Twisted Squares Baby Blanket

In my last blogpost, I talked about knitting and how the evolution of the piece is part of the manifestation process (so there’s no use getting impatient and wanting it to be finished as soon as conceived… which is somewhat like having a baby, come to think of it.)

Last week, I made a baby blanket that was in concentric squares.  To do that, you add a stitch on each side of each corner, every other row.  This week I focused on two Twisted Squares blankets:  this pattern makes a stitch at the end of each section, four times per (circular) row.  So even though you end up with the same number of stitches, it’s topologically more interesting:  the squares gradually shift round, making this a quirky shape with slightly rounded corners.  It’s all done in circular stocking stitch (apart from contrast rows) and has no fixed gauge.  Use whatever combination of needles+yarn that knits up the way you like.  Choose the same weight and texture of yarns so that the finished blanket will be consistent, but otherwise… anything from fingering to chunky will give good results so long as you use the appropriate size of knitting needles. If you weave in the ends as you go, there are very few to sew in afterwards.

It’s also a good pattern to use up parts of your stash!  I don’t much care for pastels, nor for the assumption that you’ve got to have blue for boys and pink for girls.  I like jewel tones and mid-range colors, set off by shades of grey and white.  The next one will probably be yellow-green-blue-violet.  We’ll see how it works out this time!  If you want to make something similar, you’ll need five colors of worsted yarn plus white Feels Like Butta for the contrast rows. Actually, in the blanket toward the back, I used three shades of grey for the edges, because white edges inevitably get grubby.

The yarns here are a mixture of Lion Brand Feels Like Butta and worsted yarns that are also soft, such as Bernat Softee Baby or other worsted weight yarns I had lying around.  Everything is acrylic so that the blanket is hypoallergenic and can be washed in the machine (cold, delicate cycle).  I didn’t measure or weigh the yarns for the different sections; obviously, you’ll need a lot more for the outer rings than for the inner ones.  One way of dealing with this is to make two baby blankets in the same colors, just going in opposite directions. The overall weight is 11 oz in five colors plus contrast rows.

Here is a downloadable version of my Twisted Squares Baby Blanket.

As I don’t have any babies in my immediate circle, I intend to donate it to the Linus Project, which gives security blankets to abused or sick kids. Contact this nonprofit at www.projectlinus.org.

Update 8-8-2019:  I have just received a commission to knit a Twisted Squares Blanket for an impending grandma.  If you are expecting a baby or grandbaby, and want to give a future heirloom, email me at DrKyreAdept@gmail.com and we can talk!