Hi,
A friend and I have decided that in order to work up some community service hours for school that we will knit blankets for our city’s homeless. We are both beginnners, but are able to do the basics(knit rows, purl rows, casting on etc). So I was wondering whether you guys can give me some directions on what size wool to use, what size needles to use in order to ensure that we can produce as many blankets as we can as quickly as we can, while ensuring that they useful to the homeless population. As well as whether we should knit squares and sow them together(my friend is an experienced sower), or whether to knit the blankets outright. Any input is welcome and appreciated.
Thank you in advance for your assistance 
You probably want to use a bulky or chunky yarn. The skeins will usually say what weight and have a number. The weight number you want is 5 or 6. As for needle size… Check the wrapper on the yarn for suggested size. It’ll probably be an anywhere from 11 up.
You said wool, but I assume you mean that in a generic sense and mean yarn. I recommend not using wool fiber since a blanket for a homeless person will get a lot of abuse. Acrylic or a blend of acrylic/wool is your best bet.
Any method is fine.
Good luck!
If I were you, I might use chunks of polarfleece and knit edgings onto them. It’s quicker, the blankets are warmer and you’ll be able to produce more for less money, especially if you use fleece remnants.
While wool is warm even when it does get wet, it’s a bad idea for homeless people because it’s difficult to wash and doesn’t tolerate being dragged around in wet and muddy conditions well.
The heaviest, warmest knit blanket I can think of is straight garter stitch. If you have a lot of a neutral color, you can use doubled yarn by using one strand of neutral and one strand of a bright, changing the accent color whenever you run out.
One church near us makes thick sleeping mats from plarn (grocery bags cut into loops and joined to make a thick waterproof yarn.) They crochet, but it would be entirely possible to knit a sleeping mat as well. The mats are about two and a half by six feet and are made to go under a sleeping bag, insulating the sleeper from cold or wet ground and also protecting the sleeping bag itself.
Just today there was a piece about homeless veterans on the news, and sure enough, the guy they were talking to was wearing a crocheted afghan around his shoulder in the early-morning chill. It does make a difference!
Here are a few ideas:
Idea #1 - The 2 of you could knit strips with REALLY thick yarn, like Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick. Use size 15 needles and cast on 25 or 30 sts and knit every row. Do this for about 40" (or however long you want the blanket to be) and make however many you want for the width of the blanket. Then sew them together. This would be like knitting a bunch of scarves and sewing them together. You could also use 2 or 3 strands of worsted weight yarn held together for this.
Idea #2 - For each blanket buy 1 1/2 yds of fleece. Lay them out on top of each other on the floor. Cut 1" wide slits around all 4 edges, about 4-5 inches long. Then tie the top and bottom pieces together into knots, matching the top strip with the bottom one. This will make a double thick blanket and will last a long time.
hth, knitcindy
Knitcindy, how do you keep two strands of yarn from twisting around each other, when knitting them. I had this problem when I even tried casting on. Making lap blankets for seniors. Thank you. Hope to hear from you. Sharon(puddles)
Hi puddles!!!
When I knit with 2 or 3 strands of yarn together I don’t try to keep the yarn untangled. They usually twist and I just knit with whatever comes up!!! In fact, I’ve knit with 4 strands of yarn on size 50 needles and the colors came out looking great!
If the twisting is really bothering you, you can twist your knitting the other way when you switch needles at the end of a row.
Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any more questions!!
knitcindy
My friend…sow is spelled ‘sew’