I believe I’m on a major entrelac kick. Actually, what I’m really obsessed with are self-striping yarns, and nothing highlights the fabulousness of said yarns like entrelac.
I bought six balls of Patons SWS on a whim. My boyfriend’s sister was going to have a baby girl sometime mid-January, so I needed a baby gift. I was going to come up with something more elaborate, but then I realized how fun entrelac was and how easy making a baby blanket out of entrelac would be.
Here’s the blanket about 3 1/2 balls in:
I was going to stop at 4 skeins, but my mom voted against it and said “bigger is better”. She’s a pediatrician, hence she’s dealt with a lot of babies, so I took her advice.
Meanwhile, the January 15 due date was usurped by a December 28th delivery. Whoops. Mom and baby were both healthy, but the blanket wasn’t finished. I ramped up my effort and knit furiously. For the last skein, I decided to try a knit backwards so I wouldn’t have to turn every six stitches.
EUREKA! Knitting backwards is brilliant, and a lot easier than previously reported. I wish I had tried it earlier — it certainly makes entrelac a whole lot faster. Here’s how to knit backwards.
I finally finished last night. Here’s the blanket before blocking:
Before blocking, the blanket measured about 30″ x 21″. Here’s the blanket while blocking:
Blocking made the blanket measure 37″ x 33″. Definitely big enough for my mom’s tastes.
Now that I can knit backwards, I’m really tempted to make another entrelac project. However, I really have to focus on some other knitting right now, so it’ll be a while before I indulge my entrelac itch again.
That is so pretty! What a lucky baby! How do you knit backwards? Please explain!
Gorgeous!
That blanket is simply georgous! The more I see entrelac, the itchier my fingers get to try it.
its beautiful! im so itching to try sws.
is it machine washable? i always thought acrylic was the way to go for babies.
That is absolutely gorgeous. I’m working on a Lady E, and a friend is considering making it into a blanket. I’m sending her a link to yours for inspiration!
I was surfing the net today and found your blog. WOW. That baby blanket is beautiful. I don’t knit, but I’ve never seen one like that ~ it’s amazing.
I have a site where I provide baby blanket gift ideas. I thought it might be mutually beneficial if we swapped blogroll links.
Please take a look at my site and see if it’s something you might be interested in. http://babyblanketgiftguide.com If you are at all interested please shoot me an email and let me know the text you want me to use in your link. I’ll get it up right away and then send you the text for my link.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Jackie
I will be trying to knit an entrelac baby blanket as well and wanted to know how to knit backwards. I tried your link, but it’s not working. Can you fix it or send me the instructions please? Thanks!
Hi Emma — I fixed the link, thanks for catching that! Here’s the new link: http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/FEATreverse.html
Good luck with the blanket! It’s really quite easy!
Can someone share tips on “blocking” the blanket once it is completed?
Hi MJ — this is my favorite tutorial on blocking: http://www.eunnyjang.com/knit/2006/05/block_me_amadeus_1.html
Basically, you soak the finished blanket in some gentle wool wash (or an appropriate wash for your fiber), then pin the blanket out to shape and let dry. The entrelac will open up quite a bit and flatten out after blocking — it’s really an amazing process to watch.
Hi..I just started entrelac and working on my first scarf.. your blanket is beautiful.. Do you have the pattern available? thanks
Thanks, Colethia! I don’t have the pattern for this blanket, but I believe it was just a 7-stitch entrelac pattern that was 10 repeats wide… it’s kinda hard to go wrong with entrelac! Good luck with your scarf
Beautiful. I could not find the pattern. Can you please point me in the direction of the pattern. How long does it to finish the blanket.
Thanks,
Jyothy
Hi Jyothy — Unfortunately, I never had time to properly write up this pattern. I believe it was just a 7-stitch entrelac pattern that was 10 repeats wide. You can do a search online for entrelac tutorials and that should be enough to get you started! Good luck! -Laura