Oak Forest blanket
Scroll down for the blanket construction instructions - the square patterns can be found in the book "The Art of Landscape Knitting"
Back in November 2023 we tried out the rural Devon bus service, catching the bus up to Haldon Forest. I thought the forest was just a coniferous plantation, but was surprised to find some deciduous areas too. I was inspired by this area of fallen oak leaves to embark on an Oak Leaf blanket with a Scheepjes Whirl called Pistachi Oh So Nice. The blanket was a trial of repeating the leaf patterns to see how it came out.
It was a bit of an adventure as the bus driver didn’t seem to recognise my description of the place we wanted to get off. So we just rang the bell and he stopped to let us off, no marked bus stops or anything. Catching the last bus back was nerve wracking as we just stood on the other side of the road hoping it would pick us up!
It wasn't until March 2024 that I managed to take some photos of the resulting blanket. February was really wet and it felt like we hadn't had any sun all month! Finally, we got some weekend sun, so we got out in Ashton Court estate in Bristol.
Taking a photo of the blanket with the Green Man head in Ashton Court seemed appropriate on a sunny March day, It symbolises rebirth - with spring growth starting to appear all around. He also has some oak leaves to continue the theme of the blanket.
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As I was knitting it, I thought it would make a nice shawl pattern … so I am now experimenting using the patterns in a triangular format as well.
Instructions:
This blanket is knitted in one piece rather than in separate squares as the other blankets, this blanket has 6 horizontal repeats of the square patterns.
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Size: ~80 x 80cm.
Needles: 3mm 80cm circular needle
Yarn: Scheepjes Whirl 4-ply, 220g balls
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1 ball of Pistachi Oh So Nice
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Method
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Cast on 226 sts and work 8 rows of garter st.
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Knit 5 sts, place marker, work pattern Row 1 of Oak Tree Trunks six times, placing a marker at the end of each repeat, knit 5 sts.
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Continue the above pattern to work the remaining rows of the Oak Tree Trunk pattern, slipping the markers as you go.
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Work the remaining square repeats in the same way, following the patterns shown in the table. Note that you will need to use the alternative instructions to join the medium & small oak leaf squares to ensure the patterns match at the change of square pattern.
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Work Row 1 of Small Oak Leaves once more, then work 7 rows of garter st.
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Cast off
The square patterns for this blanket can be found in the book "The Art of Landscape Knitting" available via bookmarkedhub or any good book store.
Please tag @blanketscapes on Instagram or Facebook for your final creations, I'd love to see what you make.
Happy knitting!