Ten Stitch Rectangle

I regularly get messages from knitters asking me how to use my original Ten Stitch Blanket pattern to knit a rectangular blanket. Often they have tried by knitting a rectangle to start with but then the finished project hasn't turned out to the proportions they'd wanted. So, finally I've got round to writing up instructions on how to do this. It's actually quite simple to explain but, being me, the pattern somehow grew to sixteen pages. Why does that keep happening?

Anyway, as normal, you can download this new pattern for free from my ravelry store. I knitted three different rectangular projects to illustrate this technique, all with different proportions and using different weights of yarn. There's a chunky rug, a long thin table runner in DK weight yarn and a very nearly square placemat in thin 4 ply. That last one took me ages to knit despite being the smallest. Possibly the fact that I was knitting it on 2.25 mm needles had something to do with it!

Over the last year or so I've published two different ten stitch hats and two ten stitch cushions so you think I'd be getting fed up with this particular knitting technique wouldn't you? But no, somebody commented on this blog recently saying that they'd love a ten stitch lace pattern. I'd been thinking the same for a while but kept putting off trying it as I suspected it would be tricky. It was and I'm still not sure about it.

It doesn't help that I'm working outside my comfort zone of bright saturated colours and using lots of pale pastels. The idea is to work each 'round' in a different colour to make a baby blanket. Whether or not it's successful, only time (and a lot more knitting) will tell.