Ocean Cable Knit Blanket

I wanted to create a timeless, creamy baby blanket in a simple cable pattern that would be perfect for a baby girl or boy. The organic cotton is extremely soft and makes for a nice San Diego climate blanket.


YARN :: Lion Brand Organic Cotton in Almond, approx 4 balls
FINAL SIZE :: 28" x 20"
NEEDLES :: US 9 (5.5mm)
PATTERN :: Multiple of 8


CO 88 sts.
K1, P1 in a seed stitch for 5 rows (knit the purls and purl the knits)

Row 1 :: Seed st (for border) 4 sts, place marker, K80, place marker, end seed st 4 sts

Rows 2, 4, 6, 8 :: Seed st 4 sts, P80, end seed st 4 sts

Row 3 :: Seed st 4 sts, * slip next 2 sts to cable needle and hold in back, K2 sts then K2 sts from cable needle, K4 * end seed st 4 sts

Row 5 :: Seed st 4 sts, K80, end seed st 4 sts

Row 7 :: Seed st 4 sts, * K4, slip next 2 sts to cable needle and hold in front, K2 sts then K2 sts from cable needle * end seed st 4 sts

Repeat rows 1-8 until desired length
Remove markers, K1, P1 in a seed stitch for 5 rows (knit the purls and purl the knits)
BO and weave in ends

Simple Fingerless Gloves

After I made the heart hat, I wanted to make the coordinating striped mittens from the Pickles website. However, after talking to Amy, we decided there wasn't much need for mittens in sunny SoCal, and that I should make fingerless gloves instead. My first attempt was to imitate the stripes on the original mitten pattern, but then I realized I would never ever wear the clown-ish mitts pictured below. Instead, I opted for a solid from the soft merino wool leftover from the hat base color and knit some simple cream gloves, which I love.

The first attempt to match the heart hat mittens

To make the solid fingerless gloves, I used the malabrigo merino wool yarn leftover from the hat in natural #63. I picked up some amazing KA brand US 8 needles in only a 9" circular so that I could knit these in the round instead of DPN which was really fun. These needles seem to be very hard to find but I got them at Knitting by the Beach in Solana Beach, or it looks like you could order them online here.

Start by CO 32 sts (I used the Cable Cast-On method for this, see post in March)

Join the round being careful not to twist the sts.

Work in a rib stitch, K2, P2 for 22 rounds, or until the piece is about 3"

K all sts for 2 rounds.
(Here is where you can continue in St stitch, knit every stitch, in the round for a longer length, if desired. I wanted mine to be fairly short and just cover my wrists, so I only knit 2 rounds before moving on to the hand section.)

My gloves just cover the wrist.

Make 1 st (M1), K6, M1, K to the end of the round.
You should have 34 sts at the end of this round.

K all sts for 3 rounds.

M1, K8, M1, K to the end of the round.
You should have 36 sts at the end of this round.

K all sts for 3 rounds.

M1, K10, M1, K to the end of the round.
You should have 38 sts at the end of this round.

K all sts for 3 rounds.

Here you'll make the thumb hole:
K2, Bind-off 8 sts, K to the end of the round.
This part is tricky because you really need to K4 at the start of the row so that when you begin to bind-off, you leave 2 sts at the start of the round and bind-off the following 8 sts.
You should have 30 sts at the end of this round.

K2, Cast-on 2, K to the end of the round.
You should have 32 sts at the end of this round.
When you cast-on here, you want to use the Backwards Tail method. It is show here under "Single Cast-On, also known as Backward-Loop Cast-On"

K all sts for 8 rounds or until the section after the thumb is approx. 1.5"

Switch to the rib st, K2, P2 for 5 rows or until the rib section measures about 1"

Bind-off and assemble ends.

The other glove is made in exactly the same way, just flip it over. This pattern was based on a pattern from Lion Brand Yarn, shown here.

I Heart Knitting Hat

This hat was my first attempt at fair isle knitting, and it was cool. I got the pattern from Pickles but decided to modify the patter to make it on US 8 needles instead of 6, and only have 3 rows of hearts instead of 5.

For the cream background color, I used malabrigo worsted in Natural, with the colored hearts in Cascade Heathers. Ideally, the entire hat would be made in the same yarn. Since I have such a large head, I still CO 100 sts on US 8.

Knit a rib stitch, K2, P2 until the piece is 2"

This link from knittinghelp.com has a great video under knitting with two colors (stranding method) on how to knit something with two colors like this. The key is not pulling the new color too tight to avoid the entire thing puckering.

Knit one round and start the pattern. Change colors every time you start a new row of hearts.


As soon as you've finished the third row of hearts, start decreasing.

If you want to make the larger hat size (like mine) decrease like this:
1st round: *K2tog, K 18* Repeat from * to * throughout the round.
Knit one round.
3nd round: *K2tog, K17* Repeat from * to * throughout the round.
Knit one round.
5th round: *K2tog, K16* Repeat from * to * throughout the round.
Knit one round.
7th round: *K2tog, K15* Repeat from * to * throughout the round.
Knit one round.
9th round: *K2tog, K14* Repeat from * to * throughout the round.
Knit one round.
Then continue the decrease pattern (subtracting one stitch off the one you're knitting every round) until you have 12 sts left.

If you want the hat to be a smaller and less baggy, omit the "Knit one round" in between the first several decrease rows and just decease every row.

When 12 stitches remain, use a needle to thread the yarn through the stitches and pull. Assemble.

Coordinating fingerless gloves to come.