Traveling Knit Afghan : Instructions for Square #16 and My Life in Yarn
Last week, the Traveling Knit Afghan arrived on my doorstep! It was such a treat to unwrap this beautiful blanket that has touched the hands of 15 designers so far this year. Each designer has carefully crafted and stitched in place the 10” x 10” square that they designed. Their creativity demonstrates the limitless possibilities knitting offers with a skein of yarn and two knitting needles.
The Traveling Knit Afghan as of July 31, 2020. Fifteen knitting designers have participated to date. I’m excited to add the 16th square to the afghan! Eight more squares - and a border design - will be revealed between now and the end of 2020.
It's an honor to be part of Lion Brand Yarn’s Traveling Knit Afghan project along with 24 other knitting designers. Since I have been nearly obsessed with designing blanket knitting patterns for the past five years, it’s really fun to have the opportunity to participate in this year-long collaborative afghan project.
I’m thrilled share the instructions for Square #16. The design features an easy to knit 4-row repeat pattern made up of only knit and purl stitches.
Square #16 of the Traveling Knit Afghan project.
Scroll down to find:
A bit about “My Life in Yarn”
Instructions for Square #16
Tips on how to seam squares
Need more information? Click here to go to my Traveling Afghan Info Page and get all the details including: how you can participate, a list of all the designers participating in the project, and links to find the instructions for all the squares that have been revealed to date.
The Traveling Afghan project is sponsored by Lion Brand Yarn as part of their “My Life in Yarn” 2020 campaign. Designers were asked to share a bit about our life in yarn when posting our design contribution. It's hard to believe that "my life in yarn" now spans about 45 years!
MY LIFE IN YARN
My name is Mary Lee and I'm the knitter and designer behind Fifty Four Ten Studio. “My Life in Yarn” started in the mid-1970’s when I was about 8 years old and my sweet mother taught me to knit. My first project was a blanket for my doll. I remember it clearly: garter stitch, light yellow acrylic yarn and a few dropped stitches that resulted in holes.
In high school, I knit a lot of sweaters for myself using patterns from magazines and books. Mohair and puffy sleeves were common in my 1980’s knitting creations. In college, I worked at a little yarn store and I still have some yarn in my stash that I bought at that store.
In the 1990’s and early 2000’s, my yarn crafting endeavors focused on small projects including hats and mittens for all the young children in our family and numerous hand knit Christmas ornaments to give to family and friends at the holidays.
In 2013, I founded Fifty Four Ten Studio and ventured into designing and publishing knitting patterns. My first designs were small projects such as a mini-sweater ornament and The Little House.
Click here to see my collection of PDF instant download digital knitting patterns.
Five years ago, I was going through a sad time in my life and I needed an easy knitting project after not knitting for six months. I decided to knit a blanket for the first time since I was a little girl. I ordered a big box of Wool-Ease Thick & Quick super bulky yarn from Lion Brand Yarn, a set of US 13 circular knitting needles and selected a simple, reversible stitch pattern to cast on a large blanket. Knitting that blanket brought comfort to my heart in a challenging time. And, this chunky blanket project became my first blanket knitting pattern - The Boulevard Blanket. The pattern is FREE every day on my website or on Ravelry.
That first blanket led to many more blanket designs! Today, my Fifty Four Ten Studio collection includes more than 35 blanket knitting patterns, as well as patterns for scarves, pillows and ornaments.
Just a few of my favorite knitting pattern designs from the last few years. Click here to see all of my knitting patterns.
Knitting and yarn have been a nearly constant part of my life. I have spent quality time stitching with yarn and needles, learning new skills and techniques, creating countless hand knit projects, and finding comfort, enjoyment and healing through this craft. In recent years, it has been especially heartwarming to hear how knitters around the world use my patterns to make special hand knit gifts to show their love for family and friends.
SQUARE #16 - TRAVELING KNIT AFGHAN
For Square #16, I used a reversible stitch pattern that I also used in my Quality Time scarf and blanket knitting pattern. For me, quality time includes time spent with my family, an afternoon enjoying a favorite hobby (knitting!), an evening by the fire reading a good book (see some of my favorite books on Bookshop.org and Amazon)… or a morning walk with a good friend.
Traveling Knit Afghan Square #16 - an easy to knit, reversible design by Fifty Four Ten Studio
Instructions for Square #16 are shown below. You may also download the PDF version of the instructions for FREE here or on Ravelry.
KNITTING DIRECTIONS - SQUARE #16
Finished size: 10” wide x 10” long
Supplies:
85 - 86 yards worsted weight yarn (37 - 38 grams)
US size 8 (5 mm) knitting needles (or size to obtain gauge)
Tapestry needle
Stitch markers
Gauge: Pattern stitch with US size 8 needles: 18 sts & 26 rows = 4”
Gauge after blocking. Test gauge by casting on 25 sts and working Middle Section pattern.
Tip: When starting row 1 of the Middle Section, place a clip-on stitch marker on a stitch at the beginning of the row. The marker will identify when the right side (front) of knitting is facing you for working rows 1 & 3 of the Middle Section of the pattern.
PATTERN DIRECTIONS:
With US size 8 knitting needles cast on 45 sts.
Work as follows for bottom border, middle section and top border.
BOTTOM BORDER
Knit every row for 6 rows. Proceed to Middle Section instructions.
MIDDLE SECTION
Row 1 (RS): K3, place mkr, P1, *K1, P1; repeat from * until 3 sts remain on needle, place mkr, K3.
(slip markers on all following rows)
Row 2 (WS): K3, slip mkr, K1, *P1, K1; repeat from * until mkr, slip mkr, K3.
Row 3 (RS): Knit row.
Row 4 (WS): Knit row.
The middle section is made up of rows 1 - 4. Repeat rows 1 - 4 a total of 13 times.
Then...repeat rows 1 & 2 one time.
Proceed to Top Border directions.
TOP BORDER
With right side of knitting facing work as follows:
Knit every row for 6 rows. Bind off loosely knitwise on the 7th row.
Blocking is recommended.
Click here to download the PDF instructions for Square #16 for FREE.
Square #16 has been stitched onto the Traveling Knit Afghan and it’s ready to be shipped to the next designer!
SHARE ON INSTAGRAM!
Share your Square #16 project photos on Instagram and be sure tag me in your photo: @FiftyFourTenStudio along with: @LionBrandYarn @mylifeinyarn #travelingafghans #lionbrandyarn #mylifeinyarn #travelingknitafghan
BLOCKING RECOMMENDED
Blocking works wonders to train your knitting to the desired dimensions and will improve the appearance of stitches. If you have not blocked your knitting before… this project is a great time to give it a try! Click here to read my blog post about blocking Traveling Afghan squares.
For best appearance, I highly recommend blocking each of the squares for the Traveling Afghan. Click here for my blog post with tips on blocking.
SEWING THE SQUARES TOGETHER
I used two seaming techniques to sew my square to the Traveling Afghan: mattress stitch and invisible horizontal seam.
First, I cut a 36” + piece of the matching yarn and using a tapestry needle I threaded the yarn through a stitch in the corner of the afghan. I pulled the yarn through the stitch half way… so that about 18” of yarn could be used to sew on each edge of the square.
I started sewing the seams together at the upper left corner using a tapestry needle and a piece of matching yarn.
SIDE SEAMS:
Before stitching the squares together, I used a clip on marker to temporarily attach the bottom corners together. This helped me evaluate as I sewed the two squares together and make sure the seam is evenly spaced.
To attach the squares that are side by side, I used a slightly modified mattress stitch seam technique. My modification is to thread the needle through two loops of yarn on the edge of one square, then alternate to stitch through two loops of yarn on the other square. (Most mattress stitch tutorials show stitching through one stitch at a time.) I alternate back & forth from one edge to other, keeping the tension even - but not too tight - to create a beautiful, invisible seam.
I stitched the left side edge of my square to the adjacent square using a slightly modified mattress seam.
TOP AND BOTTOM SEAMS:
To attach the top of square #16 to the square above it… I used the invisible horizontal seam technique.
Starting with the first stitch closest to corner, I threaded the needle through the bottom of the “\/” of the stitch. Then, I thread needle through the bottom of the “\/” on first stitch on opposite side. I alternated from one edge to other, keeping the tension even and not too tight.
I stitched the top edge of my square (above in this photo) to the bottom edge of the square adjacent to it (shown in the lower part of this photo) using the invisible horizontal seam technique.
I used the invisible horizontal seam technique … threading the needle through a stitch on the edge of the square.
Here’s a close up look at the finished seams…
Square #16 (lower right corner) attached to the afghan.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE…
The reversible stitch pattern featured in Square #16 is also used for my Quality Time scarf and blanket knitting pattern for worsted weight yarn… and my chunky and cozy Game Time scarf and blanket knitting pattern for super bulky yarn.
Click here to see all of my knitting patterns!
STAY TUNED FOR TRAVELING KNIT AFGHAN UPDATES!
Be sure to check back on my Traveling Knit Afghan Info page throughout this year for updates on this mystery-knit-along. Even the participating designers don't know what the other 10" square designs will be!
I'm so happy to add my square to the Traveling Afghan and excited to see how the afghan comes together when the final eight squares are added in the coming months… as well as a border to tie it all together.
If you have any questions about the Traveling Afghan project....be sure to CLICK HERE to go to the information page here on my website. There's lots of information and answers to frequently asked questions.
Many thanks to Lion Brand Yarn for sponsoring this amazing project. And, special thanks to Alexandra – the designer behind Two of Wands – for being our super organized, inspiring leader.
I hope you enjoy creating Square #16 for your Traveling Afghan!
Happy knitting!
