Beautyberry Blanket

 On the cusp of our first frost, it couldn’t be a better time to introduce our newest yarn, big and cozy Gentle Giant, and with it, this cuddly Beautyberry Blanket!


We named our Beautyberry Blanket for the native bush whose bright purple berries linger through winter. In Gentle Giant’s heathered Purple Lupine and glowing Heirloom White, this blanket evokes a soft cover of berry-studded snow, one of nature’s amazing surprises.

A simple stitch pattern and our bulky-weight Gentle Giant make this blanket a quick and fun knit. Whip it up and be ready for frosty weather! -Laura



Materials

Color A: 5 (7, 13) skeins of Purl Soho’s Gentle Giant, 100% merino wool. We used the color Heirloom White.
Color B: 2 (3, 6) skeins of Purl Soho’s Gentle Giant Heather, 100% merino wool. We used the color Purple Lupine.
US 19, 32-inch circular needles
Two US 17 double pointed needles

Gauge

4.75 stitches = 4 inches in stitch pattern
Sizes
Baby (Crib, Throw)
Finished dimensions: 24 x 36 (30 x 45, 40 x 60) inches
The sample shown here is a Baby size.
Notes

KNITTING INTO THE STITCH BELOW


k1b [knit one below]: Insert the tip of the right needle into the stitch below the next stitch from front to back, knit normally (wrapping the yarn around the needle and pulling it back through the stitch below) and let the stitch above fall from the left needle.
For more information about this technique, be sure to visit our Working into the Stitch Below Tutorial!

TURN OR SLIDE

Each row in this pattern ends with the instructions to either “turn” or “slide” the work.
“Turn work” means to do what you would normally do when knitting rows with a circular needle. That is to say, put the needle in your left hand into your right and the needle in your right hand into your left, and flip the work around so the opposite side is facing you.
“Slide work” means to keep the same side of the work facing you and to push all the stitches to the right end of the circular needle. Without turning the work, start the new row as you normally would.
You will know that you’re doing this right if the yarn you need to complete the next row is magically there waiting for you!

Pattern


Begin
With Color A and the circular needles, cast on 27 (35, 45) stitches.

Row 1 (wrong side): With Color A, k1, *k1b (see Notes, above), k1, repeat from * to end of row, turn work (see Notes, above).

Row 2 (right side): With Color A, k2, *k1b, k1, repeat from * to last stitch, k1, turn work.

Row 3 (wrong side): With Color B, k1, *k1b, k1, repeat from * to end of row, slide work (see Notes, above).

Row 4 (wrong side): With Color A, k2, *k1b, k1, repeat from * to last stitch, k1, turn work.

Row 5 (right side): With Color A, k1, *k1b, k1, repeat from * to end of row, slide work.

Row 6 (right side): With Color B, k2, *k1b, k1, repeat from * to last stitch, k1, turn work.

Repeat Rows 1-6 until piece measures 34 ½ (43 ½  58 ½) inches from cast-on edge, ending with Row 4.

Work Row 5, but bind off as you go. Here’s how…

With Color A, k1, *k1b, slip first stitch over second stitch and off right needle (binding off one), k1, bind off one, repeat from * to end of row.

Cut yarn and pull it through the remaining stitch.

Finish

NOTE: I recommend weaving in the ends before working the Attached I-cord border.

With Color A and the two double pointed needles, work a 2-stitch Attached I-cord around the entire edge of the blanket. With the right side facing you, start at any point of the blanket’s edge and work counter clockwise.

For the long side edges, pick up 2 stitches for every 3 rows.

For the short bottom and top edges, pick up a stitch into every stitch. This means for the bottom row you’ll pick up one stitch for each cast-on stitch, and for the top edge you’ll pick up one stitch for each bound-off stitch.

At each corner, work one row of Attached I-cord, then a row of unattached I-cord, and then another row of Attached I-cord.

When you’ve finished working the Attached I-cord, graft or sew its two ends together.

Weave in the remaining ends and block as desired.