Where can I buy the pattern?
You can buy my pattern on Ravelry and Etsy. I recommend buying the pattern on Ravelry because it’s cheaper (I can charge less because Ravelry’s fees are lower) and you’ll get immediate delivery of the pattern. If you buy on Etsy, you have to wait for me to email you the pattern, which I do as fast as possible, but if I’m asleep or in a movie or on an airplane you’ll have to wait a bit. Ravelry also has the benefit of sending out automatic pattern updates when they become available.
Click here to buy the pattern on Ravelry.
Click here to buy the pattern on Etsy.
I don’t knit! Do you sell the completed blanket?
I do sell the completed blanket on commission on Etsy. Because every blanket is made to order, delivery will take 4-6 weeks upon receipt of payment.
Click here to buy the completed blanket on Etsy.
What are the finished measurements?
The finished blanket size is approximately 50″ by 84″. Because each blanket is unique, sizes will vary slightly.
How much wool does the blanket require?
The pattern calls for six pounds of unspun wool roving. I’ve knit three blankets so far and this amount seems just right.
Doesn’t that make the blanket really heavy?
Yeah, the blanket’s pretty heavy. It’s very comfy, too. The weight does require a bit of upper-body strength while knitting the pattern, however. You need to be fairly able-bodied in order to knit with such large needles and with so much wool. To alleviate any weight and stress on your arms while knitting, I recommend resting the “needles” on the floor while working with the yarn and taking regular breaks!
How much do the materials cost?
Well, that depends. I buy my wool from Sheep Shed Studio online, and I buy the Brown Sheep Superwash roving. As of October 2011, 6 pounds of roving plus priority shipping to California cost $107. That said, there are many places to purchase roving and you can likely find a cheaper source. The most important factor in choosing your roving is to make sure the roving comes in long pieces — ideally, you’d like it to all be in one long piece. Sheep Shed Studio has always delivered impeccable roving, so I’m sticking with them for now, but feel free to shop around!
The non-wool materials needed are PVC pipe, duct tape, and ideally a needle felting mat
Though the needle-felting kit is listed as “optional” in the pattern, I highly recommended it for grafting ends together.
How do you cast on?
You cast on using a simple backwards-loop cast on. It’s very easy and has the benefit of using up less wool than other cast-on methods. Here’s a video tutorial on the backwards-loop cast on.
Where can I get more information about the process?
Here’s a video of me knitting the blanket.
Here are all the blog posts about the giganto-blanket.
Here are all my pictures on flickr tagged “gigantoblanket.”
Here are all the people who are working on the blanket on Ravelry.
Here is a video of me grafting the wool ends together.
Does the roving shed?
Any unspun roving will shed, so the felting process I describe in the pattern is intended to minimize this shedding in the completed blanket. That said, the blanket will still shed fibers and pill a fair amount — there’s just no way around it, as far as I can tell. Suggestions are welcome! I recommend putting the blanket in a low-traffic area to reduce shedding. The more abuse the blanket gets, the more it will shed. Also, just expect to use a lint-roller afterwards if you’re going to curl up under the blanket. You can also “groom” the blanket gently with your fingers to remove excess fiber or pilling.
How long does it take to make the blanket?
In my experience, it takes about 2-3 hours to felt the wool. After letting the wool dry for 24 hours, the knitting itself takes anywhere from 2-4 hours. There’s about 720 stitches in the entire blanket, so it’s a quick knit!
Where can I buy the wool?
I buy my wool from Sheep Shed Studio online.
Why do I have to felt the wool? I thought superwash wool doesn’t felt!
The felting process does indeed work on the superwash wool, and the main reason I do it is to puff up the wool so it’s larger in volume and can be split into two strands more easily. Also, the texture changes a bit after felting, so hopefully this makes the wool sturdier and cuts down on shedding. Check out this post for more info and a photo.
How do you clean the blanket?
Soak with a no-rinse wool wash in the washing machine with cool water — do not agitate. Drain, and spin out excess water. Dry flat, or as flat as you can.
What is a needle felting mat and needle felting tool and what does it mean to “graft” the ends together?
Good question! Here is the needle felting tool
Here’s a video tutorial showing how I graft the ends together:
Basically what you do is hold the two ends of wool together and pound it with the needle felting tool until it becomes one cohesive piece of wool. The friction from the needle felting will basically fuse the wool together so you don’t have to worry about weaving in ends. I highly recommend using a needle-felting kit while making this blanket because it allows you to use up every inch of your precious wool and not have any ends to weave in.
Why didn’t you answer my question?
Because you haven’t asked me yet! Please feel free to post any additional questions in the comments and I will be happy to answer them. Thanks!
I did a search for “roving shed” and found great info about the studio you use to get your roving, but that wasn’t the question I really had in mind.
Does the roving leave fibers all over? Does the light felting help?
Hi Erin! I answered your question on the page. Thanks!
Hello Erin! How long does it take to make each blanket? can I get the wool like that on the internet? I have checked local knitting shoppes and I cannot find any.
Hi Jessica — I’ve answered your question in the FAQ page. Thanks!
Hi, I was wondering if there was another yarn you could suggest to replace the wool. I’m TERRIBLY allergic to wool, but I really really really like the look of this blanket. Thanks!
Unfortunately I can’t think of any substitute for wool for this blanket — you need a fiber that comes in long lengths of roving, and wool or alpaca or other animal fibers are the only things I can think of.
Maybe you can make “yarn” using cotton knit that you would cut in a long continuous 3 or 4 inch thick ribbon? You cut in in a long zig zag from a couple of yards or you cut straight ribbons a sew them together in a continuous. You could use sweat pants cotton k it too. When cut theses fabric don’t u ravel and have a stretch to them and if you pull on them they will curl on themselves into a rope Lille thing…. It could work. Maybe fleece a really thick high quality could be fun too.
Those are all great ideas!
I have heard that alpaca is supposed to be good for people with wool allergies.
They do make a silk roving, I found it after reading through these questions and thought you might like to know. It is considerably more expensive but it might work the same way?
They probably do make silk roving, but it might be cost prohibitive for such a large blanket. Take a look online and see what you can find!
Hi! I was wondering how long the pvc pipe should be?!
If you use superwash, how does it felt? I was looking at The Sheep Studio website, and they have “DOES NOT FELT!!” in red letters…Am I looking at the wrong roving?
This is a very fair question! Even superwash roving will felt a little given the right circumstances. What we want is a very LIGHT felting, not a full-on heavy-duty felting, so superwash is actually ideal for our purposes!
What is a needle felting mat and needle felting tool and what does it mean to “graft” the ends together? I’ve knitted for a long time but I have no idea what these mean =/ Super-excited to get to work on this though!
Hi Meredith! I answered your question at the end of the FAQ. Thanks for asking!
On that website you shared there is $15 dollar per pound superwash and #1 white superwash for $14, whats the difference?
Would it be okay to make the blanket with dyed superwash instead of just white?
And do you have to take the felting tools to every single inch of material in order to make it?
How long would the necessary felting take?
Hi Kenzie — the dyed wool is $1 more a pound than the undyed white wool, which accounts for the price difference. I haven’t yet made a blanket with the dyed wool but I imagine it would be a fun process! The only thing to worry about would be the dye bleeding into whatever sheets you used during felting, so you would need to make sure those sheets aren’t expensive or important to you! You don’t have to use the felting needle on the whole length of wool — that’s only used to graft the ends together, probably about 6-10 times per blanket. The felting is actually done by stomping on the wool in your bathtub, and the whole process takes about 3 hours of active time and then 24 hours to let the wool dry. The process is explained in full detail in my pattern. Hope that helps!
Hello! I’m not sure if I’ve missed this on your website but could you tell me what size needles you use & where you get them from? Thanks!
Hi Maddie — the “needles” are actually 2 pieces of PVC pipe! All the details can be found in the pattern. Thanks!
-Laura
Is th 1.5 inch PVC pipe the inside diameter or outside diameter?
Gina, I’m not sure! It was just advertised as 1.5″ PVC pipe, I haven’t measured it! But if it’s a few millimeters off, it’s no big deal.
brilliant – thank you!
Hi!
Do you ship this blanket worldwide?
I do ship worldwide — I just have to charge a bit more for shipping! Please contact me directly for more info. Thanks!
Beautiful!!!
Do you by any chance know of a site that sells wool in Europe?
The Sheep Shed Studio delivers in Italy (where I live) but it costs 60$…
Also, there is one thing I haven’t understood in the whole process.
It is the “stomping on the wool in your bathtub” thing, why do you need to do it?
I will buy the pattern the minute I figure out how to get the wool here, can’t wait to get started and roll myself in your gigantic beauty!
Thank you,
Samantha
Hi Samantha! I’m not familiar with any shops that sell roving in Europe, but there has got to be one somewhere! The most important thing is to find a place that sells roving in one long strand, or as close to one long strand as possible. Check out the ravelry.com message boards and see if there’s any hints about where to find roving in Europe… that’s how I found the Sheep Shed Studio here in the US.
If you manage to source some wool let me know and I can post that info on my site. Thanks!
You said that you felt the roving wool in the bathtub, but on the website for the wool it says that the superwash wool roving does not felt… just was confused about the contradiction. Please confirm that it does felt…
Nevermind… I saw that you already answered this question a few above
Hey!
This is super awesome! I was wondering if I crocheted this instead of knitted it if it would use less wool? I don’t know how to knit but I I do know how to crochet and I saw this picture of a girl crocheting with her arms instead of needles this huge yarn. The link was disabled so I have no idea how she used it or how she got the huge yarn….it looks very different from what you have here. But your wool is the only thing I’ve been able to find thats close to what I’m looking for. Unfortunately its very expensive and I thought if it used less to crochet it this might be a possible project for me. thoughts?
Hi Lauren — I’m not sure if crocheting would use less wool as I’m not very experienced with crochet. If you wanted to use less wool, in theory you could use broomsticks instead of PVC pipe and split the yarn twice instead of just once?
I have found that crocheting takes up *more* fiber than knitting.
How do you felt super wash wool? It’s my understanding super wash won’t felt
Laura D
Hi! Good question! Any wool, including superwash, will felt in hot, soapy water. Superwash wool is just more resistant to felting. What we want is a really LIGHT felting so I find superwash to be perfect! Hope that helps!
Has anyone tried roving that’s not superwash? Any modifications needed in the felting technique? I am after a darker natural color and can’t find that in superwash – Thanks!
I actually saw a blanket like this at Anthropologie last winter. I wanted to make it SO much but didn’t know where to get long strips of roving. Thanks a bunch!
Wow! This is super cool. Do you know, roughly how many yards of this roving you used to make one blanket? Thank you!
Gosh – good question! I know I use about 6 pounds per blanket but not sure what that translates to in yardage. I might go downstairs and measure a length right now to see. Stay tuned!
Okay, I measured and it’s approximately 117 yards of raw roving for the blanket, but then you felt it and split it so he actual yardage knit is about 234. I got this by measuring out 8 ounces of wool and found it had about 9.75 yards. Hope that helps!
Awesome blanket. I just received a circular pair of Size 50 needles custom made by Ed Jenkins. The cable is an airplane cable and is 72 inches long. I’m going to make this with four strands of Hometown yarn from Lion Brand. That way, I don’t have to worry about shedding. Cool idea for a quickie blanket.
Would love to know how this turned out with the Hometown yarn. I don’t want to worry about the shedding and wool makes me itch badly, even the slightess amount. I recieved a cashmere sweater as a gift and was never able to wear it.
I really think 450$ is far too much for this blanket. Don’t get me wrong i can definitely see how you should be compensated for the labor. But, a 300$ profit seems excessive when you did say yourself that materials are about 150$ and you can finish the blanket in about 5 hours. I am not made of money but I really want this blanket!
Cat, I’m sorry you think the blanket is too expensive. I certainly understand — I couldn’t buy a $450 blanket for myself, either! But I need to charge that much to make it worth my time to make the blankets. While it takes about 6 hours of active time, it does take a lot more of my time for procuring the wool, managing customer service, driving to the shipping location, et cetera. I work full time and also do freelance web development, so I have to make it worth my time to make these blankets. I offer the pattern for $5 and have no restrictions on you hiring another knitter to make you a blanket as long as you or they don’t resell the item. If you can find another knitter willing to make it for less, more power to you!
What would it cost for you to get the roving ready for me to do the work. I am not sure i understand what needs to me done. I want the roving all one peice.
Patty-Jean, I don’t have the time right now to prepare the wool on contract. The wool preparation is basically just done to keep the fiber intact while knitting, reduce shedding, and fluff up the fiber. The process is detailed in the pattern. Thanks!
First I have to congratulate you on your creativity. This is so unique looking.
Must one purchase your pattern to get instructions on felting the wool…and all the instructions to prepare for this project. I love your idea. My funds ARE EXTREMELY LIMITED. Live off of social security so have to be very careful with expenditures. I think I can borrow the pvc pipe from a builder nearby. I have much yarn since I have knit for decades. If you could point me to a website that would guide me I would appreciate it.
Thanks for your kind words. I sympathize about being low on funds, but as a designer I have to protect my own intellectual property, so even if I knew of a free place to find the tutorial (I don’t) it would be inappropriate of me to link there. Good luck with your knitting!
This is about the neatest thing I’ve seen in a long time. SO creative and beautiful. I bought your pattern and ordered the roving and can’t wait to try it. My daughter is hoping for success because she wants it! I knit and crochet and will definately try your knitted version, but am already trying to think through crocheting it as well. I’ll be roaming Home Depo/Lowes for inspiration. I know there is U shaped PVC pipe. It could be cut to make a hook shape. Maybe the hook part of a cane could be cut and fit to PVC pipe or maybe a kid’s plastic golf club. Just ideas.
Thanks for the kind words, Mary! I wonder if you could just use your hand and forearm if you want to crochet this? I’d love to see it however you attempt the feat!
Hmmm, maybe so! I have to tell you….my husband just got back with my “needles” Apparently, I’m already (in)famous at Home Depo. He told them just enough there for them to be intensely curious/think I’m hexed. On his way out, the lady at the hot dog stand even gave him a free hot dog! I think they are hoping for updates, perhaps to which mental establishment I have become committed.
I love this idea! I bought your pattern and ordered about 4 lbs of roving. I want to make a small blanket for my cousin’s baby. I saw some of your pictures using the broomsticks and I think that might be a better size, do you know if the roving will split twice into fourths? Thanks!
Hmmmm — I’d be a little worried about the wool becoming too unstable when split into fourths, but it might be possible. Thirds could be an option, too — just be very careful while splitting!
In several responses you have said that you use superwash because you only want a light felting. Why only a light felting? What do you think the final blanket would be like if knitted from plain wool roving that has been “seriously” felted? I am imagining that it would pill less if it is more heavily felted… Thank you!
Hi Debbie — In my original pattern I only wanted a light felting because I wanted to maintain the softness and fluffiness of the wool roving. Of course, he trade-off is that it sheds a lot! I wrote the pattern up using my own experience, and since I haven’t tried he blanket with non-superwash roving I couldn’t speak to my experience there. But it’s definitely a possibility!
where do you get the giant needles?
They’re just PVC pipe with duct-tape tips! The pattern has all the info on how to make them yourself.
Hi Laura!
This is a super duper cool blanket and I’m going to make one!
But I’m living in HK and can’t use the yarn you recommended. Plus I only found a offer of yarns in different colours of 6 pounds for USD200……… >__<)
Thank you !
Oh yes and I don’t really understand how to split the yarns into two…
Hi Milla — the pattern describes how to do it in more detail, but it’s basically just pulling the wool apart into two pieces down the length of it — you have to be careful while doing it, but it should come apart pretty easily.
The fleece fabric is an interesting idea… I wonder if you could just cut a long strand out of a long piece of fleece (the synthetic blanket kind, not the natural kind) by doing a zigzag cut in the fabric. You wouldn’t be able to graft the ends the same way but the fabric would be stable enough to just sew the ends together. Hmm… Do you have any idea of what your yardage was?
You know, a lot of people have asked me about my yardage so I suppose it’s time to try and measure it! I honestly have no idea what it would be, but I also think it’d be different for fleece than wool, so you might just need to try a gauge swatch and see what happens
very unique and inventive. Good for you, it is these kind of ideas that give you a name. I have seen this type of thing knitted out of a large icord. The icord which actually was about the size of the roving, was made from cotton/poly I think. But I haven’t a clue where one would find that. The two factors that wouldn’t agree with me is the weight of the finished blanket and the shedding, but this is still a neat idea.
Thanks, Linda. I think you’d have to make the i-cord yourself, right? I’ve been thinking about trying this with fabric instead of wool to see if it would be lighter and, obviously, less shed-y. The wool just looks so nice visually, though!
You can purchase an i-cord machine tool for about $15 that will make i-cord very fast. I use different yarns to make the cord and then knit with it. Much cheaper and easier than buying roving.
So just for clarification purposes its it one piece of half inch pvc or is it 1piece of one and a half inch pvc.
Hi Kay — it’s a single 10-foot length of 1.5″ PVC pipe that you need to get cut in half so you can get 2 “needles” out of it. Does that help?
How much wool roving do I need to order to complete one blanket?
The blanket takes approximately 6 pounds of wool.
when i felted the wool it really stuck to the sheet when i opened it to hang it to dry. is this normal? it was really not smooth and has a lot of pieces coming off of it. do you think i did something wrong?
Hi there — you know, this is an intermittent problem for me, but as long as you’re careful pulling the yarn out of the “sausages” I find it isn’t a problem with the completed blankets. I think some sheets cling to the wool more than others, but no matter what you’ll be losing some of the wool during the process. Just be careful when pulling the wool out to dry, and try to keep it as intact as possible, and I think you should be okay!
I purchaced your pattern and have the wool on hand. I also have both of my “double sausages” rolled tied and ready to go. My question is about your comment about stomping the sausages 4 minutes. this is a very precise number. Have you stomped for longer and had bad results? If so could you share those or comment on why just 4 minutes?
Thanks so much!
Shaorn
Hi Sharon! It’s by no means a precise number — I think 4 minutes was my estimate. I try to stomp on the “sausages” long enough where they start looking felted in the water, I’d say 4-10 min, depending on how vigorously you do it. I don’t think it’s all that important, actually — going longer shouldn’t be deleterious! Good luck!
I was just reading through the comments and noticed that some of you would like to try with fabric such as fleece. I have already crocheted with fabric and it turns out great. So I decided to try knitting fabric. It works out very nicely. Fleece is nice because when you cut it, it does not ‘shed’ and you can make your strands as wide as you want and then you simply sewing the strands together to get your ‘yarn’. Works like a charm and it does not show in the knitting. When you knit it or crochet it, you can sort of roll it up along the way. Haven’t tried wool roving though. I am having a blast with the knitting. Lovely job on your blanket Laura.
Is the wool itchy? I don’t want to make it if it is going to be itchy. I know there are different types of wool, but I am unfamiliar with them all. Thank you!
I personally don’t find it itchy, but it is 100% wool so if you’re very sensitive I wouldn’t recommend it.
Is there anywhere you can get the wool all ready to go? I am limited on time preparing the wool seems very time consuming.
Not that I know of! If there was a place to get this wool ready to go I’d probably do that myself, too!
How do you felt the wool? I’ve never had reason to felt anything
Eryn, the pattern goes through the felting process in a lot of detail!
I was wondering ..my aunt loves this blanket but is allergic to wool. Could this be done with cotton? I would love to know..
Thank you,
Carrie
Hi Carrie — I’m not sure there’s cotton roving that will behave the same way as wool, but other commenters have suggested using fleece fabric and cutting it into long strips to mimic “yarn” — you could try that, I suppose!
Hi, Did you needle felt the ALL of the wool, or just the parts you were connecting together? and also why does it say “leave it to dry out” after felting, why is it wet?
You do the main felting in a bathtub with hot, soapy water. The needle felting is just to graft the ends of your “yarn” together so it becomes one continuous piece. Hope that helps!
Hi…could you recommend a different way to use a super bulky yarn (6) maybe holding 2-3 strands together> I realize it will be no where a large as your roving but that’s ok. I basically need to know the amount of yarn I would need. And how many to cast on? Thank you so much.
Susan
Hi Susan — It’s really hard to know how much you’d need ’cause it would all depend on what kind of yarn you use! I’d recommend just trying it out with a few balls and then getting a gauge that way. Unfortunately you’d likely need a TON of yarn, so I’m not sure if it’d be any cheaper! Good luck!
Someone asked about different yarn you can use…I originally saw a scarf on Pinterest with the arm knitting technique using Andriafil Magia yarn. Another similar to that is Berroco Link yarn. I’m not sure they are as think as what you used as I have never in my life knitted. But that might be an option for this blanket
Hi!
I love love love this pattern. I elected to go with roving from knitpicks. Do you have dimensions from your original roving so I can figure out how I need to split it?
Thank you!
Hi Shireen — the roving is about 2″ wide when I get it. Check out this post for a photo! Thanks! http://nocturnalknits.com/2012/11/why-bother-felting-the-giganto-blanket/
Thanks Laura! The Knitpicks roving poofed up just fine once it dried. I tend to knit looser and to go down to 1 1/4 inch PVC.
What did you use for knitting needles? Where did you find them?
Meagan, they’re just PVC pipe I bought at Home Depot. All the information is available in the pattern if you’re interested in making one of your own!
I just purchased your pattern and looking forward to this project. I’m a knitter and finally will knit for myself. Great challenge. Thanks.
Hi there! I’m interested in making such a blanket but wonder if you can give me a primer on roving? I was told to buy wool roving with super-long “staples”, and that if I purchased such roving, I could knit the blanket straight from the bag. (I was told the roving comes braided or something?) Please help! I’m so overwhelmed!!
Also, what was the diameter of your PVC?
Thank you so very much!!
Hi –
There’s a lot of info about the roving in the pattern, and all the info about how to source the PVC pipes is in there as well. The roving I use does not come braided and requires a bit of preparation before knitting, all of the steps are described in detail in the pattern. Hope that helps.
Hi! I just began knitting and I loooove it. I’ve been looking for a project just like this for my bedroom and just had a few questions. What exactly is felting and how do you do it? Also, how soft is the wool? I would use the blanket as my main comforter and wouldn’t want it to be itchy. And does it snag or tear easily? I have 2 big dogs who like to jump on my bed. Oh and do you think as a beginner I would be able to do this? I’ve only knitted a simple scarf so far and I don’t want to waste my money if its too difficult. Please get back to me and thanks for all your info, It was really helpful!
Hi Sage — it’s definitely a beginner project, but I recommend practicing the k2, p2 rib on normal needles before getting started. The wool is very soft, but it is a bit delicate and sheds, so I don’t know if it would stand up to your two big dogs! And the felting process is done in the bathtub and all the info is in the pattern. Hope that helps!
This blanket is SO amazing! What a great idea! I love your needles too. The hollowness of the piping probably makes them much lighter than any wood could. I may try to wrap some styrofoam cones for tips on the ends and duct tape around them just to give me the same effect as the lady who ’3-D printed tips’ her friend designed. Look at all the people getting involved in this idea!
I saw years ago on Ravelry that ‘Weaverknits” made her sister a shawl with blue roving/broomstick needles… it was quite interesting too. I love the dimensionality the roving gives the projects! if you want to peek at her creation check it out here-
http://weaverknits.blogspot.com/2007/11/this-week-in-knitting.html
and then she even sites another link from the runways that year showing all the giganto knits that designers get 1000$ of dollars for! Maybe you’ll start a new trend in at-home knitting. I am thinking of doing this in a colored roving- I think the color dying process tends to ‘felt’ the wool a bit by itself- so I may not need to go through the bathtub process- I will let you know.
I am adding you to my favorite designers in Ravelry!
oxox, juliblue
Hi! Before I buy all the roving, I was wondering how you wash/dry it. Also how does it feel?
Hi Morgen — the blanket can be washed by soaking it in a washing machine without agitation, then low-spinning to get most of the water out, and then hung out to dry. And I think the blanket feels very soft, but it is 100% wool so some people might find it scratchy.
This blanket is beautiful. I really want to make this blanket or something close to the idea of it for my sister’s birthday, however I no experience with roving or felting, and I was wondering how much of a task is the felting? Is it hard? Or can an extreme beginner do it?
Hi there — the felting actually requires no knitting skill, just a little bit of stomping in a bathtub. It’s definitely something a beginner can do, and the process is explained in detail in the pattern. If you’re not confident in the knitting aspect of it, I recommend just practicing a k2,p2 rib on normal sized needles before attempting the giant ones. Hope that helps.
Hi, beautiful blanket! I was wondering what the dimensions of the blanket are when finished.
The finished blanket size is approximately 50″ by 84″. Because each blanket is unique, sizes will vary slightly.
Hi there!
I just wanted to tell you how much I love this pattern, and can’t wait to try it out. Thank you for being so generous with all your advice and ideas, it’s really sweet to see you patiently answer so many questions.
Thanks!
Thanks, Amanda!
Hi. I have made several similar Blankets to yours though not quite so heavy. I used 24mm needles bought from RACHAEL JOHN on the CREATE and CRAFT web site. I used 5 strands of Chunky knit wool to make them. But, the beauty of knitting this blanket is, that you can use multible strands of various thicknesses of wool and multiple colours. Thus, you can use all your left over wool from other projects. Just tie a knot and trim the ends to join in the next ball of wool when you need to. The knot is hidden in the multiple strands so there are no ends to weave in at the end. I too live on a limited budget so I buy cheap value balls of Acrylic wool which is not ‘itchy’. I also work a 4st Garter st border at the sides and start and finish with 4 rows of Garter st. so the blanket stays flat. As for a pattern I usually make up my own. I have made them with panels of cable running up through them, and also a chequer-board pattern. I hope this was interesting for you to read. I live in the U.K. so it might be useful for your other European readers. I hope so. Regards, Sheila.
Instead of using the felt needle mat to put the wool ends together can I just draft the wool like this girl did before using the drop spindle for yarn? I am a beginner and I want to make the blanket but I have no idea what I am doing
here is the link of the girl drafting wool:
Hi Jazmin — I don’t think the drafting would work. That process is actually making the wool thinner and less strong, and what you need for this blanket is to join the ends together in a strong, reliable way. You don’t necessarily need to use the needle-felting tool, though — I didn’t use it for the first blanket I made. I just left a length of wool out and started knitting with the new ball each time, and then wove the ends in with my hands at the end. However, now that I’ve started using the needle felting tool I wouldn’t go back — it allows for seamless transition from one ball to the next, and thus lets you use every inch of wool! Also, it’s very easy and kinda fun. Check out my video (posted above) and you’ll see just how simple it is. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much. If I have any other questions I will come back to this website and ask
Hey,
I am looking at making a poncho for a 5 year old in the same way you knitted this, would you have any idea of how much wool i would need for it? i am thinking of not making it as thick?
thanks
Hi Jess – you know, if you make it thinner you’ll have a completely different gauge, and I don’t know the measurements for a poncho like that, so it’d be nearly impossible for me to figure out how much wool you’ll need! My instinct is to say: order 3-4 pounds to be safe. But that’s a total guess, it could require more or less. Send pictures if you make this!