Icarus Blanket – A Work in Progress

Last week I told you about the yarn selection for my Icarus Blanket design, and mentioned how I wasn’t sure what exactly I wanted to use for the actual stitch pattern. This was a bit of a process in itself as I had a specific look in mind but I wasn’t really sure what sort of stitches I wanted to use.

The blanket was going to be a very simple, beginner friendly design, but I wanted it to have a different texture than stockinette or garter stitch. I had an idea for how I wanted to play with the colours, and the stitches had to work with that.

With Scheepjes Whirl being all the rage lately, I have also fallen quite in love with gradient yarn and without a thicker gradient to work with for a blanket, I figured I’d make one with my Soft Fun Denim!

I wanted a stitch that would also help break up the colours a bit as I was working with them. So I started swatching different stitch patterns I liked to see how they worked with my idea. I tried a few different combinations and while I did love some of the stitches, they were either too yarn hungry and heavy for this project, looked too messy or they just didn’t suit the idea I had in mind.

When I tried the half linen stitch (above center), it gave me exactly what I wanted. It added texture without bulk, used a simple combination of knits, purls and slipped stitches and  the texture helped with creating a smoother transition between the colours, giving me the gradient look I was trying to achieve. I loved it! It was perfect for both the look and the beginner friendly aspect I was after.

I love this colour combination so freaking much! I’ve named the project ‘Icarus Blanket’ because of the original inspiration for the colours, but once I saw them together it totally reminded me of a sunset at the beach. Can you see it? The light on the blue water with the red sunset below the darkening sky. Aaaah, it really takes me back to life growing up on Cape Breton Island with sunset swims on hot summer nights!

Anyway, once I had the colours and main stitch pattern figured out, it was just a matter of deciding on a few things.  What size/shape I wanted, the border and how to best make use of the yarn amounts. I actually made about 1/3 of the blanket and then realised it was getting way too big and heavy, so I went back to the start and made it a bit smaller. This made it lighter and cut down on the amount of yarn needed. After all, a lap blanket for the terrace or in front of the fire doesn’t really need to cover a queen sized bed!

In the end, the blanket came together really well and I love it so much. It’s the perfect size and weight, light enough to pick up and take from place to place and warm enough to keep the chill away. I actually finished it quite a few months ago but have had so much going on that I haven’t gotten around to blogging about it or getting the pattern written up properly. I will be back soon with photos of the finished blanket, which has already gotten a lot of use and is holding up really well. I promise to have the pattern ready ASAP too!

See you soon!

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