How to Make a Baby Blanket From a Wedding Dress

This cozy finger knit coating was incredibly piece of cake and fun to make. I also made it in less than 2 hours, with 2 coffee breaks tucked in.

About a year agone I gear up out to arm-knit a mesomorphic blanket in under an 60 minutes. My results were non ideal, and I was not at all happy with the result, or the yarn I used. Since and then I have been searching for a yarn or wool that wouldn't pill or shed, and a method to become ane of these bad boys done in less than an afternoon.

One of my readers suggested I try finger knitting. Well, I finally got around to testing it, and all I can say is what a great proposition. If like me, you were disappointed with arm knitting and you don't desire to try knitting with behemothic needles, definitely give finger knitting a endeavour.

Hand Knitting A Blanket – How Much Experience Do Y'all Need?

I went into this projection without any prior hand or finger knitting experience. My knitting skills are what we would call beginner. I can knit a few stitches here and there and they get me by, simply I nonetheless make mistakes, however twist, or drib stitches from time to time.

I practise have some experience knitting up a large thick coating, you can check out that original mail to run across the challenges I had with arm knitting. But nothing quite this size, or quite this chunky.

Despite all that, I found this whole project to be incredibly easy especially for such a large project.

Velky Blanket and We Are Knitters

Nosotros Are Knitters reached out to me to see if I was interested in testing one of their kits. The ane they requested to transport me was the Velky Coating, along with their super chunky highland wool.

I emailed them back and asked if they received complaints near shedding or pilling considering that's my chief result with these big blankets. They responded that they don't get complaints nigh information technology, and later on using their wool I can see why.

The We Are Knitters website has Amazing kits for every experience level. Each kit comes with the wool and tools you need to consummate the project. My kit included 5 giant skeins of their super soft XXXL highland wool, instructions, a care tag, and a few other fun bits and bobs.

If you order ane of the other kits, they fifty-fifty include the right size needles for the project. You can even opt-out of the needles if you already have the correct size. I love how their website is set up, it's incredibly user-friendly.

Also, these kits would brand fantastic gifts for the knitters and crocheters in your life. And if you are one of my wonderful family unit members reading this… hint hint hint.

The Velky blanket comes with instructions for arm knitting. I suck at arm knitting. So I opted to brand my blanket past finger knitting. My instructions are a bit dissimilar from what they supply, simply because I chose a different knitting method. Merely my blanket knitted up the same style and ended upwards the same size 70″x fifty″.

A few notes near the XXXL Wool from We Are Knitters.

~This postal service may incorporate chapter links. If you click one and make a purchase, I may receive a committee at no boosted cost to you.

I only ever recommend what tools or materials I use for my projects. I too examination all my projects before publishing and if something doesn't work, I don't share information technology! For this specific mail, Nosotros Are Knitters provided with me the supplies free of accuse for an honest review~

And so this is 100% Peruvian highland wool. Smaller strands of cobweb are braided and weaved together to create this wool. This weaving creates a rope-similar look and I loved that additional texture in the terminal projection.

The fashion this wool is weaved does help forbid shedding. I had almost zero shedding later on finger knitting this blanket. Time volition tell if the wool volition stand upwards to frequent use.

Usually, pilling doesn't show upward right away, but since the shedding is minimal (and I hateful minimal) it should technically reduce pilling considerably.

I will update the post in a few months to written report back on pilling.

Also of import to notation that this wool is THICK. Below is a comparison photo of King of beasts Brand's Wow, and Cherry-red Heart's Irresistible. I tested both of these yarns in different projects. I was hunting for wool or yarn that wouldn't shed or pill so I could reattempt to make a big knit blanket with the right fiber the second time around. (the commencement fourth dimension was a bust).

You tin check out that jumbo yarn comparing mail if yous want to find a dissimilar jumbo yarn. None of them are about the size of this XXXL wool, only you could still utilise this mitt knitting method with any of them.

I adore this XXXL wool. It's incredibly soft and creates i super cozy coating. Information technology'southward likewise incredibly like shooting fish in a barrel to work with.

I would absolutely purchase this yarn for other big knit projects.

From left to right- Lion Brand's Wow, Red Eye's Irresistible, and We Are Knitters XXXL wool.

So is this blanket knitted or crocheted?

Neither.

Ok so wait for a 2d, this is a "knit blanket', but we crochet chains? Yup. Sounds weird, but at the cease of the project the blanket looks knitted, it does non at all look crocheted. So we will call knitted blanket. You lot're non actually knitting, or crocheting here, it'south a completely different method.

This is a very straight forrard design. Concatenation 25, concatenation one extra, skip the last chain in a row, loop into the second loop on the next row, proceed to loop to the end of the row. Repeat.

So what does all that hateful? I will break it downward for you at each footstep, and provide a video that will visually testify you how to complete your finger knit blanket.

Step 1:

Start with a simple slip knot.

Step 2: Chaining the first row of your finger knit blanket.

Chain 25 chains, and add together one extra on the end. Do not plow your work.

If you are unfamiliar with chaining, bank check out the video above, it'due south piece of cake equally pie.

Step 3: Working the rows and edges of your finger knit blanket.

Do not loop into the last chain on each row. You volition skip that loop, and loop into the 2nd concatenation. If you lot're not familiar with crochet, don't worry well-nigh information technology, I barely am and I got through this no problem.

And so to reiterate, chain your first row, chain one extra, skip that one extra and starting time looping into the second row of loops.

When y'all go to the end of the 3rd row, brand sure you selection up that loop we left behind. Come across the photograph below. In one case it is looped, skip looping into it again, and loop into the next i. The video will show you how to exercise this if these instructions are not articulate. They are harder to write and then they are to do!

Continue looping through each row until you have about 10 feet of yarn left.

This method of leaving a loop behind on each row creates a very neat and tidy edge on both sides that lucifer the bottom and the top.

Step 4: casting off & weaving in loose ends.

To cast off, you simply pull together two loops and loop into them and continue that way across the row. Use a pair of scissors and cutting the remaining yarn with the tail of virtually 18 inches and weave that piece and whatever other loose ends into the blanket.

Tricky bits and tips and tricks

Since this was my commencement time attempting finger knitting anything I encountered a few small issues. I call back if you correct for these things earlier you even start your project, you will have an even better time than I did.

Brand Sure Your Workspace Is Big Plenty

Make certain yous have enough space to piece of work with this project, if you are cramped you lot're going to have a hard time. I started on a desk-bound, only the coating bulked up very speedily and I found shifting it back and along twisted my stitches.

My recommendation is to complete this project on a big tabular array, like your dining room table, or a large island. Since the projection works up fairly quickly, yous don't have to worry about moving it to work effectually.

I also found on the dining room table, I was able to keep my finger knit blanket laid out and it fabricated it much easier to go back and forth with my rows. It also fabricated it much easier to come across and right any twisted or dropped stitches. They are not equally piece of cake to meet when the blanket is bunched up.

Sentry for Twisted Stitches

Speaking of twisted stitches, watch for them. You can't go back and fix them unless you unravel all your work, and who wants to practice that? Make sure that the loop are y'all stitching into is in the shape of a U and not an Ten. The video has a expert example of what I mean.

Watch the Size of Your Loops

It's not entirely vital to make sure that your stitches are perfect, only you do want to make sure that you lot pull enough yarn through each stitch, so it doesn't get dropped accidentally because the loops were too small.

This isn't a cheap projection!

So let'southward talk well-nigh the price of this project. For 5 skeins of wool, you're looking at $250 US. It's non cheap.

I've priced these blankets upwards hither in Canada and I can't discover one the same size for less than double that price, then for me, to DIY this project would be well worth it, particularly since the project turned out and so well and is made with wool, and not acrylic yarn.

I am brutally honest with my reviews, and my experiences. You can see the whole arm knitting debacle post and how I wasted $160 CDN for a coating that concluded up being a canis familiaris bed. I was e'er annoyed that my original jumbo coating wasn't at all colossal and pilled like crazy.

I've also spent a good clamper of modify ownership and trying to notice the right wool for this project. Wool that would knit upward dainty and thick, not shed like two labradors in the summertime, or pill like mad.

This is information technology.

This XXL wool and project fulfilled ALL my wants for this blanket. I hateful information technology took me a twelvemonth and a one-half to go here, but I honestly recall if you've tried other methods and other yarn, this might exist the right fit for y'all.

As always I promise to update this mail as time goes on to written report back on how the blanket is holding up.

Materials

5 Skeins of XXXL wool

Instructions

Make a slip knot
Start Row: Concatenation 25 + one actress. Exercise not plow piece of work.
2d Row: Skip the first loop, and pull yarn through the 2nd loop and piece of work across row to the end.
Repeat rows until y'all have at to the lowest degree ten feet of wool leftover.
Cast off.
Weave in ends.

Notes

1. Work on a large surface. Using a modest table or the floor isn't fun or comfortable. A larger piece of work surface makes all the divergence.

2. Take your fourth dimension. The project does come together apace, just if y'all become a flake slower you will catch twisted and dropped stitches before they go an event.

3. Make sure your loops are even, my loops were nigh 3.5 inches, and I tried to continue them uniform throughout the project. This helps to preclude dropped stitches.

iv. The skipped loop on the start of each row creates a cute edging on the coating. This was not in the original instructions with Velky blanket and was part of my addition when I opted to finger knit instead of arm knit this project.

v. To attach ane skein to the next only necktie a tight knot and trim off any ends.