The Guardian Angel Blanket was designed on the request of a wonderful lady who is committed to the Des Moines Refugee Support. It’s amazing what they do to help refugee families, especially children, to feel welcome and establish a new life in America. If you are interested in their work, please feel free to visit their facebook page or website.
This blanket shall protect all infants who need a special guardian angel, such as premature born babies or stillborn babies. So I sincerely hope that many many people will knit it and give it to families that may need a little bit of luck and an extra angel in their life… The blanket is a bit smaller than the other blankets that are available in my shop, so they are perfect for preemies, newborns or stillborns. Of course you could always enlarge the border and make a bigger blanket for normal born babies or older children.
In this blog you will find the general instructions, including the details row by row. If you prefer working with a chart, you can download the pattern including a knitting chart here: Download Guardian Angel Blanket
If you have any questions or are unsure how to do something, I will be happy to help! Please send me a message to my profile „a-mano“ on Crazypatterns, or leave a comment below this blog entry.
Thank you that you are willing to knit this special blanket !
Material:
- Wollbutt Venia (running length 318 m / 100 gr) about 2 skeins à 100 gr in yellow; alternatively you can use any yarn which is suitable for babies; size of the finished blanket may be different then
- 4 mm (US 6) circular needles, minimum 60 cm
- Tapestry needle
- Scissors
Required skills and abbreviations:
cast on
cast off
knit = k
purl = p
selvedge stitch = S
moss stitch double in height = md
Example for the notation in this pattern:
R 1: S, 14 md; 80 p; 14 md, S (= row 1: selvedge stitch, 14 stitches in moss stitch double in height, 80 purl, 14 stitches in moss stitch double in height, selvedge stitch)
Gauge:
Stockinette stitch: 22 stitches x 34 rows = 10 x 10 cm (4“ x 4“)
With this gauge, size of the finished blanket will be approx. 50 x 75 cm.
Explanation for the motif:
The motif appears by alternating between stockinette stitch (front row all knit, back row all purl) and garter stitch (front and back row all knit).
In this pattern, the motif is created in the odd rows (on the back side), there you will knit for the motif and border, and purl for the background. In the even rows (on the front side), all stitches are knit.
If you prefer working with a chart, you will find the knitting chart in the download file, see link above.
For the border of the blanket I used the moss stitch, but double in height, as shown below. For my blanket I worked the border approx. 7 cm each in width and height. If you want to vary the size of the blanket, you can work with more / less stitches and rows accordingly.
Explanation for the selvedge stitch:
Do a selvedge stitch (= S) from row 1 as follows:
Last stitch on the needle: slip purlwise, yarn forward:
Turn. Knit selvedge stitch rather loosely. After some rows, the edge should look like this:
Explanation moss stitch double in height:
Row 1 (= back side):
S (= k), *1 k, 1 p*, repeat from * to * until you have only 1 stitch left on the needle; end with S
Row 2 (= front side):
S (= k), work all stitches as they appear (knit above knit, purl above purl), end with S.
Row 3 (= back side):
S (= k), *1 p, 1 k*, repeat from * to * until you have only 1 stitch left on the needle; end with S
Row 4 (= front side):
S (= k), work all stitches as they appear (knit above knit, purl above purl), end with S.
Repeat rows 1-4.
Let’s start
Cast on 110 stitches.
Work 24 rows moss stitch double in height (about 7 cm in height), i.e. work 6x rows 1-4.
Now the part with the motif starts. Continue the moss stitch double in height over the first and the last 15 stitches (each including 1 S).
The 80 stitches in between will from here on be worked in stockinette stitch for the background respectively in garter stitch for the motif
R 1: S, 14 md; 80 p; 14 md, S
R 2: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 3: S, 14 md; 80 p; 14 md, S
R 4: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 5: S, 14 md; 80 p; 14 md, S
R 6: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 7: S, 14 md; 80 p; 14 md, S
R 8: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 9: S, 14 md; 17 p, 46 k, 17 p; 14 md, S
R 10: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 11: S, 14 md; 17 p, 46 k, 17 p; 14 md, S
R 12: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 13: S, 14 md; 17 p, 46 k, 17 p; 14 md, S
R 14: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 15: S, 14 md; 18 p, 44 k, 18 p; 14 md, S
R 16: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 17: S, 14 md; 18 p, 44 k, 18 p; 14 md, S
R 18: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 19: S, 14 md; 19 p, 42 k, 19 p; 14 md, S
R 20: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 21: S, 14 md; 19 p, 42 k, 19 p; 14 md, S
R 22: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 23: S, 14 md; 20 p, 40 k, 20 p; 14 md, S
R 24: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 25: S, 14 md; 20 p, 40 k, 20 p; 14 md, S
R 26: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 27: S, 14 md; 21 p, 38 k, 21 p; 14 md, S
R 28: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 29: S, 14 md; 21 p, 38 k, 21 p; 14 md, S
R 30: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 31: S, 14 md; 22 p, 36 k, 22 p; 14 md, S
R 32: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 33: S, 14 md; 22 p, 36 k, 22 p; 14 md, S
R 34: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 35: S, 14 md; 23 p, 34 k, 23 p; 14 md, S
R 36: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 37: S, 14 md; 23 p, 34 k, 23 p; 14 md, S
R 38: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 39: S, 14 md; 24 p, 32 k, 24 p; 14 md, S
R 40: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 41: S, 14 md; 24 p, 32 k, 24 p; 14 md, S
R 42: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 43: S, 14 md; 25 p, 30 k, 25 p; 14 md, S
R 44: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 45: S, 14 md; 25 p, 30 k, 25 p; 14 md, S
R 46: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 47: S, 14 md; 26 p, 28 k, 26 p; 14 md, S
R 48: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 49: S, 14 md; 26 p, 28 k, 26 p; 14 md, S
R 50: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 51: S, 14 md; 27 p, 26 k, 27 p; 14 md, S
R 52: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 53: S, 14 md; 27 p, 26 k, 27 p; 14 md, S
R 54: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 55: S, 14 md; 28 p, 24 k, 28 p; 14 md, S
R 56: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 57: S, 14 md; 28 p, 24 k, 28 p; 14 md, S
R 58: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 59: S, 14 md; 29 p, 22 k, 29 p; 14 md, S
R 60: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 61: S, 14 md; 29 p, 22 k, 29 p; 14 md, S
R 62: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 63: S, 14 md; 30 p, 20 k, 30 p; 14 md, S
R 64: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 65: S, 14 md; 30 p, 20 k, 30 p; 14 md, S
R 66: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 67: S, 14 md; 31 p, 8 k, 2 p, 8 k, 31 p; 14 md, S
R 68: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 69: S, 14 md; 31 p, 7 k, 4 p, 7 k, 31 p; 14 md, S
R 70: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 71: S, 14 md; 27 p, 10 k, 2 p, 2 k, 2 p, 10 k, 27 p; 14 md, S
R 72: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 73: S, 14 md; 25 p, 11 k, 2 p, 4 k, 2 p, 11 k, 25 p; 14 md, S
R 74: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 75: S, 14 md; 22 p, 13 k, 2 p, 6 k, 2 p, 13 k, 22 p; 14 md, S
R 76: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 77: S, 14 md; 20 p, 14 k, 2 p, 8 k, 2 p, 14 k, 20 p; 14 md, S
R 78: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 79: S, 14 md; 19 p, 14 k, 2 p, 10 k, 2 p, 14 k, 19 p; 14 md, S
R 80: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 81: S, 14 md; 19 p, 13 k, 2 p, 12 k, 2 p, 13 k, 19 p; 14 md, S
R 82: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 83: S, 14 md; 19 p, 13 k, 2 p, 5 k, 2 p, 5 k, 2 p, 13 k, 19 p; 14 md, S
R 84: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 85: S, 14 md; 20 p, 12 k, 2 p, 4 k, 4 p, 4 k, 2 p, 12 k, 20 p; 14 md, S
R 86: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 87: S, 14 md; 18 p, 15 k, 2 p, 2 k, 2 p, 2 k, 2 p, 2 k, 2 p, 15 k, 18 p; 14 md, S
R 88: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 89: S, 14 md; 16 p, 18 k, 4 p, 4 k, 4 p, 18 k, 16 p; 14 md, S
R 90: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 91: S, 14 md; 15 p, 50 k, 15 p; 14 md, S
R 92: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 93: S, 14 md; 15 p, 50 k, 15 p; 14 md, S
R 94: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 95: S, 14 md; 15 p, 50 k, 15 p; 14 md, S
R 96: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 97: S, 14 md; 16 p, 48 k, 16 p; 14 md, S
R 98: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 99: S, 14 md; 15 p, 50 k, 15 p; 14 md, S
R 100: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 101: S, 14 md; 13 p, 20 k, 4 p, 6 k, 4 p, 20 k, 13 p; 14 md, S
R 102: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 103: S, 14 md; 12 p, 19 k, 6 p, 6 k, 6 p, 19 k, 12 p; 14 md, S
R 104: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 105: S, 14 md; 12 p, 16 k, 7 p, 10 k, 7 p, 16 k, 12 p; 14 md, S
R 106: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 107: S, 14 md; 12 p, 13 k, 9 p, 12 k, 9 p, 13 k, 12 p; 14 md, S
R 108: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 109: S, 14 md; 12 p, 10 k, 11 p, 14 k, 11 p, 10 k, 12 p; 14 md, S
R 110: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 111: S, 14 md; 13 p, 6 k, 13 p, 16 k, 13 p, 6 k, 13 p; 14 md, S
R 112: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 113: S, 14 md; 32 p, 16 k, 32 p; 14 md, S
R 114: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 115: S, 14 md; 32 p, 16 k, 32 p; 14 md, S
R 116: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 117: S, 14 md; 32 p, 16 k, 32 p; 14 md, S
R 118: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 119: S, 14 md; 32 p, 16 k, 32 p; 14 md, S
R 120: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 121: S, 14 md; 32 p, 16 k, 32 p; 14 md, S
R 122: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 123: S, 14 md; 33 p, 14 k, 33 p; 14 md, S
R 124: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 125: S, 14 md; 34 p, 12 k, 34 p; 14 md, S
R 126: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 127: S, 14 md; 36 p, 8 k, 36 p; 14 md, S
R 128: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 129: S, 14 md; 80 p; 14 md, S
R 130: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 131: S, 14 md; 80 p; 14 md, S
R 132: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 133: S, 14 md; 80 p; 14 md, S
R 134: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 135: S, 14 md; 80 p; 14 md, S
R 136: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 137: S, 14 md; 6 p, 2 k, 7 p, 2 k, 46 p, 2 k, 7 p, 2 k, 6 p; 14 md, S
R 138: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 139: S, 14 md; 6 p, 4 k, 3 p, 4 k, 46 p, 4 k, 3 p, 4 k, 6 p; 14 md, S
R 140: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 141: S, 14 md; 7 p, 4 k, 1 p, 4 k, 48 p, 4 k, 1 p, 4 k, 7 p; 14 md, S
R 142: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 143: S, 14 md; 7 p, 9 k, 48 p, 9 k, 7 p; 14 md, S
R 144: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 145: S, 14 md; 8 p, 7 k, 50 p, 7 k, 8 p; 14 md, S
R 146: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 147: S, 14 md; 7 p, 9 k, 48 p, 9 k, 7 p; 14 md, S
R 148: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 149: S, 14 md; 5 p, 13 k, 44 p, 13 k, 5 p; 14 md, S
R 150: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 151: S, 14 md; 4 p, 15 k, 42 p, 15 k, 4 p; 14 md, S
R 152: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 153: S, 14 md; 9 p, 5 k, 52 p, 5 k, 9 p; 14 md, S
R 154: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 155: S, 14 md; 10 p, 3 k, 21 p, 2 k, 7 p, 2 k, 22 p, 3 k, 10 p; 14 md, S
R 156: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 157: S, 14 md; 10 p, 3 k, 21 p, 4 k, 3 p, 4 k, 22 p, 3 k, 10 p; 14 md, S
R 158: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 159: S, 14 md; 11 p, 1 k, 23 p, 4 k, 1 p, 4 k, 24 p, 1 k, 11 p; 14 md, S
R 160: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 161: S, 14 md; 11 p, 1 k, 23 p, 9 k, 24 p, 1 k, 11 p; 14 md, S
R 162: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 163: S, 14 md; 36 p, 7 k, 37 p; 14 md, S
R 164: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 165: S, 14 md; 35 p, 9 k, 36 p; 14 md, S
R 166: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 167: S, 14 md; 33 p, 13 k, 34 p; 14 md, S
R 168: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 169: S, 14 md; 32 p, 15 k, 33 p; 14 md, S
R 170: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 171: S, 14 md; 37 p, 5 k, 38 p; 14 md, S
R 172: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 173: S, 14 md; 38 p, 3 k, 39 p; 14 md, S
R 174: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 175: S, 14 md; 38 p, 3 k, 39 p; 14 md, S
R 176: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 177: S, 14 md; 39 p, 1 k, 40 p; 14 md, S
R 178: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 179: S, 14 md; 39 p, 1 k, 40 p; 14 md, S
R 180: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 181: S, 14 md; 80 p; 14 md, S
R 182: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 183: S, 14 md; 80 p; 14 md, S
R 184: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 185: S, 14 md; 80 p; 14 md, S
R 186: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 187: S, 14 md; 80 p; 14 md, S
R 188: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
R 189: S, 14 md; 80 p; 14 md, S
R 190: S, 14 md, 80 k, 14 md, S
Work 23 rows in moss stitch double in height over all stitches, i.e. 1x rows 3-4, 5x rows 1-4, 1x row 1
Now cast off all stitches. You can either choose a cast off method you are familiar with. Or you can cast off by passing over stitches (all knit) as follows:
Knit 2; pass the next to last knitted stitch over the last knitted stitch; knit 1; pass the next to last knitted stitch over the last knitted stitch; repeat till end of row. Knit rather loosely so the edge stays elastic.
Cut yarn and pull through the last stitch. Weave in all ends.
Finishing
I recommend to block the blanket and / or iron it. When ironing please be very careful and consider the instructions for the yarn you used. When I iron my knitted items I always put a parchment paper between the iron and the fabric, so that the yarn is protected against too much heat and possible residues on the iron.
Now I do hope that you enjoyed the knitting part and that you will bring luck to a little one with the Guardian Angel Blanket!
If you like you can post a picture of your finished work on the Crazypatterns gallery, I`d be happy to see it. And if you want more, you will find many more beautiful designs in my shop “a-mano”
Best regards, Sonja / a-mano