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.