Weston-super-Mare
Whirl Beach Blanketscape
Scroll down for the instructions - click on a post at the bottom of the page for square patterns
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***NOTE: This page is an old version of the blanket pattern - also Many Footprints, Lower Stormy Clouds and Upper Stormy Clouds square patterns were updated on 08/03/2024 to match the version in the book - the changes that have been made are detailed in the square pattern pages***
Unlike the other blankets, this blanket starts with the wool, and the place follows…
Back in July 2021, one of my work friends was talking to their neighbour, who turned out to be Dedri Uys! She very kindly gave me a ball of Scheepjes Whirl in very suitable colours for my blanket project. It is called Mid-Morning Mocha’roo.
I decided to try knitting up a blanket in one piece and leave it to luck where the colour transitions fall on the square patterns, I thought it would be fun to see how it turns out.
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Having knitted up a test swatch to calculate how big to make it, I decided there was only one beach that can match these muddy brown colours - the lovely Weston Super-Mare!
Ah Weston-Super-Mare, a place I have a great fondness for… I lived in Bristol for a while, so had many happy days spent on this beach. I’ve also done the Christmas Cracker 10k a few times, it can be pretty bleak, but I love it nonetheless.
I drove up to my folks for Christmas and stopped off for a photo opportunity on the way.
It was suitably brown and bleak - perfect for the next blanket!
Instructions:
This blanket is knitted in one piece rather than in separate squares as the other blankets. The finished blanket is about 84 x 70 cm.
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After making and weighing a test square, I decided to go for a width of 5 squares and 6 rows of textured square patterns. Click the links at the end of the page for the charts for each square pattern.
Yarn: Scheepjes Whirl, Mid-Morning Mocha’roo.
Needles: 3 mm.
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Note: for rows 9-296, you knit 5 stitches at the start of each row in garter stitch for the left border, then work each chart pattern row (36 sts) 5 times across the next 180 stitches, then knit the last 5 stitches in garter stitch for the right border (and do not cast off at the end of each square pattern chart!). The instructions below guide how to place stitch markers to mark the start and finish of the borders & each 36 stitch chart pattern row.
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Cast on 190 stitches (5 x 36 pattern stitches and 2 x 5 border stitches).
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Rows 1-8: Work 8 rows in garter stitch for the lower border.
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Row 9: Following the note above, place the stitch markers as follows:
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Knit 5 stitches, place stitch marker.
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Work the 36 stitches of chart row 1 of the "Many Footprints" chart, place stitch marker.
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Repeat chart row 1 of the "Many Footprints" chart 4 more times, placing a marker at the start and finish of each 36 stitch repeat.
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Knit last 5 stitches.
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Rows 10-57: Following the sequence set in row 9 above, work the remaining chart rows 2-49 of the "Many Footprints" chart, slipping the stitch markers as you come to them.
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Rows 58-104: Following the sequence set in row 9 above, work the chart pattern for "Few Footprints", from chart row 2 to chart row 48.
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Rows 105-152: Following the sequence set in row 9 above, work the chart pattern for "Large Breaking Waves" from chart row 1 to chart row 48.
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Rows 153-198: Following the sequence set in row 9 above, work the chart pattern for "Rain" from chart row 1 to chart row 46.
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Row 199: Knit
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Row 200: k5, p180, k5 (without these two rows the lower cloud pattern does not show well).
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Rows 201-248: Following the sequence set in row 9 above, work the chart pattern for "Lower Stormy Clouds".
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Rows 249-296: Following the sequence set in row 9 above, work the chart pattern for "Upper Stormy Clouds".
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Rows 297-304: Work 8 rows in garter stitch for the top border.
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Cast off
We took the finished Weston-super-Mare beach blanketscape to the place itself - the weather was fairly kind to us, though we had to take shelter to eat our fish and chips to avoid eating a large amount of sand too!
As always thanks to Emilie for the company and the photography skills - the last photo is a lovely one of hers!
I have made the patterns available for free but they are © Blanketscapes, the patterns are not to be copied or resold. I'm happy for you to make and sell finished blankets using these patterns for charitable, non-commercial, purposes only. Please credit @blanketscapes on Instagram or Facebook for your final creations, I'd love to see what you make. If you enjoy making the free patterns, please consider buying the book to support the creative industry!
Happy knitting!
