My practice blanket. I really want to start making baby blankets with the CKMs instead of crocheting them for my shop, so I decided to make a blanket using scraps and stash in order to learn how it would work. So glad I did. I’m not finished yet, but I already can’t wait to make more and bust through my stash.

NOTES on this one:

• I watched a few YouTube videos for tips, tricks, and just to gather info. (see below)

• I decided on 299 rows for the tubes and 6 tubes.

• Each tube weighs approx. 7.4 oz - 8 oz.

• I wasn’t sure how much of each color I would have, so I purposely did not go for perfect squares (i.e., about 33 rows). I made sure to stagger the squares so they wouldn’t line up and look weird in some places, and I didn’t go over 33 rows for any color even if I had a lot.

• As of right now, I only have 6 tubes using ROYGBV as my guide, but it’s only looking like it’ll be 38” wide, so I might add a tube of pinks. I almost want to no matter what just to be able to use more yarn scraps and stash. UPDATE: after I finished sewing the tubes together and finishing all the ends, I decided it did need another tube. I cranked out the pink tube this morning before work, but didn’t have a chance to do anything else with it.

• For next time, I’ll have to remember to NOT close both ends of the tubes until after joining them, because as careful as I was, somehow I ended up being one row off causing a little “hiccup” at the end of a couple of the tubes. Jojo Juju said this, but I saw that Diana Levine didn’t do it that way, so I ignored Jojo’s wisdom. I shouldn’t have!

• I LOVED Yarn At Play’s idea to start on the first needle past the black needles. It’s super helpful that the big clunk that happens with each pass by the counter is now at the end of the row instead of before. Brilliant idea.

• I changed color on the 3rd needle past the start so that my color changes would end up on the back (per Diana Levine) BUT I joined the tubes so the color changes are on the front before I realized. It’s okay. I did a good job hiding the jog by using Savlabot’s trick to pull two stitches in with both colors.

• I can’t remember which tutorial I watched where the person, when changing colors, “wrapped” the yarns around the same peg rather than the pegs next to each other. So the last one knitted is also the first one knitted. Not sure if there are any negatives to that method, but I loved using it in this blanket. None of those giant holes (even if they are temporary) to cause angst and deal with. (UPDATE: It was Dana from Day’s crochet who does it this way. She never mentions it, but I could see she was doing it in this video about the 1:50m mark https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raejjrABv5g&t=117s)

• I mostly just made sure I didn’t crank more than about 33 rows per color to give it kind of a block look. I also kind of staggered the first color of a tube so that the color changes wouldn’t match up with the tubes beside it. Besides that, I tried not to stress.

• Total weight of blanket: Estimating 3.63#

• Total approximate yarn yardage: ~ 2,941 yards

• Measurements: Length is 57”. Width is 45”.

VIDEOS WATCHED

• Jojo Juju https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QA5toOa2hc&t=1290s
• The Addi Queen (Anne Throckmorton) (Knitting Machine Blanket) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17On2MWcMv8
• Yarn At Play (Rachel De Graff) (Gingham Blanket) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xi9IUIBCbw
• Diana Levine Knits (Video Gamer Blanket) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox08OJW4JYs&t=499s