In my little craft room, there is a pretty basket, holding 6 skeins of Bernat Baby Blanket yarn in Baby Yellow – which has been screaming for attention. (It looks and feels like butter.) This is Bernat’s super bulky, super soft chenille yarn for making baby blankets. Once you have this yarn in your hands, you won’t want to put it down…..REALLY!
One of my friends is expecting a baby boy soon, so I’ve decided to create a special blanket for this little one, using my super-soft, yellow yarn. After taking a look at the free patterns for the Baby Blanket yarn on the Bernat website, I just wanted something different. I mean, I really liked the patterns there, but felt like making a different blanket with my yarn. So, I’ve decided to design my own blanket, using the other resources available on the Bernat webpage.
I found just what I needed in the “Resources” tab. Bernat has a Stitch Gallery! (Just look for “Resources” along the top of the webpage, and let your mouse hover there, then move your mouse down and click “Stitch Gallery”.) The stitch gallery shows several amazing designs you can create with your knitting needles and yarn. There are simple knit-purl combinations, ribbing, slip-stitch, fancy texture, eyelet, lace, and cables. Very pretty choices! 
Before choosing a stitch to use, I needed to get to know my yarn. So, I picked up the skein and read the label. It calls for size 11 needles, and should work to a gauge of 8 stitches for every 4 inches (10 cm). That’s 2 stitches per inch. Like the label says, it’s SUPER BULKY!
Next, I pulled out a few yards, so I could see how it knitted up. Using a size 11 circular, I cast on about 10 stitches and knit a few rows, then switched to stockinette for a few rows. After pulling it off the knitting needle, I looked to see how it turned out. I wasn’t crazy about the garter stitch section, but the stockinette looked and felt divine! The fabric felt wonderful in my hands, but I forced myself to lay it down on a table and check my gauge. Spot on….8 stitches for every 4 inches.
I realized, after working with the yarn, that the yarn would be easiest to work with a SIMPLE design, since it takes some work to use it. Big yarn on big needles can wear you out, especially if you’re trying to knit a complicated stitch with it. So, I chose the “Simple Basketweave” for my blanket. I think it will work well with the Baby Blanket yarn, and the interesting texture should delight the baby as well!
So, now I just needed to decide how many stitches to cast on for my blanket. Most baby blankets are 36 inches wide, so that was my goal. Since the yarn works at 2 stitches per inch, I needed to cast on about 72 stitches. (36 x 2 = 72) Before casting on though, I needed to look at the specifications of the “Simple Basketweave” pattern. The first line says “multiple of 8 stitches”. So, I divided 72 by 8, and wonder of wonders, it worked out perfect! (72 divided by 8 = 9!) This blanket is meant to be, I guess, since the plan is lining up properly.
Time to get started on my blanket now!
- Shandeh
So now I know what I’ll be doing while waiting for my daughter to get out of camp today! I’ll be buying some of this yarn and then hoping I can get a baby blanket done by Saturday. Cross your fingers!
Let us know how your blanket turned out!
VERY handy stitch gallery, didn’t even know it was there!
Thanks for sharing
I was surprised when I found it too! It was just sitting there, quietly waiting for us to notice.
Thank you for posting. Its been over a over a month and I have been waiting not so patiently. Please let us know how much yarn you ended up using when your project is finished. I would like to make one too but don’t want a lot of yarn left over. Do we need the full six balls or will five do it?
Thank you BC
Hi Bette!
I used 5 skeins of Bernat Baby Blanket yarn for my blanket. It is beautiful!
You might want 6 skeins, just in case. I’m a tight knitter, so that might make a difference between us.
Like you I love needlework, but, I knit terrible, on the other hand I’m a pretty good crocheter, are there stitch gallery patterns for crochet also. This yarn looks fantastic and I am working on ideas for grand babies.
Yes ma’am! Here is Bernat’s stitch gallery for crochet:
http://www.bernat.com/stitchcrochet/
I look forward to seeing your completed blanket! Lucky baby.
Thank you, Eva! I almost want to keep the blanket for myself, because it’s SO SOFT!
Oh your blanket is so pretty. I always enjoying seeing the things you make.
Thank you, my friend! Nice to see you in the Bernat Blog.
May we plz see the finished blanket? Thanks! Just bought the same wool and am curious to see how it turned out!
Here you go: http://blog.bernat.com/2011/07/28/buttery-soft-chenille-baby-blanket/
Beautiful idea! Are you using size 11US needles? I am Canadian and we use metric. So if you are using a US size I am figuring I would need 8mm circular.
Thanks!
I have just purchased the Bernat super bulky baby yarn. I love the look & the feel. My issue is, That my yarn ends are fraying to the point that the yarn strand is destroyed -a total unravel.
What can I do to prevent this? If the thread is pulled at the end – the yarn is totally undone. It become a string of thread and a pile of fuzz. Has anyone else had a problem & how did they solve it?
Hi Jerri –
I sent your question on to our yarn support department. They should get back to you shortly. Thank you very much for your patience!