Topiary Blanket

Our bold Topiary Blanket pattern uses simple intarsia to shape a perfectly trimmed little hedge. Its luminous beauty comes from Goldenberry Alpaca, a dreamy single-ply yarn spun from the softest baby alpaca, in a palette of stunning kettle-dyed colors.

The Topiary Blanket is an approachable intro to intarsia, a colorwork technique where you knit glorious areas of color without carrying yarn or slipping stitches. You won’t believe how easy it is—especially in garter stitch—and we have a great tutorial to walk you through it!

This blanket positively glows in Goldenberry Alpaca, our incredibly special hand-dyed yarn made of the loveliest pure baby alpaca you can imagine. A smooth single-ply spin amplifies the alpaca fiber’s natural luster and cloud-like softness. This DK-weight yarn knits up into a sumptuous, opulent fabric with beautiful drape and a delicate halo that floats above the surface of the stitches.

Goldenberry Alpaca’s radiant palette is drawn from the treasures of nature, including the jewel-like Wild Juneberry and Blue Parakeet we chose for our Topiary Blanket. Shifting dark, medium, and light tones shimmer across your stitches, creating movement and dimension, with a subtle warm white core that illuminates each color from within.

Pick up 7 or 9 skeins of your main color and two of your contrast to knit either a Crib or Throw size Topiary Blanket and enjoy the pleasure of shaping each curve into a graceful form grown by your own hands!

Yarn lovers, if you adore the yarn used in this project, you’ll love exploring all of our other yarn collections! Discover over 55 thoughtfully designed yarns in nearly every natural fiber and in every spectacular color you can imagine. Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn store, where every skein is created with care and your creativity in mind!

Pattern designed and written by Purl Soho designer, Hiromi Glover. See even more of Hiromi’s work on her Instagram!

Story written by Andrea Lotz for Purl Soho.

Want to print this pattern? On desktop, find the “print” icon in the right margin, and on mobile, scroll to the end of the pattern for it. Use the on-screen instructions to remove anything you don’t want to print!

Materials

• Purl Soho’s Goldenberry Alpaca, 100% baby alpaca. Each skein of this light worsted/DK-weight yarn is 219 yards/ 100 grams.
  • Main Color (MC): 7 (9) skeins; approximately 1400 (1870) yards required. We used the color Wild Juneberry.
  • Contrast Color (CC): 2 skeins; approximately 250 (285) yards required. We used the color Blue Parakeet.
• US 5 (3.75 mm), 32- or 40-inch circular knitting needles
• Removable stitch markers

GAUGE

23 stitches and 46 rows (23 ridges) = 4 inches in garter stitch

SIZES

Crib (Throw)

Finished Dimensions: 31¾ inches wide x 42¾ inches long (36 inches wide x 48¾ inches long)

SAMPLE: We knit the Crib size.

NOTES

GARTER RIDGE

A “garter ridge” equals two rows of garter stitch. It looks like a prominent horizontal ridge and is an easy way to count rows!

SLIP STITCHES

Slip all slip stitches knitwise with yarn in back.

INTARSIA

The colorwork in this project is done with a technique called “intarsia.” You will work three balls of yarn along each row, which is much easier than it may sound! For full details on this technique, visit our Intarsia in Garter Stitch Tutorial.

PATTERN

BEGIN + SET UP

NOTE: Wind both skeins of Contrast Color (CC) into balls before casting on. You will need them both!

Using a basic Long Tail Cast On, cast 182 (207) stitches onto needles as follows…

With one CC ball, cast on 10 stitches, drop first CC without cutting it; then with MC, cast 162 (187) stitches onto the same needles, drop MC without cutting it; then with other CC ball, cast 10 stitches onto the same needles. (At this point, the colors are not attached to each other, but as you work intarsia they will be!)

Working Intarsia (see Notes) at every color change by crossing the old yarn over the new yarn on the wrong side of the work…

Set-Up Row (wrong side): With CC, slip 1 (see Notes), k9; with MC, k162 (187); with CC, knit to end of row. 

Row 1 (right side): With CC, slip 1, k9; with MC, k162 (187); with CC, knit to end of row. 

NOTE: Mark previous row with a removable stitch marker or piece of scrap yarn to indicate right side. 

Repeat Row 1 thirteen more times, ending with a wrong-side row. [8 garter ridges on right side] 

CONTINUE WITH THREE BALLS OF YARN

NOTE: Place a removable marker on the first stitch of this section each time it is worked. This marker indicates where to begin counting ridges for each repeat. 

INCREASE CC + DECREASE MC

Row 1 (right side): With CC, slip 1, knit to last 2 CC stitches, knit front and back (kfb), k1; with MC, k1, knit 2 together (k2tog), knit to last 3 MC stitches, k2tog, k1; with CC, kfb, knit to end of row. [1 stitch increased for each CC; 2 stitches decreased for MC; total stitch count remains even]

Row 2 (wrong side): With CC, slip 1, knit to end of CC stitches; with MC, knit to end of MC stitches; with CC, knit to end of row.

Repeat Rows 1 and 2 three more times, ending with a wrong-side row. [14 stitches for each CC; 154 (179) stitches for MC; 4 garter ridges on right side, counting from removable stitch marker]

Repeat Row 1 every row 12 times, ending with a wrong-side row. [26 stitches for each CC; 130 (155) stitches for MC; 10 garter ridges on right side, counting from removable stitch marker] 

DECREASE CC + INCREASE MC

Row 1 (right side): With CC, slip 1, knit to last 3 CC stitches, k2tog, k1; with MC, kfb, knit to last 2 MC stitches, kfb, k1; with CC, k1, k2tog, knit to end of row. [1 stitch decreased for each CC; 2 stitches increased for MC; total stitch count remains even] 

Repeat Row 1 every row 12 more times, ending with a right-side row. [13 stitches for each CC; 156 (181) stitches for MC; 16 garter ridges on right side, counting from removable stitch marker]

Row 2 (wrong side): With CC, slip 1, knit to end of CC stitches; with MC, knit to end of MC stitches; with CC, knit to end of row.  

Repeat Rows 1 and 2 three more times, ending with a wrong-side row. [10 stitches for each CC; 162 (187) stitches for MC; 20 garter ridges on right side, counting from removable stitch marker]

WORK EVEN

Row 1 (right side): With CC, slip 1, k9; with MC, k162 (187); with CC, knit to end of row. 

Repeat Row 1 twenty-nine more times, ending with a wrong-side row. [35 garter ridges on right side, counting from removable stitch marker]

CONTINUE

Repeat Continue With Three Balls Of Yarn section 5 (6) more times. 

Repeat Increase CC + Decrease MC and Decrease CC + Increase MC sections one more time.

Repeat Row 1 of Work Even Section 16 times, ending with a wrong-side row.  [28 garter ridges on right side, counting from removable stitch marker]

Bind Off (right side): With CC, slip 1, *k1, pass first stitch over second stitch, repeat from * until 2 CC stitches remain (one on each needle), cut CC; with MC, knit remaining CC stitch from left needle, pass first stitch over second stitch, continue to bind off until 2 MC stitches remain (one on each needle), cut MC; with CC, knit remaining MC stitch from left needle, pass first stitch over second stitch, continue to bind off to end of row. 

FINISHING

Weave in all ends and gently wet block to finished dimensions.

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

Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our knitting patterns (including tons of 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!