Baby Blanket has been a longtime favorite of mine, and there are many others (https://www.purlsoho.com/create/category/knit/knit-blankets/). For texture, our Cozy Corners Crib Blanket is lovely (https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2015/06/05/cozy-corners-crib-blanket/), and our Hudson Bay Inspired Crib Blanket is such a classic (https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2011/11/23/whits-knits-hudsons-bay-inspired-crib-blanket/). I hope this helps and send good luck! Please let us know if you have any further questions!
Kristy
Hi there,
I was wondering about doing the bobbles in another colour, different to the main body of the blanket. Would it be best to make these bobbles separately then sew on rather than attempting to join the wool and risk loose bobbles?!
Hi Christina,
Although I’ve not yet tried it, joining a different color when making the bobbles should work! And you would simply need to make sure that the ends created in making them were secured after you were done, likely weaving them directly into the bobble itself to hide them best. You should be able to secure the ends well enough not to have loose bobbles. If you created the bobbles separately, you would still have to sew them on and have ends to weave in — so it’s entirely a matter of preference which route to take! You might try working up a small separate swatch and seeing if joining a different color to make the bobbles works and isn’t too stressful — it should work just fine! I hope this helps somewhat and please let us know how it goes! Good luck! Thanks for writing!
Kristy
I love this pattern! But all of my bobbles seem to be unattached on one side – so there are big holes next to all of them. How do I fix that??
Hi Katie,
Thanks for writing in and I’m sorry you’re having problems with this! This can happen to bobbles, especially on thick yarn. You might be knitting a little bit looser than gauge, but I have some suggestions for that don’t involve ripping out! First of all, you can use scrap yarn sew the bobble to the blanket. It might be hard to hide the knot but if you knot close to the bobble base and pass the excess yarn through the bobble, you’ll be able to snip the scrap yarn close to the bobble head and it will disappear inside the bobble. I hope that make sense! For all bobbles going forward you’ll want to watch your tension as you increase and as you turn. Sometimes the weight of the blanket can pull at the stitches and this might be creating the gap in your knitting. Best of luck and happy knitting!
-Adam
can anyone tell me if this will be a soft not scratchy blanket? thank you
Hi, Rhonda!
Thank you for writing in! The Caregora Angora in the Lanacardate Feltro make this blanket quite soft. Please let us know if you have further questions!
Best,
Kumeko
Hi ,
I have just started and am following your pattern for the falling bobbles baby blanket and am enjoying it so much.
I would like to knit a wider blanket to be used in a pram .
Any idea how many stitches I would need to cast on ?
Hi Maria,
Thanks for writing in! You can easily change the width of this blanket. If you wish to modify the pattern, be sure to cast on a multiple of 6 stitches plus 5. For example, 6 x 10 = 60, plus 5 = 65. To find your cast on number, you will want to figure out the number of stitches per inch you are getting with your desired yarn. You can then multiply the number of stitches per inch by the number of inches wide you want your blanket and cast on the nearest number that fits using the formula above.
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
Thanks Cassy
would you put a border on this? I always love them on blankets. If so, what would you choose?
Hi Mimi,
Thanks for writing in! We did not put an additional border on this lovely blanket as the nature of the yarn allows the edges to fall quite nicely and neatly. We like the simplicity of the clean edges! If you would like to add a border, an attached i-cord could work quite nicely.
Best,
Cassy
thank you for responding so quickly. The icord edge is what i had in mind. Here goes!
Hi! which cast on method do you recommend for this blanket?
Hi Caleigh,
I prefer the long tail cast on method.
I hope this helps,
Melissa
Hi there! I LOVE this pattern! I want to knit my first afghan and this one is my absolute favorite. However, I was hoping to make something a little bigger (closer to apron. 50×65″). Is there an easy way to adjust this pattern to accommodate the larger size? Thanks!
HI Zoe,
Thanks for reaching out! You can absolutely make a larger version of this lovely blanket! If you wish to modify the pattern, be sure to cast on a multiple of 6 stitches plus 5. For example, 6 x 10 = 60, plus 5 = 65. So for a blanket that is 50 inches wide and a gauge of 10 stitches over 4 inches in stockinette stitch, a good cast on would be 125 stitches! A blanket of this size would also need about 30% more yarn. This would mean that you would need 12 skeins of Feltro.
Happy knitting!
Cassy
I loved thefirst one I made so much I want to do it again in a summer weight. Can I make this in “Billow” from knitpicks? I have some in my stash. What is the total yardage needed for this project? If I want to make the bobbles a different color, how much of the total yardage would be for the bobbles?
Hi Mimi,
Thanks for writing in! I am not familiar with Billow, but this blanket should work in most bulky weight yarns. As always, I would recommend knitting a gauge swatch in pattern with your yarn to see if it is the correct weight. We used about 900 yards total, but unfortunately can’t calculate how much of that was just the bobbles. When knitting your gauge swatch, you could add a few bobbles in a different color and weigh your yarn before and after to see how many grams will be used up for each bobble.
I hope that helps, and happy knitting!
Julianna
Before Lanecardate Feltro was discontinued I made two versions of this blanket, one in dark gray and one in oatmeal. Unfortunately someone put my grey one through the wash 🙁 What would you recommend I substitute for the feltro?
Hi Carolina,
Oh no, it is always such a tragedy when a hand knitted item finds its way into the regular wash! Fortunately, our new Big Good Wool held double is a very close match to the gauge of Lanecardate Feltro. Another option would be Cascade Magnum held single, or you could size up a bit and use our Gentle Giant on US 17 needles for a slightly larger, extra cozy blanket! If you choose to use Gentle Giant, I would recommend getting an extra skein or two as the larger needles will take up a bit more yardage.
I hope that helps and that the new blanket remains a treasured item for many years to come!
Julianna
Thanks Julianna!
For the two stranded Big Good Wool, would I need twice the number of recommended skeins?
Hi Carolina,
Big Good Wool has quite generous yardage, so even with the yarn held double, you will only need 7 skeins. Please do let us know how it turns out – I think it will be just lovely!
Best,
Julianna
Can you explain what “pick up 2 stitches out of every 3 rows” means. Thanks.
Hi Kate,
Thanks for reaching out! While picking up stitches along the row edges of the blanket, this means you will pick up a stitch from the first row, a stitch from the second row, and skip the third row. You will then pick up a stitch from the fourth row, a stitch from the fifth row, and again skip the sixth row. Just keep going in this manner, skipping every third row, so you will have stitches for two out of every three rows all the way down the edge of the blanket. You may find our Picking Up Stitches tutorial helpful!
Best,
Julianna
Hi there – can I use Gentle Giant as a replacement yarn for this blanket? If that is too bulky, can you recommend a better replacement?
Thanks,
Jessica
Or would the super soft merino be better?
Hi Jessica,
Great question! The original yarn, Feltro, was sort of in between the weights of Super Soft Merino and Gentle Giant, so it’s a little tough to match. If you don’t mind the blanket being a little smaller, you could use Super Soft Merino on a US 11, or for a slightly larger blanket, Gentle Giant on a US 19. Another option might be to use Super Soft Merino held together with a strand of Cashmere Merino Bloom to plump it up a smidge to match the original gauge!
I hope that helps, and happy knitting!
Julianna
I bought 11 skeins of the super soft merino but am worried that I will need more, given that is only 957 yards. How many more skeins do you recommend? Also, how much smaller will the blanket be working on size 11 needles? The post above says ‘a little smaller’; does that translate to a few inches? If I adjust to match the original Feltro size, do I buy 30% more yarn?
THANKS!
Hi Linda,
Thanks for writing in! The best way to tell how much smaller your blanket would be is to knit up a gauge swatch in pattern using the Super Soft Merino and size 11 needles (or whichever size you plan on using). Then, you can calculate the dimensions based on your gauge and the stitch count!
In terms of yardage, it’s a bit hard to estimate how much more yarn you might need (if any!), since the gauge would be different. But to stay on the safe side, I would recommend purchasing a skein or two more! And just to let you know, you can return any unwound and unused skeins in exchange for store credit, so I’d suggest only winding one once you’re sure you need to use it.
Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
Hi again, on size 11 needles, my gauge is 4″=15 stitches, a considerable difference to the Feltro gauge (4″=10″). I’d like to have a 40″ width so I calculated 149 stitches. Is this right?
Also, should I space the bobbles differently or does it work out ok since the bobbles themselves will be smaller with super soft merino yarn?
Want to make sure I’m starting this correctly!
Thanks for your help, Linda
Hi Linda!
Yes, 149 stitches is correct, as it is proportional in terms of your gauge to a 40″ wide blanket while still being a multiple of 6 + 5! As for the bobbles, you shouldn’t need to adjust their spacing, as they will all fall into place at this adjusted cast on since it is a multiple of the stich pattern.
I hope this helps you cast on with confidence and we’re here if you have any other questions!
All the best,
Margaret