I have picked a project (Spencer the elephant blanket from last months Creative knitting site) but it has a couple parts that I dont know how to do - like duplicate stitch and crochet around the edges., Would the result still be the same if I knit intarsia where the duplicate stitch is? And what if I just picked up stitches and knit around it instead of crocheting?
I still want it to look nice and if I have to learn both techniques I will but I was just wondering "what if?"
Thanks
Sis
Just wondering-
The duplicate stitch will be your best bet 
because anything else will look bad on the other side of the blanket.And little fingers would get hung up in the strands on the back of the blanket. The edging I’m not sure about:shrug:
Pull up some videos of duplicate stitch. You’ll see that its extremely easy. Just look at this as an opportunity to learn something new. Neither the duplicate stitch nor the crocheted edge are difficult.
For the border, you could knit it as you go - garter or seed stitch both make nice borders. Just add 10 sitches to the total cast on, knit 5 rows at the beginning (or seed stich if you like that one better), then keep 5 stitches on each side in the garter or seed stitch pattern. End the blanket with 5 rows of the pattern stitch.