Woodland Storey Blanket Knit Along - Sara's Hints and Tips
There’s lots to take in with the Woodland Storey blanket, particularly if some of the techniques are new to you, but please don’t be daunted! Take it one section at a time and, most importantly, enjoy your knitting.
Before You Cast On
My first tip is a simple one - read the introduction booklet! There’s lots of really useful information in there and it’s well worth having a good read before you pick up your needles.
Then have a read through the pattern. Depending on which method you’ve chosen, you may want to cross out the instructions you don’t need. For example, if you’re knitting the blanket flat, cross out the sections that only apply to knitting in the round. It makes everything much easier to follow.
I also labelled my colours before I started. I promise you, it makes life so much easier once you get into the colourwork!
Check Your Tension
Yes, I know I always say it - but please check your tension before you begin. If you’ve bought a yarn pack from us to make your blanket, there is enough yarn in the pack to complete it at the tension specified in the pattern. Your tension will also affect the finished size, look and drape of your blanket.
Casting On & Stitch Count
I used a cable cast-on. It gives a lovely firm edge and it is my neatest cast-on. I’d also recommend placing a stitch marker every 50 stitches as you cast on. If you lose count, you only have 50 stitches to check!
The pattern repeat is 36 stitches, so once you start knitting you might like to place a stitch marker at the beginning of every repeat. This is a great way of keeping track and spotting any mistakes quickly.
If You’re Knitting in the Round
If you’ve chosen to knit your Woodland Story in the round, I use this VeryPink Knits technique for joining knitting in the round. If your first round or two feels tight this is quite normal and things should settle down as you get going.
If you’re wondering how to manage your two colours, you can also watch our YouTube video where I demonstrate how I knit two-handed Fair Isle.
Following the Charts
All of the patterns are charted and you start in the bottom right-hand corner. If you’re knitting in the round, read every row of the chart from right to left. If you’re knitting the blanket flat, read the odd-numbered rows from right to left and the even-numbered rows from left to right. If you really don’t like charts then you can write out the 36 stitch charts and knit from this, but honestly the charts soon begin to make sense.
We filmed a video for a previous Knit Along explaining how to follow a knitting chart, which you might find helpful.
I also strongly recommend marking where you are on your chart. You can use a highlighter pen, washi tape or a chart keeper. I use washi tape and also cross out each row once I’ve completed it.
Working Fair Isle
When carrying the colour that isn’t in use across the back of your blanket, remember to catch your floats every 3-5 stitches.
If you’re knitting your blanket flat and would like some help with working Fair Isle on a purl row, have a read of this excellent Fair Isle knitting guide from Simply Yarn. They’ve got everything covered.
The Bobbles
The first bobble row will take you a while - or at least it did for me! It does get quicker I promise. Once you get into a rhythm, you’ll find them much easier and they add such lovely texture to the finished blanket.
We have a YouTube video for a no turn bobble from a previous Knit Along that we did, A Day Out by Sarah Hatton. This is a great video tutorial by Lynne Rowe that gives you an alternative way to knit a bobble.
Understanding the Steek
If you’re knitting in the round, the first three stitches of the round and the final four stitches are your steek stitches. Put a stitch marker on either side of these stitches so you can clearly see where your steek begins and ends. Knit the steek stitches in the main colour of the round.
Hints & Tips from Rosie our Test Knitter
We love Rosie, our test knitter. Her knitting & attention to detail is second to none. Here are her hints and tips from last year's blanket, which was knitted using the same techniques as the Woodland Storey.
1. Where possible, I used two yarns across the steek, catching the secondary yarn every other stitch. When the yarn colour changed, I ended the yarn I no longer needed in the centre of the steek, leaving a short tail of around 2 inches, and joined the new colour in the same way with another short tail. These can all be sewn in later.
2. I chose to knit my side edging before cutting the steek.
3. I picked up the stitches through both legs of the steek stitches next to the first or last stitches of the pattern. This leaves 1½ stitches – or three stitch legs – available for the crochet reinforcement.
4. Getting those picked-up stitches evenly spaced along the side can be a little tricky. I divided the total number of stitches required by the total number of rows to work out how frequently I needed to skip a row when picking up.I then divided the whole side into quarters using stitch markers and checked my stitch count every time I reached a marker.
I’m an engineer, so this is possibly a slightly nerdy way of doing it – but it works!
There are lots of different techniques in Woodland Storey, but that’s part of the fun of a Knit Along like this. You don’t need to master everything before you begin. Most Importantly - Enjoy It!
Take your time, keep track of your charts, use plenty of stitch markers and don't worry if some sections take a little longer than others.
We’ll be knitting along with you and sharing plenty of help and advice as we go.
Happy knitting!
Sara xx
