Free Pattern – I’m Still Stranding – Harmony Blanket Square #37

I’m Still Stranding is pattern #37 in the 2018 Harmony Blanket Knit Along. The simple, fair isle leaf design fits any season, depending on the colors you use. A special technique of locking the floats down in every stitch creates a neat back without loopy strands. This pattern uses a chart to show the color changes.

The Harmony Blanket KAL is a knit-along event hosted by the Underground Crafter, Creative Crochet Workshop, and myself. Together with a great team of guest designers, we will be bringing you 48 blanket square patterns throughout the year. Each pattern will have the same, garter stitch border, so that they can easily be combined into a blanket!

Lion Brand has generously provided us with their lovely Vanna’s Choice yarn for free, to use for our designs. It’s a washable, worsted weight acrylic yarn that’s a great choice for blankets. For more information about the event and links to the patterns, be sure to visit the main #HarmonyBlanket post. I hope you’ll join in the fun!

This post contains Sponsored content and affiliate links (click for more info). If you click an affiliate link and then make a purchase, I may be compensated. You get the same great prices, and you will be helping to support this site!

I’m Still Stranding

 
Add this to your Ravelry Queue

Materials:

• Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice Yarn
  • 25 yds #173 Dusty Green (A)
  • 15 yds #158 Mustard (B)
• Size 8 (5mm) knitting needles or size needed to obtain gauge
• Yarn needle

Abbreviations used:

• k = knit
• p = purl
• sl = slip
• st(s) = stitch(es)
• RS = Right Side
• WS = Wrong Side

Recommended Resources:

• The Knitted Cast On by Pattymac Knits
• Fair Isle Locked Down – locking floats in every stitch
• Bind Off Your Knitting by Pattymac Knits

Special Technique – Locking floats in every stitch:

Normally in fair isle colorwork, the unused color is “floated” across the back until it is needed again, and is only locked down if it’s travelling more than 2 or 3 stitches. This creates loose strands at the back.

Because this is a blanket square, those loose strands could get caught on fingers and toes. To avoid this, when working across the colorwork section, lock your floating yarn down in every stitch. 

Whenever you make a stitch, make sure the color you are using is coming from behind the other color. If it is not, twist the unused color up over the top of the color you are using. This will lock it in place within your stitch.

In this example, I am about to work a stitch in yellow, so I am crossing the green yarn over first, to lock it in place.

See my Fair Isle Locked Down photo and video tutorial for a more detailed look at this technique.

Instructions:

(scroll down for chart)

Cast on 25 stitches

Garter stitch bottom border:

Row 1 (RS): K 24, p 1.

Rows 2-4: Sl 1 knitwise, k 23, p 1.

Main section of square 

Rows 5-2: Starting with a RS row, work RS and WS rows as specified, changing colors according to the chart below. Lock your carried yarn down in every stitch across the colorwork portion, for a smoother finish at the back.

RS rows: Sl 1 knitwise, k 23, p 1.

WS rows: Sl 1 knitwise, k 3, p 17, k 3, p 1.

Garter stitch top border:

Rows 1-5: Sl 1 knitwise, k 23, p 1.

Bind off all stitches and weave in ends.

Chart:

Click image to enlarge (opens in new tab or window)

I hope you enjoy the pattern. Thanks to Lion Brand for providing the yarn!

A downloadable pdf of this pattern is also available in my Craftsy store or on Ravelry, for a small fee. The fee for the pdf format is to offset the advertising revenue lost when you print or download the pattern rather than viewing it online.

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