This is an easy to knit chunky blanket that features big, bold cables. Knitting this blanket with super bulky yarn gives these classic cables a modern look!
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| North of the River - chunky cable blanket knitting pattern. |
The North of the River chunky cable blanket knitting pattern is available on Ravelry, LoveKnitting and Etsy.
I have been wanting to design a new big chunky cable blanket for a while now. I decided to use a dark color yarn to see how that worked to show off the big cables.
I am thrilled with how this blanket turned out! I used Lion Brand Hometown USA super bulky yarn in the color 'Chicago Charcoal'. I'm crazy about this rich dark gray! The yarn has a subtle heather quality to it that gives the color depth and a rich quality.
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| North of the River blanket features big chunky cables. |
If you are familiar with my knitting patterns, you probably know that many of my pattern names are inspired by streets and neighborhoods in my hometown...Kansas City. The name for this new North of the River pattern is also inspired by Kansas City. The city was founded on the Missouri River and over the years the city grew to the south and to the north of the river. I have lived south of the river my entire life. When I was growing up we would use the phrase "north of the river" to refer to the northern half of the Kansas City area. "North of the river" has almost always been a fun destination for me...picking up a friend at the airport, going to a party at a friend's house, camping, sailing at Smithville Lake, shopping at a unique store...or driving further north to go on a family vacation...all good memories!
Of course, you can guess the bold cables in this blanket design made me think of the wide, flowing Missouri River.
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| North of the River - pattern includes instructions for 3 sizes. |
The blanket is knit flat in one piece, back and forth on long circular knitting needles.
Instructions for Three Sizes:
The North of the River pattern includes instructions for three sizes. I made the large throw size blanket with five cables across. The medium size would work well for a cozy throw blanket, lap blanket or for a young child. The small blanket size has three cables and would work for a lap or toddler/crib blanket.
Large (5 cables): 45" wide x 56" long
Medium (4 cables): 37.75" wide x 49" long
Small (3 cables): 30.5" wide x 42" long
Any of the blanket sizes may be made longer by adding cable pattern repeats. Each pattern repeat adds about 7" to the length of the blanket. My pattern includes estimates for additional yardage needed to make blankets longer.
Super Bulky Yarn:
Large: 925 - 975 yards
Medium: 700 - 725 yards
Small: 475 - 500 yards
This pattern is designed for use with super bulky yarn (knit single strand). You could also experiment with knitting two strands of worsted or bulky weight yarn together....just remember you will need at least double the yardage.
FEB 2018 UPDATE: If you are looking for a cable blanket for worsted weight yarn check out my new Childhood Wishes blanket knitting pattern.
Cable Knitting Experience Recommended:
This blanket is easy to knit but I highly recommend having some basic cable knitting experience. Knitting these chunky cables is not hard! However, I would not want anyone to invest in the yarn for a big blanket unless you are confident in working a basic cable. I used a cable needle designed for bulky weight yarns.
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| Cable knitting with super bulky yarn. |
I use a clip on marker to mark the first stitch when I complete a cable. Placing that one marker on the first cable in the row helps me easily identify where I worked the cable so I can count the rows and know when to work the next cable row. These Clover jumbo locking stitch markers are very handy!
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| Clip on markers help keep track of rows when knitting cables. |
FEB 2018 UPDATE: You might also like my chunky cable bed runner blanket - River of Dreams. Click to read more about it here on my blog.
Blocking of Finished Blanket Recommended:
I highly recommend blocking the finished blanket. Taking the time to carefully block the finished blanket really makes a difference in the appearance!
If you need some tips...see my step-by-step blocking tips on this blog post. I also wrote about blocking on this blog post and this blog post.
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| Blocking highly recommended. |
The photo above shows my blanket pinned on the blocking mats. I spent at least 15 - 20 minutes carefully arranging the blanket on the mats, straightening the edges and center cables, and pinning the edges in place. It took about three days for this big blanket to dry...it was worth the wait!
I really loved knitting this blanket! Did I mention that this yarn is incredibly soft?! Lion Brand Hometown USA is 100% acrylic...it's incredibly soft and silky to the touch. (It's also a very economically priced yarn.)
Hometown USA is an easy care yarn that says it is machine washable...however, I would not put this big blanket in the washing machine. I think my washing machine would be really hard on a hand knit blanket...especially of this size...and I would choose to hand wash this blanket and lay it flat to dry on blocking mats.
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| North of the River - cable blanket knitting pattern |
I absolutely love how this blanket turned out!
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| Big chunky cables add texture to any room. |
Thanks so much for reading! Happy knitting!
Mary Lee
Fifty Four Ten Studio
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