Donna Smith’s pretty Aphaca blanket pattern is a great introduction to lace knitting. The central panel is particularly simple, requiring only that you keep track of your rows so that the eyelet pattern appears regularly. The edging lace pattern is known as Madeira Lace and gives a gently scalloped edge to the blanket.

SIZES
Small Blanket (Medium Blanket, Large Blanket)
Width: 74.5 (92.5, 110.5) cm [29¼ (36¼, 43½) in]
Length: 79.5 (111.5, 146.5) cm [31¼ (44, 57¾) in]

YARN
Something to Knit With 4ply (70% highland wool, 30% superfine alpaca; 187m [205yds] per 50g skein)
4 (7, 11) x 50g skeins
Small blanket shown in shade Beach

NEEDLES AND NOTIONS
1 pair 3.75mm [US 5] knitting needles, or needle size required to match tension
Stitch markers (optional)
Wires and/or pins, or your preferred kit for blocking lace

TENSION
20 sts over Madeira Lace pattern (chart A) measures 9cm [3½in]
72 rows of Madeira Lace pattern (chart A) measures 22cm [8¾in] at its deepest
20 sts over Triplet Lace pattern (chart B) measures 9cm [3½in]
30 rows over Triplet Lace (chart B) pattern measures 10cm [4in]
All tension information is for swatches that have relaxed after washing and blocking.

PATTERN NOTES
This blanket is worked back and forth, starting with the Madeira Lace edging. For the blanket sizes, the body pattern is worked to almost the length of the piece, before a second lace edging is worked, and the two sections are grafted together. This ensures that both ends of the fabric are symmetrical.
Two stitches on either side are knitted in garter stitch to create a narrow border.
Steps 1–3 of the pattern are for working from charted instructions, and steps 4–6 are for working from written instructions. The blanket is then finished by following the instructions in step 7.

SPECIAL TECHNIQUES
Photo tutorials for the following techniques
can be found in Something New to Learn About Lace.
Working yarn overs
Reading lace charts
Blocking lace

The following video tutorials may be found on our website at www.acknitwear.co.uk/something-new-to-learn-about-lace
Working yarn overs
Grafting in stocking stitch (Kitchener stitch)
Grafting in garter stitch
Blocking lace