Siesta Key Beach Baby Blanket Knitting Pattern

Siesta Key Beach Baby Blanket

Quarantine crafting meant I had the time to create the Siesta Key Beach Baby Blanket knitting pattern

I have always wished for more time to knit and create.  Well I guess I should have been more careful what I wish for.  The pandemic is keeping me home much more than I want to be.  I hope that a year from now I can look at this post and say phew – that was a tough time but we are done.

But for now I’d like to talk about the blanket that I just finished and the little hat that I am making to go along with it.

I’m calling the blanket The Siesta Key Beach Baby Blanket because the colors remind me of the beautiful sand and sea there.   We call it paradise!  Right now I am up north and it’s dreary and raining.  I’d love to be down by the beach but the traveling part of that equation doesn’t work right now.

This blanket pattern is available in a spiffy pdf on ravelry but if you read on I will talk about the basics of how I made it and that should be enough for you to knit this baby blanket without the pattern.

In this post you will learn how I knit this blanket and also find a little hat pattern to go with it.  In this article you will also find a little gift from me to you.

The yarn I used is Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn in ivory and aqua.  It’s a worsted weight yarn, quite inexpensive and is my absolute favorite yarn for knitting baby blankets and hats.  It’s soft, has good stitch definition and washes like a dream.  I use Knitpicks interchangeable needles.  For this blanket I used a size 8 needle with a 24″ cord.

I wasn’t sure what direction I was heading in when I started this blanket.  I knit 12 rows and then began stockinette for 20 rows.  I knit 6 rows and then thought about a textured stitch for the next section.  I thought this stitch that I call the “Puffy Pockets” stitch was just right to simulate the aqua calm waters of the Gulf.

I’m going to let you in on a secret.  Since I enjoy writing and you are taking the time to read this, here is the puffy pockets stitch, written out.  It is the stitch for the Puffy Pockets Baby Blanket, which is for sale on Ravelry.  But in the spirit of how we are all in this together, here is the stitch:

I ended up knitting 3 sections of stockinette in cream and 2 sections in aqua.  I separated the sections with 6 rows of garter stitch.  It’s stroller sized, about 22 x 28.  Recently I have been making my borders 10 inches wide.  I love the look of the wide border, do you?

I also wanted to share with you my daughter’s favorite shower gift that she has used more than any other baby item:

Thanks to the Dock-A-Tot the baby was able to sleep which meant SHE was able to sleep.

That was a little bit of a chore weaving in the ends, but really not too bad.

Here it is!  I haven’t washed it yet.  But when the time comes, I’ll take a cap of Eucalan and mix it with a sink full of warm water and soak it for about a half hour.  Then I take a big beach towel, wrap the blanket up in it, and throw them both in the dryer with some other towels.  Because I am using acrylic yarn this method works great!  I know from experience that moms and dads love the convenience of throwing their blankets in the washer and dryer and still have them come out nice and soft and the same size they were knit in.

Now it’s time for the hat!

A newborn hat is usually 12″ in diameter and about 5″ long.   I cast on 48 stitches and I’m using a 9″ size 4 needle.  I am knitting loosely and it’s about 4 stitches to the inch.

I knit for 4 rows and then joined.

Knit 6 rows aqua in the round

Change to ivory, knit 2 in the round.

Change to aqua, knit 2 rows in the round

Change to ivory, knit 2 rows in the round

Here is the hat, about halfway done:

Change to Aqua, Knit 2 rows

Next Row: Knit 3 Aqua, knit 1 Ivory

Next Row: Knit Aqua

Next Row: knit 1 Aqua, knit 1 Ivory, knit 3 Aqua, knit 1 Ivory

Next Row: Knit Aqua

Next Row:Knit 3 Aqua, knit 1 Ivory

Next Row: Knit Aqua

Next:
Knit 2, k2tog
Knit
Knit 1, k2tog
Knit
K2tog
Knit
K2tog
Knit

Break yarn, thread through remaining stitches.  Pull tight and weave in all ends.

Then I gave the blanket and hat a eucalan bath together, wrapped them up in a beach towel and threw them all in the dryer.  They turned out so soft and cuddly!

Here is the blanket and hat in action.  Cuddly, cute and warm, the blanket and hat have done their job!

I hope you might spend your quarantine crafting time by learning how to make this blanket and hat.  Because you have stuck with me right to the end, I would like to offer you this pattern for free.  Simply head to Ravelry to the Siesta Key Beach Baby Blanket pattern and click buy.  Use the coupon code knitthistogether and you can have the pattern for free.  As I said before, we are all in this together, especially us knitters!

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