Modern and minimal, earthy and sumptuous, our Sand Drift Blanket spans all six shades of our new undyed organic cotton and alpaca Sweetgrass yarn.
It may look like seed stitch, but you actually make this blanket without the trouble of purling (yup!). Holding two strands of yarn, you just work a very simple slip stitch pattern, alternating colors every third row. Doubled yarn and a super-tactile texture, the warm landscape of the Sand Drift Blanket has an incredibly satisfying weight and heft.
Plus, the full tour of the Sweetgrass spectrum lends a barefoot-on-the-beach kind of pleasure. We love the study in nature, the celebration of subtlety, and the beauty of undyed fiber!
Designed for Purl Soho by Jake Canton.
Materials
Our Sand Drift Blanket Bundle includes…
- 10 skeins of Purl Soho’s Sweetgrass, 65% organic cotton and 35% superfine alpaca. Each skein is 437 yards; approximately 381 yards of Color A and Color F and 726 yards of Color B-Color E required. Shown above from top to bottom…
- Color A: 1 skein of Heirloom White
- Color B: 2 skeins of Pale Sesame
- Color C: 2 skeins of Buckwheat Beige
- Color D: 2 skeins of Rye Flour
- Color E: 2 skeins of Walnut Shell
- Color F: 1 skein of Beech Bark
You will also need…
- US 9, 32-, 40- or 47-inch circular needles
Gauge
23 stitches and 60 rows = 4 inches in stitch pattern with yarn doubled
Size
Finished Dimensions: 32 inches wide x 46 inches long
Notes
Slip Stitches
Slip all slip stitches purlwise.
Stitch Multiple
This pattern works over an odd multiple of stitches.
Double The Yarn
Throughout this pattern you will hold two strands of the same color yarn as you work. If you only have one skein of the color, pull from both the inside and outside of the ball.
Stitch Pattern
Row 1 (right side): With Yarn 2, *slip 1 with yarn in back (wyib), k1, repeat from * to last stitch, slip 1 wyib.
Row 2 (wrong side): With Yarn 2, *slip 1 with yarn in front (wyif), k1, repeat from * to last stitch, slip 1 wyif.
Row 3: With Yarn 1, *k1, slip 1 wyib, repeat from * to last stitch, k1.
Row 4: With Yarn 1, *k1, slip 1 wyif, repeat from * to last stitch, k1.
Pattern
With 2 strands of Color A, cast on 185 stitches.
Set-Up Row (wrong side): With Color A, *k1, slip 1 with yarn in front (wyif), repeat from * to last stitch, k1.
Work in Stitch Pattern (see Notes), using two strands of Color A as Yarn 1 and two strands of Color B as Yarn 2, until piece measures 9 inches from cast-on edge.
Cut Color A.
Using just Color B (doubled), repeat Rows 1-4 of Stitch Pattern one time.
Work in Stitch Pattern, using two strands of Color C as Yarn 1 and two strands of Color B as Yarn 2, for 9 inches.
Cut Color B.
Using just Color C (doubled), repeat Rows 1-4 of Stitch Pattern one time.
Work in Stitch Pattern, using two strands of Color C as Yarn 1 and two strand of Color D as Yarn 2, for 9 inches.
Cut Color C.
Using just Color D (doubled), repeat Rows 1-4 of Stitch Pattern one time.
Work in Stitch Pattern, using two strands of Color E as Yarn 1 and two strands of Color D as Yarn 2, for 9 inches.
Cut Color D.
Using just Color E (doubled), repeat Rows 1-4 of Stitch Pattern one time.
Work in Stitch Pattern, using two strands of Color E as Yarn 1 and two strands of Color F as Yarn 2, for 9 inches.
Cut Color E.
With right side facing you, use Color F (doubled) to bind off in 1×1 Rib. Here’s how…
Bind Off Row (right side): K1, *p1, pass first stitch over, k1, pass first stitch over, repeat from * to end of row.
Weave in ends and block your finished blanket!
PRINT
I’m enjoying knitting this blanket. I can assure others that, although it seems very complicated at first, if you follow each step carefully, it will all make sense after several rows. But, I have a solution for a tangling problem that can easily arise as you keep switching from two strands of one color to two strands of the other. I put the two balls of the same color in one small baggie and the two balls of the other color in another baggie. You’ll have two baggies to move from side to side as you change colors. Somehow, it keeps it from tangling. If you get both strands from the same ball, I imagine it will still be a “cleaner” way to do it.
Hi Jane,
Thank you so much for sharing that great tip! Hopefully many other knitters will find it helpful!
Best,
Julianna
I just bought this kit and I am so excited to receive it. However, I live in Southern California and I was wondering if this is blanket will be too hot for this area. Would it be better to readjust everything and just one strand instead of two?
Hi May,
Great question! While I am located in NY, I chatted with one of my lovely colleagues in Southern California about this blanket. The blanket would certainly be warm for the summer months but should be quite nice for winter in Southern California!
I hope that this helps and happy knitting!
Cassy
I’m having a heck of a time with this one. The yarn is lovely, however!
Does the stitch count change in alternating rows or is it always 185 stitches across each row? Thank you!
Hi Tracy,
Thanks for reaching out, and I’m sorry to hear the stitch pattern is giving you trouble! The stitch count should stay the same on every row for this pattern. If you are finding that you have added stitches, I would make sure that you are moving the yarn back where belongs, either to the front to purl or to the back to knit, after each slipped stitch – for instance, on row 2, you will move the yarn to the front, slip a stitch, move the yarn to the back, knit a stitch, move the yarn back to the front, slip a stitch, and so on.
I hope that clears things up!
Julianna
I want to make this blanket for my daughter, but she’d prefer it in colors similar to the original warm colors in the Tonal blanket, or in the colors you have here in the first several bands (e.g., colors A-C or A-D), but then replace colors E/F or D/E/F with different, more muted colors. Do you have any suggestions? I’m also fine with using different yarn such as wool, or also using a single strand of a heavier weight yarn. Thanks.
Hello Pam,
Thank you for reaching out! I would look at our Line Weight and our Linen Quill yarns. Particularly the colors Ballet Pink and Wheat Flour in Line Weight and Lavender Opal and Rose Granite in Linen Quill.
I hope this helps and happy knitting!
-Marilla
Thanks. I like the Linen Quill. So if I use the Lavender Opal and Rose Granite, what would you recommend for the other colors? Is the Linen Quill similar to the Sweetgrass in gauge and weight?
Hi Pam,
Linen Quill knits up to the same gauge as Sweetgrass, and even has almost the exact same yardage, so you won’t have to make any pattern adjustments! Based around your preferred colors, I would suggest the following palette in Linen Quill:
Color A: 1 skein Wheat Flour
Color B: 2 skeins Lavender Opal
Color C: 2 skeins Pale Mushroom
Color D: 2 skeins Rose Granite
Color E: 2 skeins Peach Stone
Color F: 1 skein Twig Brown
I hope that helps, and please do let us know how it turns out!
Julianna
Perfect! Thank you!
Hi Pam,
I love the colors you e chosen. Can you post a picture of the finished blanket? I might copy your colors.
I have the set up row done but I don’t know what to do next. 1. Obviously, I start with yarn 2, but at the opposite end? Do I slide the work and turn? So I start row 1 at the same end where colour A/yarn 1 is hanging?
2. Next, if the instructions say all slip stitches are purlwise then I thought that meant WYIF, so how do I do a purlwise as WYIB?
Thanks. Excited to get started!
Okay I learned what purlwise means despite where the yarn goes, but I still don’t know where to start row one after the start up row. Will my colour A/yarn 1 be on the same end as where I start my yarn 2, in which case, the side facing me becomes the right side?
Thanks!
Hi Janice,
Thanks for reaching out! After casting on with Color A, you will turn your work and knit the Set-Up Row, which is a wrong side row, using the attached strands of Color A. Row 1 of the stitch pattern is a right side row, so you will turn your work again and attach Color B at the same edge where you are leaving Color A hanging, and knit Row 1. It might be helpful at this point to attach a removable stitch marker to the right side, which is the side of the blanket facing you as you are knitting Row 1, so you can refer back to it to keep track of which side of the blanket is the right side!
I hope that clears things up!
Julianna
Thanks. Perfectly! So glad there is a place to ask!
Hi There,
Thank you so much for this beautiful pattern. This is something I just must make. I do have problems with the patterns however. None of my samples looks like the pattern on either side of the blanket. I am a bit confused about not having the edge stitches. How do I start the row with repeated slip stitch? Also, following the instruction for the pattern, I will end up with slipping the same stitch in two consecutive rows, correct? Thank you in advance for you advice. Many greetings, Joanna
Hello Joanne,
Thanks for reaching out! The slipped stitches on top of each other can feel weird at first. You are correct rows 1 and 2 both begin and end with slipped stitches, so you will not be knitting these stitches for two rows. The thing to keep in mind when slipping these stitches is where your working yarn is located. That is, if you are slipping your stitch with your yarn in front or back. You will also want to make sure that you are slipping all of your stitches purlwise.
I hope this is helpful and let us know if you have any further questions!
Happy knitting,
Marilla
Dear Marilla, thank you, this is very helpful. I tried again and it all worked like magic. I realized it is as easy as knitting the stitches that have color of the yarn in use and slipping the other color. Now, this is really fun.
Thanks again for sharing so many beautiful patterns.
Greetings from a happy knitter.
Great pattern beautiful yarn. I have an issue right now where the yarn over bumps are loose on the wrong side. Does this go away?
Hi Tim,
Thanks for reaching out! Blocking should improve this, but I would also make sure that you aren’t leaving the yarn too loose when you are slipping stitches on rows 2 and 4. Since you start with a knit with the yarn in back, then move it to the front to slip the stitch, then return it to the back to knit the next stitch, it is possible to leave too much slack in the yarn in all that movement, which would create a loop on the wrong side. It isn’t necessary to tug or overtighten the yarn, but you might want to pay attention on these rows to see if keeping things a little tighter improves the appearance of the wrong side!
Best,
Julianna
Hello! Love the colours and the feel of this yarn. Curious to know from anyone who has finished the blanked how long it took?
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for writing in! The amount of time it takes to knit something varies greatly from person to person and depends on a lot of your level of comfort and speed with the techniques used. In this case, the Sand Drift blanket consists of very basic stitches and is knit on a medium sized needle, but it is a large blanket! It’s impossible to say exactly how long it will take you, but it’s safe to say that it will probably be a long term project for most knitters.
Happy knitting!
Julianna
Love this but are there other color bundles? My colors are soft blues and Greens.
Hi Lynn,
Great question! For this lovely blanket, the Sweetgrass yarn comes in only the undyed colors that you see here. You could use an alternate fingering weight yarn here like Linen Quill, which has great color options, to put together your own color progression!
Happy knitting!
Cassy
Hi To Purl Soho – this looks like a beautiful blanket. I am trying to select the perfect blanket for my son’s wedding. I have plenty of time, as wedding is 2021. Can you please tell me the length and width of the blanket as you have presented it? Thank you.
Hi Patti,
Congratulations on the upcoming wedding of your son! The lovely blanket would make a fanstasic gift and the finished measurements are 32 inches wide x 46 inches long!
Best,
Cassy
I bought a kit a little while ago for this blanket and have decided that I want to make it a little larger…perhaps 45 x 65″ . Would the dye lot be way off if I did this if I ordered tomorrow? Or is there a way I could do this?
Thanks so much!
Shelley Prevost
Hi Shelley,
Thanks for writing in! We just received a new shipment of Sweetgrass that is all new dye lots, so we may have some colors in stock in the same dye lots you have, but others will definitely be a new dye lot. You can always drop us a note in the comments of your order with the dye lot numbers you have and we will do our best to match them! However, because you are always holding two colors together and working two row stripes at the same time, I think it’s very unlikely that any dye lot variations would be noticeable in this blanket – everything should blend in quite nicely.
Happy knitting!
Julianna
I am a crocheter. I love the look of the blanket. How can I produce a similar look with crochet?
Hi Eileen,
Thanks for reaching out! We don’t have a crocheted version of his blanket unfortunately, but I would suggest looking up the crochet linen stitch. I think if you were to alternate colors on every row, you would get a somewhat similar look to our knit blanket!
I hope that helps!
Julianna
This is so beautiful but smaller than I would like. Can you tell me how much more yarn I would need to make it about 40″ x 60″?
Thanks!
Hi Nancy,
Great question! This blanket would be lovely in a larger size. For a 40×60 inch blanket, you would need one additional skein of each color!
Happy knitting!
Cassy
Are there any other color bundles that have gray, not beige that I can view on your website in this yarn.
Hi Sheryl,
Thanks for reaching out! For this lovely blanket, we use all 6 of the undyed colors that Sweetgrass comes in. You could certainly use an alternate fingering weight yarn to create your own colorway in gray tones!
Best,
Cassy
i have the yarn for the Sand Drift Blanket but can’t really figure out how to make the pattern after reading, re-reading and referring to all the comments several times. Can I see a visual tutorial someplace? Does this stitch pattern have a name so I can look it up somewhere to find a visual?
Hi Syndey,
Thanks for writing in! Unfortunately we do not have a tutorial for this stitch, but it is also known as a Moss Slip Stitch, so you may be able to find a video by searching for that name. Is there a particular step that is giving you trouble? Although it may be difficult to visualize, I find this stitch quite easy and fast to knit, and I would be happy to explain any steps that are tripping you up!
Best,
Julianna
I am interested in this project as a baby blanket and so would prefer to modify it toward the lighter colors. Could there be an option to replace some of the darker skeins in the bundle with lighter ones thereby broadening the stripes?
Hi Lois,
Great question! Yes, you could certainly omit the darker colors in the blanket! I would reuse Buckwheat Beige as Color E and Pale Sesame as Color F, so the blanket shifts from light to medium and back to light at the other end. We can’t modify the bundle unfortunately, but you can order the skeins of Sweetgrass that you need individually! You will need to order 1 Heirloom White, 3 Pale Sesame, 4 Buckwheat Beige, and 2 Rye Flour.
I hope that helps, and happy knitting!
Julianna
Is the Sand Drift Blanket (in Purl Soho’s Sweetgrass, 65% organic cotton and 35% superfine alpaca) machine washable? Or had washable? Or a dry clean only?
Thanks!
Hi Judy,
Great question! The care instructions for Sweetgrass are to hand wash cold and lay flat to dry!
Best,
Cassy
I’ve been struggling a little with my gauge. I’m a very loose knitter and my 4x4in gauge came out to 23 stitches and 44 rows on US size 8 metal needles. I’m thinking about switching to wooden needles to tighten things up a bit but I would need to purchase them. What needle size do you suggest for my loose knitting? Would I need to increase the number of stitches using smaller needles or should this just mainly affect my length? Thanks!!
Hi Ana,
Thanks for writing in! For this lovely blanket, the suggested gauge is 23 stitches and 60 rows = 4 inches in stitch pattern with yarn doubled. With that in mind, it looks as though your stitch gauge is right on point but that your row gauge is off. This presents a bit of a sticky issue as changing your needle size will alter both row and stitch gauge. That said, as each of the main sections is knit to a certain length, you could be all set to go just concentrating on stitch gauge!
I do hope that this helps!
Cassy
I am having a very hard time understanding how the stitch pattern works. I have charted it out, and the way I am understanding it, There will be columns in which a color will never be knit and only ever be slipped. That can’t possibly be right. What am I missing? I could see the pattern working if the colors were alternated each row, but as written, color 2 will have rows 1 and 2 with columns of slip stitches, then color 1 will have rows 3 and 4 with columns of slipped stitches staggered against the rows 1 and 2. The problem begins when I go back to color 2 and continue to never add stitches in the same columns. I also don’t see any notes about carrying yarn up the side, so it’s just getting pulled up 2 rows???? Please help
Hi Olivia,
Thanks for reaching out! You are correct that in Rows 1 and 2 you will be slipping the same stitches; however, on Row 3, you will stagger the slipped stitches, so the stitches that were slipped in Row 2 will be knit in Row 3, and the stitches that were knit in Row 2 will be slipped in Row 3. You will then slip the same stitches in Row 4 as you did in Row 3, and again stagger your stitches when you go back to Row 1, so all the stitches will be knit eventually. It can be hard to visualize, so you might want to cast on a swatch using an odd number of stitches and give it a try – I promise, it will work out! And yes, you will be carrying your yarns up the side of the blanket when switching colors every two rows.
I hope that clears things up!
Julianna
Love this pattern and the colors. Your comment section always has great hints. I took Jane’s suggestions about using two baggies to hold and keep track of, yarn 1 and 2, works really well! I also put the four row repeat on an index card to help me keep track!
I’m having a hard time getting a nice edge on the right edge of the project. Left edge looks great but the right edge looks really rough.
Hi Mick,
Thanks for writing in, and I apologize for the long delay! It’s hard to say what exactly is going wrong without seeing your work, but it sounds like you might be working the selvage or first stitch of the wrong side rows incorrectly. On the wrong side rows, after slipping the first stitch with the yarn in front, you should then be moving your yarn from the front of the work to the back between the needles, just as you would when switching between a knit and a purl, so that the yarn is in the correct place to knit the next stitch. If you are moving your yarn around the outside edge of the stitch, or under the back of the right hand needle, the selvage stitch will not turn out correctly. You may also have to pay special attention to your tension when moving the yarn to the back of the work to keep the edge stitch nice and tidy.
I hope that helps!
Julianna
Hello! This is a beautiful pattern and yarn — I am really enjoying knitting it up! My cast-end is curling terribly, a major pet peeve of mine. Will blocking fix this? Or should I start over with an alternative cast-on? If so, can you recommend one that will keep this from happening!
Thanks for you help!
Hi Wren,
Thanks for reaching out! This stitch actually should not roll at all, no matter what cast on you use – in fact, it is quite reminiscent of seed stitch on the right side. It’s hard to say what might be going wrong without seeing your work, but it’s possible that if you accidentally cast on an even number of stitches you might end up with a stitch more similar to stockinette, which would cause the work to curl. If that doesn’t help, please feel free to send us a picture of your work at customerservice@purlsoho.com and we will be happy to take a look!
Best,
Julianna
Could you give a little guidance on handling the yarns at the edges. I understand the pattern but I can’t, for the life of me , get edges that look even and finished. Specifically, could you comment on the color change and how best to carry (or not) the new color? That is the side of the blanket that is bedeviling me! Thanks.
Hi Stephanie
Thanks for reaching out! Because this pattern has you slip the very first and last stitch in Row 1 and 2, you may also have to pay special attention to your tension when moving the yarn to the back of the work to keep the edge stitch nice and tidy. Blocking this blanket will also help to even the edges out even more. When you are working the 2 color sections, there is only 2 rows between color changes, So I wouldn’t worry about carrying the yarn it will be waiting right there for you at the end of the row, and the color changes will be almost seamless. I hope this helps!
Happy knitting
Jessica