Making blanket from a picture

My daughter-in-law would like me to knit this blanket for her, and I have questions:

  1. It looks like basic stockinette stitch to me - is that right?
  2. It looks like some kind of super-chunky chenille, I think - can anyone suggest weight and/or brands for this?
  3. I think it looks like I would need size 17 needles?
  4. Now, the trickiest part: How can I figure out how many stitches to cast on, and how many yards of yarn are needed, for a 60"x80" blanket?
    Thanks in advance for any help you can offer! I’m used to knitting Aran blankets with lots of cables on size 9 needles, so this is way out of my comfort zone.
    chunky blanket 60x80

It does appear to be stockinette and super chunky yarn maybe even doubled. Roving is another possibility. It’ll take larger needles however (maybe 35?) and may even be arm knitting.



It’s going to be a fun project however you decide to work it!

Before investing money and time in a blanket like this there are some things you might want to consider if you haven’t already such as how well it will stand up to wear and washing. Will this be a display piece that’s never used or will it be subjected to daily wear by humans and animals? Knitting a blanket in roving of any fiber would IMHO be a waste of time and resources. Loosely spun yarns wear quickly and can soon look ugly also. Chenille yarns present challenges even when working with ‘normal’ yarn sizes. It’s up to you and I am not presenting this to say you shouldn’t, just tryingto help you be sure it’s what you want to spend time knitting - with broom handles. I hate using US sz 11/8 mm needles; still, I have larger tips for my interchangeables just in case that particular bee ever finds its way into my bonnet. I think this will be project that could be very rewarding for the right knitter done for the right recipient who will appreciate what has gone into making it.

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Thank you so much for the helpful response! I’m rethinking this, because I don’t think I’d like arm knitting. Whatever happens, this will be an adventure …

Your mention of doubling the yarn gave me an idea: What would happen if I doubled a 5 weight blanket yarn with size 50 needles? I may need to experiment to find out

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Thank you for the helpful (and entertaining) video! I had never heard of roving before, but now I know exactly why I should avoid it.

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You’re exactly right. This is going to take a bit of experimenting, but it’ll be fun to try.
Report back please and do post a photo.

Going to buy yarn and needles tomorrow - I’ll keep you posted!

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All I can say is from the picture, I think it looks like a chenille type yarn. Good luck in any case!

Thanks!

I have knit several blankets using bernat blanket yarn, which is a chenille. It’s obviously not as heavy as your picture shows but it holds up well washing and daily use.


I had not heard of roving blanket before. The video was very interesting.

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That looks lovely and squishy.
How do you fit a full blanket with such chunky stitches onto needles? Do you join several interchangeable circular wires together?
I couldn’t ever make one but even so I’m very interested in all these different knitting projects and techniques.

The size was actually a throw. I used size 13 circular using interchangeable so you could pick what length cable depending on the size you want to make.

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I have multiple cable lengths up to 60" for my Knitter’s Pride tips sets. I think anything that wouldn’t fit onto a 60" is something I’d not want to knit. I often find myself changing to a shorter cable simply because I overestimated the length I’d actually need.

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