I am looking for a pattern for a boy’s christening blanket or an heirloom baby blanket.
I have always thought the Baby Tree of Life would be beautiful for a boy. http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/90430AD.html
I agree. It is beautiful . I just don’t know if I am skilled enough to do it.
Welcome to KnittingHelp!
The Tree of Life is a good suggestion for a blanket. I’ve made the large version and love it. There’re 4 or 5 tutorials for the steps along the way and of course all of us here are happy to help.
Do you belong to Ravelry (free to join)? You can do a search there for easy baby blankets or heirloom blankets. Here’s a search that covers a variety of skill levels.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#query=heirloom%20baby%20blankets&view=captioned_thumbs&craft=knitting&page=1&sort=best
Yes, I do belong to Ravlery. I found a version that uses cables instead of flowers . I think that would be better for a boy. It really is a lovely blanket. I am trying to see what kind of yarn I want to use - washable but something special also.
thanks for the link to the tree of life blanket. I’ve a friend due any day now, so I can have that done by christening time. 
What would be a nice yarn to do this with?
I used the suggested Lion Brand Fisherman’s wool and it was wonderful. The afghan (large size) is soft and cozy. It’s gone through several washings and comes out just as lovely as ever. It’s all wool though and so I hand wash. You may not want that for a baby blanket.
For the Baby Tree of Life they show Lion Brand Pound of Love. I would think that if you didn’t want to use that another good quality worsted would work.
I agree. I have used this yarn before . It is very nice, but like you said it would be too hard for the mother to care for it . Thank you. I really have fallen in love with that pattern.
Sorry - I think I got that reply in the wrong place. I meant the fisherman’s wool would be hard for the mother to care for. I have never used the Lion’s Brand Pound of Love. I was wondering how soft it is. I thought I read where someone said they didn’t think it was as soft as they thought it would be. I have never seen it so I was curious.
Sorry I goofed up. I am just learning to use this site. Forgive me.
Your posts are just fine. They’ll always be ordered according to time written. Pound of Love is reviewed well on Ravelry and you can look at specific comment under Projects over on the right of this page.
http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/lion-brand-pound-of-love
If you decide to use it, you could try a small swatch first. Wash and dry it to see how it feels. I notice that the blanket only takes one skein.
Hi Nana,
Your post are fine, it is the way of forums. I haven’t used Pound of Love worsted weight either. That is why I suggested perhaps another worsted weight (size 4) should be able to be substituted. Do you have any favorite worsted weight yarn that is your favorite to work with? If so I would go with that.
Yes, it’s good to have a go to worsted. You could also look at Plymouth Encore. I’ve used that lots for baby gifts. It has some wool content so it feels good but is still machine washable.
http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/plymouth-yarn-encore-worsted-solids--heathers
I’ve also recently used Cascade Pacific for several baby sweaters and I like it too.
http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/cascade-yarns-pacific
Those yarns both are really nice. Since it takes only a 1/2 skein of the Lion Brand Pound of Love, I wonder if 4 skeins of one of these would be enough. They are 200 yds. The Lion Brand Pound of Love has 1,020 yards. I am not going to use the ruffle but put a knitted edge. Also, I am going to use the cables instead of flowers by the pattern submitted by Detroit Knitter since this is for a boy.
pound of love is a soft yarn it really feels softer after washing it. I made a baby blanket out of it for a friend of my daughter in law, who had recently had a little premature baby girl. After I sent it to my daughter in law to give to her friend, I found out that the little girl would not go to sleep unless she was wrapped in the blanket I made. Knowing that made my year.
Thank you so much. That is nice to know. I was going to have to order online so I wasn’t sure what it would be like.
Oh my I can only imagine how wonderful that must feel. :yay: Do you wash your knitted items in anything special? Cool dry? Air only?
I just used my regular HE Clear washing machine soap. I also used fabric softener in the rinse water. Then they go in the dryer on a towel setting.