We are all aware of the many ways of knitting blankets. However, not all know how to hand knit a merino wool blanket.
Hand knitting merino wool to make it a blanket only requires your hands, merino wool, and your time and dedication. It’s easy to do, and you only need to follow seven steps.
If that sounds interesting to you, we encourage you to read on!
How Much Wool Is Needed?
There are different sizes of merino wool blankets that require different pounds of yarn. For your reference, lap blankets measure 30in x 50in, which needs four pounds of merino wool.
Meanwhile, baby blankets measure 25in x 30in, hence needing two pounds of merino wool.
A simple computation would help you determine how much wool you’d need. Multiply the blanket’s length with its width (in inches) and then divide it by 380.
What Makes Merino Wool Appealing?
Merino wool comes from Merino sheep, which originated from Spain. It’s relatively cheap and is durable to boot.
Merino wool is also highly absorbent and water-resistant, like other types of wool. However, it feels luxuriously soft, unlike other types of wool, which adds to its appeal.
Step-By-Step Process On How To Hand Knit A Merino Wool Blanket
Step #1. Prepare the materials
The materials would only include your hands and merino wool. Merino wool is the most popular type of yarn used for chunky blankets.
This is because of its softness and flexibility making it ideal for cold nights.
Step#2. Do the first stitch
As aforementioned, merino wool blankets are easy to make. Ready your hands to do the work to get started. Then, lay a workable length of wool, about an arm’s length.
Form a triangle without a base using the wool. Make it into a loop. Then, insert your hand inside the loop.
Grab the working yarn outside the loop, then pull it out. This is your first stitch. The stitch can be smaller or larger, depending on your preference.
Step #3. Stitches chain
After the first stitch, we are going to make a stitches chain. What you need to do is to insert your hand in the first loop. Grab the working yarn and then pull it out.
Repeat this until you make a chain. You can use whichever hand you are comfortable with. However, it would be better to use the hand in the direction of the working yarn.
Step #4. Start on the first row
The next thing you need to do is to make your first row. Also, a tip to not get confused with the amount of yarn you have is to keep the working yarn in the direction of your first row.
Flip the chain before making your first row. This is so you can see the knots in the middle of the stitches chain. You will use these in making your first row.
Go right to the knot of the second stitch and skip the first one. Insert your hand in it and pull the working yarn through. Repeat until you have loops hanging out of your (first) stitch chain.
The first row is about pulling the stitches out. The second row will involve the pattern.
Step #5. Work on your second row
For this one, you do not need to skip on the first stitch for the second row. Grab and pull the working yarn through the loops of the first row. Repeat until you reach the last loop of the row.
Step #6. The next rows
For the next rows, you need to skip the first stitch again. Make sure the stitches are loose to need less wool.
For a lap blanket (30x50in), you have to knit up to 20 to 21 rows to make it 50 inches.
Step #7. Cast-off
For the cast-off, grab the first two stitches and grab the working yarn and pull it through. Repeat until you go through all the stitches.
How to calculate the needed number of stitches for the chain?
Determining the stitches chain is not based on intuition. You need to calculate it.
Here’s how you do it: you divide the length of the blanket you need to make by 2.5. Calculating it will give you the number of stitches you need to do.
If you are making a lap blanket (30×50 inches), you would need 12 stitches because 30 divided by 2.5 is 12.
For the last two stitches, pull the working yarn but not completely. Then, make a loop from the working yarn and grab the remaining working yarn’s tail and pull it through the last stitch.
You can tighten this one. Hide the remaining tail at the back of the stitches.
Conclusion
Merino wool blankets are soft and cozy, hence why we understand the demand for them.
If you are as enticed with them as we are and want to learn how to hand knit a merino wool blanket, look up the steps above to get you started.
It will be enjoyable and rewarding for you. You would also get a soft and cozy blanket afterward. Do we need to say more?