BORDER:

I put a very different border on. I don’t like garter stitch at all, and I noticed the border seemed to scallop but look like it shouldn’t, so I took inspiration from Nikki Epstein’s “Knitting on the Edge” Knitted Fluted Edge or Border (page 60). It has increases for a slight flare, and ribbing at the edges of the squares, giving the border a slight scallop and a definite separation between squares. I used seed stitch for the bulk of the border, where the book’s ruffle uses stockinette. I think the end result is very pretty and very in-tune with the blanket body. I like to think of the seed stitch as what has popped out of the bobble seed-pods.

Here’s what I did:

• I left the single stitches at the ends of the three-needle bind-off live and picked them up along with the other border stitches. This helps not have giant holes at the joinings of the squares with the border.
• Starting with the wrong side, K three rows for a garter stitch separation between the blanket and border proper.
• Each row from now on consists of three rib stitches, KPK on the right side, at the end of each square, plus a P stitch for the picked-up bind-off stitch, then seed stitch until 3 stitches before the end of the square, then KPK and a P for the bind-off stitch (if you’re not at the end of the row).
• The ribbing stitches are PKP and K for the bind-off stitch for the wrong side rows, and the seed stitch, is, of course, k the p stitches and p the k stitches, on the right- and wrong-side rows.
• Four rows are done as in the step above, with no increases.
• 16 rows are done the same but with a YO just inside the ribbing for each square on each right-side row.
• Another way of writing the 4 non-YO rows is as follows(pm is place marker): reversing the stitches for the wrong-side rows: (KPK, pm, seed stitch to three stitches from bind-off stitch (between the two squares), pm, (KP) 3 times, K, pm) repeat until just past the last seam on the edge. Seed stictch until 3 stitches left, pm, KPK.
• Another way of writing the 16 YO rows: Sixteen rows as follows: KPK, YO after the marker, seed stitch to next marker, YO before the marker, etc., to the end, reversing the stitches for the wrong-side rows.
• The YOs are knit into the seed stitch pattern on subsequent rows.
• The border should measure about 2.5” to 3”.
• Bind off with all knit stitches. At the ribbing, k3tog, k, k3tog, while binding off to make a bit of a point at the joins between squares.

TIPS:

The 16” needle is a waste of money if you’re buying it for this pattern. For my first square, I switched to a 16” circular and then it became impossible to see what I had done, so I switched up again to a 32” needle, which is much, much better for the second half of the square. From my third square on I skipped the 16” and went from the double-points to a 24” and then the 32”. This worked very well. Using these two needle lengths allowed me to spread the work out as I knit so I could see if I’d made any mistakes.

Do be very careful reading the chart: There are cables that go over 4 stitches and cables that go over 3 stitches and they have the same symbol in the chart. I know it’s a standard symbol, so I’m not blaming the chart-maker, but I marked each 3-stitch cable with a 3 in the chart and marked each 4-stitch cable with a 4 so I wouldn’t foul it up. (Plus I always highlight my charts with different colors so I don’t switch other things up. Those symbols can start looking an awful lot alike when you’re watching a movie and knitting at the same time.)

Also, there is errata at http://www.abramsbooks.com/stc_craft_errata_comfort_knitting.html. See the notes on the details for the pattern on Ravelry for an easy explanation of the changes.

I used a long-tail cast-on, which worked very well. There was a hole in the middle of each square, but I sewed them up by sewing through the edge of each stitch around the circle. I also sewed up any gaping parts near the joins the same way.

One ball of wool was enough for one and a half squares.

Using the 9 needle for the third needle in the 3-needle bind-off as it looks like some of the edges may be a bit tight in some pictures. I think it was the right choice.

PHOTOS:

The first photo is of the blanket just thrown down, like it would be in actual use, rather than carefully laid out.

The second and sixth photos show the different border well.

The third and fourth photos show the blanket in its intended location, my daughter’s dorm room, with the coverlet and pillows it was meant to coordinate with. (Note that the knitted animals made it to the college dorm.)

The sixth shows the blanket folded at the foot of a bed.

The eighth photo shows where I put the pins during blocking (although I had started taking them out at the bottom left).

The last photo is before blocking.

GENERAL:

I decided I’d rather the blanket be rectangular and a bit bigger than the 3-square-by-3-square size, so I made a 12-square blanket in a 3 x 4 layout. The squares are 12.5” x 12.5”.

This is a lovely pattern, not hard to knit at all. I love that there is no seaming. The color of the yarn is a lovely red-wine color, not plum as in some of the pictures.

BLOCKING:

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to block the blanket because I liked the rumpled effect (see bottom photo). But I ultimately decided it was too rumpled.

I thought about soaking the blanket in the tub, but ultimately decided to soak it on the blocking mats with a wash cloth. I got it really wet and then after about a day put a fan on oscillate, which dried it quite quickly.

I think the blocking was a great success because before I did it, the border had a ridge where it joined the blanket and the “seams” between the squares were sticking up too much. I pulled the blanket very little to leave the thickness and the texture of the design but get rid of the ridges.