How many of you can remember your favorite blanket from when you were a child?  I would venture that most kids have that go to snuggly blanket that their parents have to pry out of their hands just to wash it.  As a knitter or crocheter, I am sure you would agree that creating for babies and kids is so much fun!  Small projects like booties and hats are great, but why not create something they can have for a lifetime?

The Pastille Baby blanket by Vickie Hartog is one of my go-to baby blankets.  This is a fun and addictive project to knit.  The pattern is written to make a nice stroller or car seat size blanket but this could be adjusted to make whatever size you would like.  This blanket only looks complicated to knit thanks to the mosaic knitting color technique.  If you love the look of using colors to create a pattern but don’t like the strands that traditional Fair Isle color work leaves for the back of your project you should give this fascinating technique a try.  What makes mosaic knitting so extraordinary?  If you can knit and purl, you can do this.  With every row you work, you only use one strand of yarn at a time!  Get your own kit today to give mosaic knitting a try!

For the sample, I chose to use Kollage Happiness in worsted weight.  I loved working with this USA spun and hand dyed yarn that has a tight but springy twist providing great stitch definition.  This tonal dyed yarn has subtle variation in color that gives the finished blanket a wonderful handcrafted look.   This yarn is 100% fine super-wash merino wool.  You have to feel it to believe how squishy and soft it feels!  I was so impressed at the machine-washability of this yarn.  When I finished knitting this blanket, I machine-washed it in cool water and tumble dried it on low and the stitches came to life.   The blanket retained the scrumptious feel, yet the stitches opened up just enough to really showcase all the colors in this blanket.  I love to work with bright colors so I couldn’t help myself when I selected the colors for the sample you see.  This line of yarn has amazing pastel colors as well, so you don’t have to go as bright if you don’t want to.

I followed the pattern as written to make my blanket using US size 8 needles.  Since I only had four colors to work with I had to adjust the number of row repeats.  There are 15 repeats of rows 1-4 before I changed colors.  This gave me a little left over of each color that I would use for the border.  For my border, I used all the colors so that I used up every last bit of yarn.  When one color was about to run out I just switched to the next until I had used everything left.  I made sure to have enough left to cast off on the purl round.  After I washed my Happiness is Bliss Baby Blanket it measured 28 inches by 33 inches.

Here are the kit colors we have created, there is something for everyone!  You can also build your own kit by choosing from all the colors available if you would like.

Happiness is Bliss Baby Blanket Kit

The art of knitting is a time-honored tradition.  The projects created can last a lifetime and be cherished for decades.  I still have handmade blankets that my family made for me when I born, 30 years later.  The love put into each stitch is something you can’t put a price on.  Get one of our dreamy blanket kits and create something delightful for the bundle of joy in your life.  Share your finished projects with us #paradisefibers.