L & B Yarn Co. | The Spin

Marjie’s Princess Squares Blanket

Marjie is one of our local knitters that is always inspiring me to knit.  She’s always making gorgeous blankets and heirloom baby items for members of the community.  She made this particular gorgeous and bright blanket, called “Princess Squares,” out of Cascade 220 Superwash yarn.  The pattern calls for Classic Elite Yarns “Princess,” a yarn we also carry that is a luxe blend of merino, cashmere, and angora.  Because the blanket needed to be washable, though, Marjie selected 220 Superwash for its softness, washability, and pretty color palette.

The pattern is a Pam Allen design that was featured in the Fall 2010 issue of Vogue Knitting.  Pam Allen is a veteran designer that has published several books as well as having had dozens of her original patterns published by Vogue and Classic Elite Yarns.

This blanket was inspired by Danish knitter Vivan Hoxboro’s book about modular knitting, “Knit To Be Square.”  Modular knitting means is first knitting small pieces of fabric and them joining them together to make a larger item.  A lot of knitters like modular knits because each little block/modular piece requires only a little bit of yarn, so it’s a great way to knit up your leftovers, meanwhile creating something new and beautiful!  Marjie’s blanket contains 64 garter-stitch squares, which are knit individually and then sewn together in panels.

Because the pattern is modular, you could choose to either make the blanket bigger or smaller–the pattern is easily adaptable.  The border is picked up and knit at the end with a contrasting color.  This requires a circular size 7 needle (or several, to get all the way around the blanket!).

The recipient of this blanket will enjoy it for years and years to come–wool is incredibly durable and this heirloom will hold up for generations.  We’d like to thank Marjie for sharing her finished projects with us and letting them inspire us.  Happy knitting, everyone!

-Elizabeth