Tin Can Polygon Blanket Instructions

I am an intermediate knitter and still do not understand how to begin the polygon blanket. You make individual hexagons and then sew them together.
I purchased the pattern from Tin Can Knits and can’t even get started. Please help.

Hexagon section
Question #1:
Cast on 108 sts, PM and then join for working in the round
Do you cast on 108 sts and that will make one hexagon?
How many stitches to begin a hexagon?

Question #2 & #3:
Set up round: [k18, PM] around
Do you knit 18 and then place a marker, then knit 18 and place a marker, and continue to do this until you finish the round? Does the round consist of the 108 stitches that you originally cast on?
Is each section between markers a different hexagon? If that is so, how do you disconnect the individual hexagons from each other ? It just doesn’t make sense to me.

Question #4:
Round 1: abbreviations: ssk – slip, slip, knit – slip 1 knitwise, slip 1 knitwise. – I know what slip, slip knit means but what is meant by slip 1 knitwise. When I looked it up it said it is about binding off, but this is at the begging of making the hexagon.
What does ssk means?

Question#5:
It says to leave a long tail of the yarn when you finish a hexagon in the middle of the hexagon. Specifically, how long a tail do you leave?

Thank you, Madeline

Welcome to the forum!
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/polygon-3

  1. 108sts begin the individual polygons. Begin with 108sts.
    2 &3. Yes, [knit 18, place marker] is the repeat. There’ll be 6 of these repeats in the 108sts. Each section forms a slice of the hexagon. The individual hexagons need to eventually be stitch together. Here’s a photo of a stack of them on a Ravelry project.
    https://www.ravelry.com/projects/k722/polygon
    4.Knitwise is the way in which the stitch is slipped. In this case it’s not to do with binding off.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1SwoXDoXFM
    Slip, slip, knit is abbreviated ssk.
  2. Probably about a 6 inch tail is long enough but you might read further or look under Finishing to see if there is something other than weaving in to do with the long tail.

Please delete the link to the pattern. We can’t post patterns or links to paid pattern texts on the forum due to copyright. You can use the pencil icon in the lower right of your post to edit.

Tin Can Knits offers great pattern support. You can always email them for help. Just scroll down on this page:
https://tincanknits.com/contact

The pattern page has links to tutorials:
https://tincanknits.com/pattern/polygon/resources/o-5640290916368384~y-5766480385802240~s-4

This page has all the resources:
https://tincanknits.com/support/all

Including a tutorial for ssk:

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I removed the link last night. Am working the 1st hexagon. Your directions, explanations and link are all excellent and clarified everything. Will get back to you as soon as I complete the 1st hexagon. Want to make sure I really understood what to do. So appreciate the quick response.

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You were so great about helping me with the 1st set of questions, would love it if you can help with the last set of questions for making the hexagon:

I cast in 108 stitches. Then set up the 1st round and k18, then placed a marker and continued to do that until I had 6 markers with total of 6 sections.
Then knit the next row.
Then, did a total of 8 rounds for both 1 -2 rounds’

Question #1
The directions say [12 sts remain: 2 in each section]
If you decrease 1 stitch at the end of each section 8 times, that leaves 10 stitches in each section.
What am I missing? What needs to be done differently?

Question #2
Next round: [k2tog] around [6st]
I know how to knit 2 tog going around the circle. Does it mean that you knit 2 tog until 6 sts remain?

Once again, Thank you for your help.

Good to make a start on one of these hexagons because sometimes the only way to understand is to have sts on the needles. To me it looks like the decreases are at each end of a section so 2 decreases per section on the decrease rounds. That way, starting at 18sts you would be down to 2sts by 8repeats.

If you end the 8th repeat with 2sts per section then k2tog around will leave you with 1 stitch per section or 6sts.

Here is what the directions say:
Cast on 108 sts
Set up round: [k18, PM] around
Round 1: [ssk, purl to ast 2 sts before marker, k2tog]
so you only k2go one time for 1st round
Round 2: knit
Now you understand why I said that for 1 & 2 round you only decrease 1 stitch, which would leave 10 stitches in each section after doing 8 sets of the 2 rounds.

The ssk is also a decrease however, slip one, slip one, k2tog tbl (knit 2 together through the back loop). Here’s a neat way to work this.


This is a little flatter than the conventional ssk. So it’s 2 decreases per section, the k2tog and the ssk.

Thank you so much. That is exactly where I messed up. And I really like the improved method. You have been so helpful. :upside_down_face:

I hope one day I will be good enough to help others. Going to go rip what I did, start over again and let you know how it goes. Probably won’t be able to get the one hexagon done until tomorrow. This is going to be a long project! :grinning:

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Well, this was a really big project and quite overwhelming. I do appreciate all your help because I could not have done it without you. Now I am trying to knit the border and am running into issues.

2 Questions are written in 1st attached image: BorderInstructions

The 2nd image shows my my blanket. I am stuck because I don’t know where to begin the border because my blanket starts with a 1/2 hexagon. I don’t know how I made that mistake, but I am stuck with it. myblanket2

Instructions: 1 did round 1 already. This is what the instructions says:
border instructions

Thank you in advance. Madeline

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Wow, the blanket looks gorgeous!
You need to take into account the first “dip” between the half hex and the first full hexagon since that’s how your pattern starts. You can probably k1, m1 then knit across to 3 sts before that first yellow marker, k2tog, k1, SM, k1, ssk and then continue with the directions from the word “top

In other words you’ll be working the decreases either side of the markers in the dips and the increases either side of the markers in the points.

Thank you. The blanket is beautiful and my grandson loves it. You all have been wonderful in helping me. Here is the finished product. Did the border differently than instructions. I am not happy with the border or how I picked up the stitches, but at least it is done and he is happy with it.

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Beautiful! It’s a stunning pattern and gorgeous blanket. Well done and best of all, your grandson’s approval.

Thank you for your kinds words.