Clouds come in so many different shapes and sizes, especially big stormy ones. The lower middle photo makes me think of a character from Antz the movie!
I’ve spent a lot of time over the last couple of months trying to photograph them whilst trying not to get soaked by them 😬. The one by Exeter Quay was a particularly good one to take a photo of from afar.
I have very mixed feelings about this square. The pattern is consistent with the lower clouds pattern, just taller and only 2 vertical repeats. In terms of the self-consistency of the blanket and ease of knitting, I like it, but it doesn’t begin to represent the interesting cloud shapes I’ve seen and photographed. So... ...I don’t know, but I will go with it for now.
***NOTE: Pattern changed on 08/03/2024 to match the book***.
The clouds have been moved up by two rows in the new version below, to add some buffer rows at the base of the design. This makes a neater transition between squares when making a blanket in one piece rather than in individual squares. To revert to the previous version, you should skip rows 1-2 in the new version below, and work them as rows 47-48 instead.
I made the patterns in a spreadsheet before knitting up a test swatch. The bottom left photo in the collage above shows the trial patterns I went through before deciding which I liked.
General principles for square patterns:
Repeat pattern horizontally and vertically & simple to knit pattern.
36 stitches x 48 rows for main pattern as these are very divisible numbers.
An 'x' means purl on a knit row, and knit on a purl row to create the texture.
This lower chart is the format I found to be most useful to me:
White = knit row (right side), grey = purl row (wrong side).
An 'x' = purl on a knit row, and knit on a purl row
The numbers are just a handy guide to the number of stitches in each knit or purl block.
Written pattern:
See blanket pattern for required needles & yarn.
(k = knit, p=purl)
Cast on 36 stitches
Rows 1 and 2: St stitch two rows.
Row 3: K7, p22, k7.
Row 4: P5, k26, p5.
Row 5: K4, p28, k4.
Row 6: P4, k28, p4.
Row 7: K3, p30, k3.
Row 8: P3, k30, p3.
Row 9: K2, p32, k2.
Row 10: P2, k32, p2.
Rows 11 and 12: Rep Rows 9 and 10.
Row 13: K2, p32, k2.
Row 14: P3, k30, p3.
Row 15: K3, p30, k3.
Row 16: P4, k28, p4.
Row 17: K5, p5, k2, p12, k2, p5, k5.
Row 18: P13, k10, p13.
Row 19: K13, p10, k13.
Row 20: P15, k6, p15.
Rows 21 to 26: St stitch six rows.
Row 27: P11, k14, p11.
Row 28: K13, p10, k13.
Row 29: P14, k8, p14.
Row 30: K14, p8, k14.
Row 31: P15, k6, p15.
Row 32: K15, p6, k15.
Row 33: P16, k4, p16.
Row 34: K16, p4, k16.
Row 35 and 36: Rep Rows 33 and 34.
Row 37: P16, k4, p16.
Row 38: K15, p6, k15.
Row 39: P15, k6, p15.
Row 40: K14, p8, k14.
Row 41: P6, k2, p5, k10, p5, k2, p6.
Row 42: K5, p26, k5.
Row 43: P5, k26, p5.
Row 44: K3, p30, k3.
Rows 45 to 48: St stitch four rows.
Cast off
I have made these patterns available for free but they are ©Blanketscapes, the patterns are not to be copied or resold. I'm happy for you to make and sell finished blankets using these patterns for charitable, non-commercial, purposes only. Please credit @blanketscapes on Instagram or Facebook for your final creations, I'd love to see what you make.
