All the Memories: Reversible Blanket Knitting Pattern for Worsted #4 Weight Yarn
Introducing my new reversible blanket knitting pattern for worsted weight yarn: All the Memories. The repeating rectangles and squares in this design remind me of countless photos that document a lifetime of priceless, treasured memories. Read more below about the inspiration for the pattern name!
All the Memories blanket knitting pattern features an easy to knit 10-row repeat stitch pattern. The knit and purl stitch pattern creates an interesting geometric design that is reversible.
All the Memories blanket knitting pattern has instructions for six blanket sizes including: baby blanket, large throw and afghan.
REVERSIBLE BLANKET KNITTING PATTERN:
Here’s a look at both sides of this reversible blanket design…
EASY BLANKET KNITTING PATTERN:
This pattern is easy to knit for a confident knitter.
The blanket is knit flat, in one piece on circular knitting needles to accommodate the large number of stitches.
The 10-row repeat pattern involves only knit and purl stitches. After a few inches of knitting you may find you don’t need to refer to the written directions… making this a great TV watching or social knitting project.
You will need to know how to cast on stitches, knit and purl confidently, read a row by row knitting pattern, bind off stitches and weave in ends.
INSPIRATION FOR THE PATTERN NAME:
The repeating rectangles and squares in the All the Memories blanket pattern remind me of numerous photos that capture a lifetime of priceless, treasured memories.
Ever since I received a camera as gift when I was a young teenager, I’ve been documenting special life moments through photography. The photos capture moments in time over the years: holidays with family, trips with friends, happy occasions, ordinary days, family vacations, and much more. Several decades worth of pre-digital photos are stored in photo albums and storage boxes. Some of the images captured by my parents when I was young are small square photos. Most of the photos I took in the 1980’s through the early 2000’s are 4” x 6” rectangles.
These days, with the convenience of a camera on my cell phone, I still take lots of photos but most remain in digital format on my phone. Though the photos can always be viewed by scrolling through my phone, I prefer having printed photos. Each year, I order prints of the best photos from the year.
Whether the photos are neatly organized in an album, tucked in a box, displayed in a picture frame, stored digitally on my phone, or held with magnets on the front of the refrigerator… the photos document all the memories.
At the end of this blog post are some of my favorite ways to organize and store family photos!
Below is a close up look at the stitch pattern. The rectangles and squares are created with a stitch pattern that involves only knit and purl stitches.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SIX BLANKET SIZES:
This blanket pattern, like almost all of my blanket knitting patterns, offers lots of size choices so you can select the size that fits your project needs. Pick the blanket size that suits the user of the blanket, your project budget and the amount of time you would like to spend on the project.
Approximate sizes using heavy worsted weight yarn, after blocking...
Baby Blanket: 26” wide x 30.5” long
Small Blanket: 30” wide x 33.5” long
Medium Blanket: 32” wide x 36.5” long
Large Throw: 36” wide x 44.5” long
XL Throw: 40” wide x 49.5” long
XXL Afghan: 46” wide x 56” long
Finished size may vary depending on yarn weight and gauge used.
Pattern includes instructions for making any of the blanket sizes wider and/or longer. It’s easy to make any of the sizes longer by adding pattern repeats. Each pattern repeat adds about 1.5” to the length of the blanket. Pattern includes estimates for additional yardage needed to make each size longer.
WORSTED #4 WEIGHT YARN:
Baby Blanket: 610 - 630 yards
Small Blanket: 770 - 800 yards
Medium Blanket: 900 - 940 yards
Large Throw: 1230 - 1280 yards
XL Throw: 1500 - 1600 yards
XXL Afghan: 1950 - 2050 yards
Be sure to buy additional yarn if you plan to add length to your project.
Finished size and amount of yarn needed may vary depending on yarn choice and gauge.
This pattern will work well with many worsted, heavy worsted or Aran yarns. The stitch pattern looks attractive with solid color yarns, as well as gently variegated hand dyed colorways.
For the gray blanket shown in the photos, I made the small size blanket using a little less than five skeins of Blue Sky Fibers Sweater heavy worsted weight yarn in the ‘Beluga’ colorway.
Blue Sky Fibers Sweater yarn is a beautiful blend of superwash wool and organic cotton. I have used this yarn for many of my blanket knitting patterns… because it’s simply lovely! The stitch definition of the yarn is fantastic so the stitch pattern shows up exceptionally well.
Look for Blue Sky Fibers Sweater at local yarn shops. I purchased the yarn at Yarn Social in Kansas City, Missouri. Here is a link to see a directory of shops that stock Blue Sky Fibers yarn.
MORE YARN OPTIONS:
If you are looking for other yarn options… see my blog post about more than 25 worsted weight yarns for blanket knitting.
GAUGE:
Pattern stitch with US size 8 needles: approximately 18 stitches & 25 rows = 4”
Exact gauge is not essential. This stitch pattern will look best with fairly tight stitches. Keep in mind that a significantly different gauge will impact the size of the finished project and may require more (or less) yarn.
KNITTING NEEDLES:
I used US size 8 knitting needles Knitter’s Pride Nova Platina circular knitting needles.
Choose the needle size that gives the best appearance with your yarn and your knitting tension. This design will look best with fairly tight stitches.
The blanket is knit flat in one piece, back and forth on long circular knitting needles in order to accommodate the number of stitches. Click here to read more about this topic on my blog post.
BLOCKING HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
For best appearance, blocking of finished knitting is highly recommended. Click here to see my blog post with tips on blocking.
CUSTOMER PROJECT:
Sonia knit the All The Memories Blanket using Brooklyn Tweed Ranch 02 Forbes worsted #4 weight yarn in the ‘Salt Sage’ colorway. (This yarn has been discontinued.)
Sonia wrote on her Instagram post that this “was a perfect knit during this time for me. I felt I needed to stop other projects and knit this gift. It brought back memories of my children when they were growing up. I hope this gift for a new mom brings her memories that she will cherish with her new baby.”
The blanket looks gorgeous and I’m sure it will be a treasured gift.
WHERE TO BUY ‘ALL THE MEMORIES’ BLANKET KNITTING PATTERN:
On the Fifty Four Ten Studio website: Click here to buy the PDF pattern!
Ravelry: Click here to buy the pattern and add it to your Ravelry library.
ORGANIZING & DISPLAYING PHOTOS:
Since my new blanket knitting pattern was inspired by a lifetime of family photos, I thought it would be fun to share some of the ways that I organize and display all the photos.
METAL BOARD: One of my favorite things in my home office is a large sheet of metal that serves as a display for dozens of favorite photos. (My husband bought a sheet of metal at a home improvement store and cut it to fit our wall space. Here’s a link to a similar metal magnet board.) I bought two sets of brushed nickel mini magnets that are perfect for holding photos in place. Every six months or so, I make slight changes to the display by removing a couple of photos and adding a few more recent prints. The photos span more than 25 years… all the memories at a glance.
PHOTO ALBUMS: I used Pioneer brand photo albums for many years. The exact album style that I used doesn’t appear to be made any longer. However, I have used these Pioneer square photo albums for making themed albums such as “favorite summer photos over the years”. These albums are very nice and there are many color choices for the cover.
PHOTO STORAGE BOXES: For many years, I was pretty diligent about putting photos into albums. However, when our kids were young, and digital photography became easier, I did not keep up with the albums. One of my “pandemic projects” was to sort through all the photos that never made it into albums. I tossed uninspiring photos and put the rest in a set of matching photo storage boxes, organizing the photos in chronological order. (For old family photos that were not dated, I sorted the photos by decade.) Each box is labeled by year so it’s pretty easy to locate a favorite old photo.
WINTER SCARF IN THE SAME STITCH PATTERN:
The same 10-row repeat stitch pattern is also featured in my Thoughts of You scarf and wrap knitting pattern. This reversible stitch pattern works perfectly for a winter scarf or a cozy wrap.
Get all the details and purchase the Thoughts of You knitting pattern on my website or on Ravelry.
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BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:
As I was knitting the All the Memories blanket, and making notes about childhood memories (such as my mother teaching me to knit!) and treasured family photos, I remembered reading a couple sweet memoirs years ago. Both of these books focus on memories of growing up in a small community: A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland, Indiana by Haven Kimmel (Bookshop.org, Amazon) and Too Close to the Falls: A Memoir by Catherine Gildiner (Bookshop.org, Amazon).
Thank you so much for your interest in my knitting patterns!
Happy knitting!