Color Study Blanket in Daily Wool Worsted: Free Knitting Pattern

Введение

Color Study Blanket in Daily Wool Worsted

Our free Color Study Blanket knitting pattern uses yarn like paints on a palette, creating the illusion of mixing two colors to create a third. Our machine washable Daily Wool Worsted yarn, with its wide range of luminous colors, makes this painterly play possible, and our Color Study Blanket Bundles make it easy to find your favorite perfectly balanced hues!

The Color Study Blanket plays with perception: two bold rectangles of color seem to overlap, creating a central square that looks like a blend of the two. However, it’s actually a distinct third color that’s right in between, carefully chosen to create a perfect color study!

You’ll knit this graphic color play using intarsia, a technique that lets you knit big blocks of color without carrying yarn or slipping stitches. It’s particularly simple in garter stitch, and we have a great tutorial to walk you through it!

We’ve selected seven sophisticated combinations from Daily Wool Worsted’s palette of heathered shades for our Color Study Blanket Bundles, each playing with hue, saturation, and value to evoke the layered richness of overlapping color. As you knit, you’ll gain a deeper appreciation for color relationships… Watching the illusion take shape is as rewarding as the finished piece itself!

Daily Wool Worsted is a joyful and practical yarn choice for knitting blankets, its 100% superwash wool content making it machine-washable, pill-resistant, and soft enough to enjoy every day. This worsted-weight yarn has a bounce to its step and looks absolutely amazing knit up in plush garter stitch.

Choose a Color Study Blanket Bundle for a thoughtfully curated palette or select four shades of Daily Wool Worsted to embark on your own unique color exploration with this clever, easy-to-knit pattern!

Yarn lovers, if you adore the yarn used in this project, you’ll love exploring all of our other yarn collections! Discover over 55 thoughtfully designed yarns in nearly every natural fiber and in every spectacular color you can imagine. Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn store, where every skein is created with care and your creativity in mind!

Originally designed by Purl Soho designer, Laura Ferguson, and updated by Purl Soho designer, Hiromi Glover. See even more of Hiromi’s work on her Instagram!

Want to print this pattern? On desktop, find the “print” icon in the right margin, and on mobile, scroll to the end of the pattern for it. Use the on-screen instructions to remove anything you don’t want to print!

Materials

Our Color Study Blanket Bundle includes all the yarn you’ll need for your own Crib (Throw) blanket…

10 (16) skeins of Purl Soho’s Daily Wool Worsted, 100% superwash wool yarn. Each skein of this worsted/aran-weight yarn is 164 yards/ 100 grams; approximately 1490 (2495) total yards required. We used the Field Thistle and Fishing Hut bundles.
- Color A: 2 (4) skeins; approximately 290 (635) total yards required
- Color B: 3 (5) skeins; approximately 490 (820) total yards required
- Color C: 3 (5) skeins; approximately 490 (820) total yards required
- Color D: 2 (2) skeins; approximately 220 (220) total yards required

You will also need…

US 7 (4.5 mm), 40-inch circular knitting needles

We used these bundles for our samples…

Field Thistle: Color A, Heirloom White; Color B, Red Violet; Color C, Super Pink; Color D, Pink Violet

Fishing Hut: Color A, Heirloom White; Color B, Lake Blue; Color C, Inchworm Green; Color D, Seaglass Blue

GAUGE

19 stitches and 38 rows (19 ridges) = 4 inches in garter stitch

NOTE: The Throw size uses almost all of Colors B and C. To avoid running short, be sure to check your gauge by swatching with Color D, and keep tails short.

SIZES

Crib (Throw)

Finished Dimensions: 39 inches wide x 30 inches tall (39 inches wide x 51 inches tall)

Samples: We knit the Crib size.

NOTES

SLIP STITCHES

Slip all slipped stitches knitwise with yarn in back.

INTARSIA

The colorwork in this project is done with a technique called “intarsia.” Each row involves either two or three balls of yarn, which is much easier than it may sound! For some tips on this technique, visit our Intarsia in Garter Stitch Tutorial.

CONSTRUCTION

CRIB

THROW

PATTERN

BEGIN WITH TWO COLORS

Using a basic Long Tail Cast On, cast 186 stitches onto needles as follows…

With Color B, cast on 124 stitches, drop Color B without cutting it; then with Color A, cast 62 stitches onto the same needle.

NOTE: At this point, the two colors are not attached to each other, but as you work intarsia they will be!

Working Intarsia (see Notes) at every color change…

Row 1 (right side): With Color A, k62; with Color B, knit to end of row.

Row 2 (wrong side): With Color B, slip 1 (see Notes), k123; with Color A, knit to end of row.

Row 3: With Color A, slip 1, k61; with Color B, knit to end of row.

Repeat Rows 2 and 3 until piece measures 8½ (19) inches from cast-on edge, ending with Row 2. [41 (90) garter ridges on right side]

Cut both yarns.

CONTINUE WITH THREE COLORS

Still working Intarsia at every color change…

Row 1 (right side): Join Color C and k62; join Color D and k62; join Color B and knit to end of row.

Row 2 (wrong side): With Color B, slip 1, k61; with Color D, k62; with Color C, knit to end of row.

Row 3: With Color C, slip 1, k61; with Color D, k62; with Color B, knit to end of row.

Repeat Rows 2 and 3 for 13 inches or until piece measures 21½ (32) inches from cast-on edge, ending with Row 2. [103 (152) total garter ridges on right side]

Cut Colors B and D.

CONTINUE WITH TWO COLORS

Working Intarsia at every color change…

Row 1 (right side): With Color C, slip 1, k123; join Color A and knit to end of row.

Row 2 (wrong side): With Color A, slip 1, k61; with Color C, knit to end of row.

Row 3: With Color C, slip 1, k123; with Color A, knit to end of row.

Repeat Rows 2 and 3 for 8½ (19) inches or until piece measures 30 (51) inches from cast-on edge, ending with Row 3. [143 (241) total garter ridges on right side]

Bind Off (wrong side): With Color A, loosely bind off knitwise to end of Color A stitches (one Color A stitch will remain on the right needle), cut Color A; with Color C, continue to bind off knitwise to end of row, cut Color C and pull through remaining stitch.

FINISHING

Weave in the ends, closing gap between colors on cast-on row, and gently wet block as desired.

Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho. We can’t wait to see what you make!

Learn About Daily Wool Worsted + All Our Beautiful Yarns

This project is incredibly soft and conveniently machine wash- and dry-able in our beautiful Daily Wool Worsted, made from 100% superwash wool yarn! Spun into 4 tidy plies, this worsted/aran-weight yarn is un-prone to pilling, with a bounce to its step and a lovely stitch definition. Daily Wool Worsted is what makes knitting fun… 24/7!

More Free Knitting Patterns

Be sure to explore our growing collection of Daily Wool Worsted knitting patterns and cast on!

More Worsted/Aran-Weight Yarns

Shop our entire collection of worsted/aran-weight yarn (What does worsted-weight yarn mean, really? Our guide to worsted-weight yarn will answer your questions and more!)
If you want to use a different yarn, be sure to take the time to get the correct gauge. Need help? Check our All About Gauge Tutorial, our Yarn Substitution article, and our Complete Guide To Yarn for lots of helpful information.

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