A step-by-step guide to knitting the Milo Blanket
Ever gotten halfway through a project and thought “Hang on, am I even doing this right?” We have 🙋♀️
That’s why we’ve created these step-by-step guides to walk you through the knitting process.
Even if you've never knitted before, we'll take you from zero to knitting hero in no time 🦸♀️
When it comes to knitting, practice makes perfect
Before we get started on the pattern we suggest you spend a bit of time learning the basic stitches you’ll need to complete your blanket.
The Milo Blanket is the perfect beginner project because it's made up of three of the most common stitch styles; garter stitch, stockinette stitch and seed stitch, and all of them are made using a combination of knit and purl stitches.
You'll want to be confident with the knit and purl stitches before you start 🧶 You'll also want to get a hang of tying a slip knot and casting on your stitches (AKA getting your stitches onto your needles) which is the first step in any knitting project, as well as casting off and changing colours.
You can use the yarn that came in your kit to practice with. Once you've got these mastered you'll find the pattern a cinch!
Total beginner? 👩🏫
For a more comprehensive lesson on the basics of knitting visit our Learn How To Knit page.
Onto the blanket!
💪 Remember learning a new skill can be a little challenging at first, and you’re bound to find yourself making some mistakes along the way. But as with learning anything, your brain and your hands slowly start to get the hang of it, muscle memory is created, and soon the thing you found tricky/daunting/scary is like second nature!
⚡️What you'll need
Your kit comes with everything you'll need to make your masterpiece. In your kit you'll find;
- 15mm needles
- 9 balls of Cardigang Chunky Merino Wool
- A darning needle
- Made by me tag
You also want to have a pair of scissors and a tape measure handy.
⚡️Test your tension
Before you start your project, make sure your tension (how tightly or loosely your knitting is) is juuuust right 🥣 We do this by knitting a “tension swatch”. It's a bit like goldilocks, if the tension is too tight, your piece will be too small, and if it's too loose it may not hold its shape and might be too big.
Gauge: If done correctly, your 10x10cm knitted swatch should be 7 stitches wide and 9 rows high when knitted in stockinette stitch on your 15mm needles.
To test this, jump on your needles - use the yarn and needles that came in your kit. Cast on around 12-15 stitches, then knit in stockinette stitch (knit all stitches in your first row, purl all stitches in the next - repeat) for around 10-14 rows. Then measure a 10x10cm square and count your stitches and rows within that space to make sure you're knitting at the correct tension.
If you've got more stitches or rows than the instructions say you should have, your knitting is a little too tight, and if you've got less your knitting is too loose. Adjust your tension by holding the yarn a little more tightly/loosely as you knit.
💡 We know knitting a tension swatch can seem like a bit of a drain, but it's really important because the difference of a few millimetres in your tension can lead to a finished piece this is quite different in size to what you intended.
🧶 Let's knit up a storm!
Time to get click-clacking and whip up your cosy blanket.
We make our blanket in three long strips which we'll sew together at the end. Within each strip, we'll make 3 40cmx40cm squares, each in a different stitch style.
Piece 1
Using your first colour, cast on 30 stitches. Your stitches will run onto the plastic tubing that connects your needles - that helps you squeeze the stitches on!
💭 Casting on, like many things in knitting, can be done in a number of ways so if you don't like the technique we suggested, you can pick any that’s right for you.
Garter Stitch
You're going to knit your first square in garter stitch. This is the simplest stitch! It's created by knitting every stitch in every row - super simple hey?! 😎
Knit your rows until your piece measures 40cm.
🌈 Before you knit the next row, you're going to change to colour 2. The simplest way to change colour is to tie a knot with the next colour around the yarn attached to your last stitch. Slide the knot up to the stitch and then knit with the new colour.
Seed stitch
Time to change our stitch. We're going to dive into a seed stitch.
Seed Stitch is made by alternating knit stitches and purl stitches within a row and between rows. It is called seed stitch because the stitches create little bumps that may look like seeds. Seed stitch is identical on both sides and lies flat.
Complete approximately 38 rows of seed stitch until this section reaches 40cm.
🌈 Change to colour 3 and then you're going to finish with the third stitch in this three-stitch-wonder-blanket!
Stockinette stitch
Stockinette Stitch (or stocking stitch) is a basic stitch that most knitting patterns often don't explain! You create stockinette stitch by knitting one row and purling the next. It's the only stitch in this blanket that's not reversible. The right side of stockinette stitch is the side where the little Vs are facing you.
Complete approximately 36 rows of stockinette stitch.
🕺 Time to cast off your stitches. When you cast off the second last stitch you'll be left with one stitch on your right needle. Cut your yarn from the ball (give yourself about a 25cm tail) and thread the tail back through the last stitch to secure it.
Your finished piece will measure 120cm high by 40cm wide. One down, 2 to go! 🔥
Piece 2 & 3
You'll make up pieces 2 and 3 following the instructions in your pattern 🚀 We alternate the stitch type and colour to keep the blanket interesting.
Sewing it together
🪡 Grab your darning needle, we're going to sew this baby together!
You'll be sewing your pieces together from the bottom to the top. Try to use a colour that appears in one of the squares that you're sewing together and we recommend you work with a length long enough to sew one square length at a time. Any longer and your yarn will get a bit ratty and might split.
You're sewing two different stitches together at the sides so you'll want to follow the technique shown in this video 💪
FINISHING
We're so close to being done! The final thing we need to do is weave in the ends. Using your darning needle weave any loose ends into the blanket.
D.O.N.E! You've finished your blanket, well done! Epic work 🤩 If this was your first-ever knitting project or one of many, we hope you had a blast click-clacking and making your bangin' blanket 💥❤️
In a bind and need a little more help?
Email us at stitchup@cardigang.com.au and we'll be able to help! Whether you're just starting out, or you've got a specific question or problem (dropped a stitch, no stress!), we're here to get you out of a bind.