It is my default setting for baby blankets - producing a wonderful squishy fabric. It doesn't roll, curl or otherwise misbehave. It feels lovely and light, has texture without being 'too bumpy' for sensitive skins and in general, is just about perfect.
But, as much as I love it, even I have to admit that knitting a 26" square blanket in flat garter stitch can be a tad on the tedious side.
I experimented with feather and fan patterns, but DS1 (my arbiter of all things blankie-related) pronounced them to be too girly. I tried a crochet ripple, but that ended in tears (mine) and tantrums (also mine). Suffice to say that crochet and I are never going to be bosom buddies.
So I combined garter stitch with a feather and fan pattern - and was smitten.
The finished blanket is approx 24.5" by 27" - so perfect for a crib, pram or car seat. It could easily be made larger though by using a heavier yarn and larger needles or by adding more pattern repeats. Each 18-st pattern repeat adds about 3" horizontally to the width of the blanket.
The name - Garter Ripple Squish was the result of a conversation between DS1 and myself:
Garter - wonderful, baby friendly and simple
Ripple - fun and easy to remember stitch pattern
Squish - the first word DS1 used upon picking up the sample
...enough said.
And as for DS1, he is mightily pleased with his new blankie which is great news. DS2 is decidedly jealous though, so I spy more GRS's in my immediate future.
It looks great. I love the colour choices.
ReplyDelete