Would you like to swing on a star?
Carry moonbeams home in a jar?
And be better off than you are?
….You could be swingin’ on a star! 
I’m singin’ and swingin’ on a star right now….the Bernat Star Afghan! I’m SO excited about making this gorgeous afghan.
I’m knitting the afghan with black, red, and grey yarns, as a Christmas gift for my stepson. He asked for an afghan a couple years ago, and I haven’t been able to get it accomplished. BAD SANDY!! So, now that I’m a Bernat blogger, it’s the perfect opportunity to get his afghan created.
I’m using Bernat Super Value yarn, which is perfect for afghans. It’s long wearing and has a soft feel. Don’t believe me? Get to your local craft store and touch it for yourself.
I’m especially happy with the “True Grey” color. It has such a beautiful depth to it - just lovely. ”Berry” is a very rich and vibrant red…sure to stand out in the afghan. And ”Black” is a deeply saturated color, which looks like it will hold up well over time without fading.
I cast on the blanket, using double pointed needles, and soon created a cute little triangle.
After working 22 rows, I realized that I would need a list, to help me remember which color I should be using, and how many knit stitches I should have between the increases and decreases. So, I went to my computer and created an Excel spreadsheet. You can see a portion of it here:
Now, I just check off each row as I complete it. I’m also using a row counter, as a double-check. Over time, I’ve learned that I can easily forget which row I’m knitting, particularly if I’m watching TV while I knit.
After knitting about 30 rows, my star afghan is very small. In fact, it looks an awful lot like a tam!
I would love it if some of you would make this afghan along with me. If you do, you might want some help with doing the increase stitch:
[(K1, yo) twice, K1] in next st
I had the hardest time getting that stitch right, and kept getting the wrong number of stitches on my rows. I finally figured out that you have to do that increase in ONE STITCH, and THEN carry the stitch over to the other needle. Here’s a video I made to show how to do that stitch increase, as well as the decrease afterwards:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCb4COxa7vo]
Good luck with your Bernat Star Afghan!
- Shandeh
Love the hat!
Ha! Thanks Jen! It will certainly be a lot bigger than a hat soon. I’m looking forward to seeing it grow.
I love the look of this afghan and really interested in doing it,but am totally intimidated by the double point needles. To begin you cast on four. What do you do, just one stitch to a needle?. I have nver used the double points and am really interested in doing socks but the needles scare me to death. How do you keep the stitches from falling off between knitting sessions? Any suggestions to get me over this phobia??
Hi Shirley!
I remember feeling that way the first time I tried double points. Just dive in and give it a try! After a few rows, it gets VERY easy!
To start this afghan, you will cast on the first 4 stitches with TWO of your dpns, then you will do an increase on every stitch to make it a total of 8 stitches. At this point, you’ll separate the stitches onto 3 dpns, so you’ll have 3 stitches on two of the needles, and 2 stitches on the third. Good luck!
I’m going to try this soooooooooooooooon! I’ll be 76 in a few days and I’ve never mastered knitting on more than two needles. I do love your colors. Wish me luck. I really need it. lol
Good luck, Carlyn! You can DO it!
You’re definitely an inspiration to me. I’ve often wondered if I will be able to hold onto my love of knitting into my retirement. You’re 30 years ahead of me, and still going strong. Wonderful!
Hey, Sandy, I noticed a bunch of white rings on your needles. I am curious if those are stitch markers and maybe if we could see a close up picture of what they look like. I always thought that I had to loop it on the yarn which is just a pain SO I’ve always kept a count instead of a marker. It looks like it would be way easier the way you are doing it.
Hi Ashley!
Yes, I am using stitch markers in two places…
One BEFORE the increases
And one AFTER the decreases
When it’s time for the “knit all stitches” row, I move the marker before the increases over to the left by one stitch, to keep the number of stitches correct between the markers.
The white stitch markers I’m using are Boye Cabone Rings. Cheap, and easy to use. They come in lots of different sizes, which makes them fit well on different size knitting needles. I love them!
Here’s the website, that shows a photo of them. http://www.wrights.com/wrights/products/catalog/boyeline/cabone.htm
hi – beautiful project. I especially like the way each arc looks a little like a crested wave.
are those school colors? I can imagine star afghans at university/high school stadia across the country.
keep up the good work.
Good idea on the school colors plan!
My afghan was NOT made with school colors. I used red and black, because that’s what my stepson requested for his afghan. I think he just likes those colors together.