Knitted Temperature Blanket [Free Pattern]

My blog has been fairly quiet for a while, and one reason for that is because I recently finished my PhD in psychology! One part of our journey was a year-long internship in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. I decided to document my year there by making a temperature blanket. That means that you knit one row per day with a colour corresponding to the temperature outside. I had seen some finished blankets online, but actually had a hard time finding a good pattern, so I made up my own that I am going to share with you. Here are some of my tips!

Creating a Legend:
The first thing you need to do is create a legend. You can follow mine, but it might not be a good fit if you live in a warmer climate, or even another part of Canada. I would suggest making your own legend, or following one from Pinterest if you aren't into math.

First you need to choose the number of colours that you want to use (I used 9). I recommend using multiple shades of the same colour, and throwing in some neutral shades as well. I have seen some that are rainbow colours, but they are a little bright for me. I used reds, blues, and browns.

Next, you need to get a sense of what the range of temperatures will be for your location. If you go to the weather network you can find their monthly forecast page that will give you past weather data.

If you are in Canada, you can also look at this Government of Canada website to get an idea.

For my legend, I had -45'C as the extreme cold temperature, and 35'C as the extreme high temperature. I wanted the colour to change at 0' so I modified things that way. I only ended up having 1 day of -37 and colder, and I ended up having a couple days of +37 that I hadn't included in my legend, so I re-used another colour.

Take the extreme temperatures and subtract them to get the total number of degrees in your range.
E.g. 35 - (-45) = 80

Then divide that number by the number of colours you want to use.
E.g. 80 / 9 = 8 (ish)

Then make your legend, using a range of that number of degrees (8) for each colour. I also decided to add a second strand of lighter white yarn on days that it snowed. Here is how my legend turned out:

You should buy 2 balls of each colour, just in case. I only bought one ball of each colour, but ended up running out of a few colours. Unfortunately Michael's had discontinued the exact colour that I needed so I had to find a replacement. It ended up not being very noticeable because you are changing colours so often.

I recommend making a chart where you can write down the temperature/colour for each day and check it off. If you're anything like me, you may not be able to knit every single day and may need to do some catching up. I just had a little notebook and made a chart by hand.

I used the exact temperatures from the website above, and knit the row a day behind. I used the measured temperatures, not the windchill or humidex temperatures. I used the following temperatures:

Fall: Daily Average
Winter: Daily Low
Spring: Daily Average
Summer: Daily High




Now you're ready to knit! Here's how:

Materials: 
6mm (US 10) circular needle
Approximately 18 balls of worsted weight yarn (I used Impeccable from Michael's) Note: you will have yarn leftover, but buy at least 2 balls per colour

Directions: 
Cast on 167 stitches

Knit garter stitch (knit every row) across. Knit one row per day for a total of 365 rows.

Cast off and sew in all the ends.

Finished size is approximately 46" x 64".

Winter Headband with a Twist (Knit)

I saw someone walking down the street with a headband similar to this, and decided to make one for myself. The pattern is pretty simple, don't be put off by the single cable. I posted a picture tutorial for cabling under my last headband pattern, which you can find here. The knit 1 purl 1 ribbing on this piece makes it a bit thicker, and helps keep it flat instead of curling at the edges. Hope you enjoy the pattern! 

Materials

Worsted weight yarn

Size 8 (5mm) needles, and a spare needle

Cast on 20 stitches

Work knit 1 purl 1 ribbing until half the length of the diameter of your head (approx. 9").

Put the first 10 stitches on a spare needle and hold them to the front of your work.  K1 P1 to end of the row. Put the first 10 stitches back onto the needle, and then K1 P1 to end of row. 

Work knit 1 purl 1 ribbing until desired length. Cast off stitches, and sew the two ends together, and weave in yarns ends. 

Finished size: approx. 18" x 3"

What the piece looks like before being sewn together

Cabled Throw Blanket (Knit)

This is my favourite go-to blanket pattern. The cables are gorgeous, and there's just enough of a pattern to keep it from getting boring. The pattern is modified from a baby blanket pattern available from redheart.com, but I added a border, and changed the size of the ribbing between cables. If you haven't tried cabling before it isn't as hard as it looks! A cabling tutorial with pictures is available on my cabled headband pattern post. If you want to make this blanket smaller for a baby, or a bigger throw blanket, then add or subtract stitches in multiples of 12. Enjoy!

Materials

Lion Brand Homespun yarn, or another bulky weight yarn (4 balls, or 20 oz total)

Size 11 (8 mm) circular needle (a slightly different size will do)

Cabling or spare needle. 

Cast on 108 stitches

Knit 10 rows

A) Row 1, 3, 5, 7

K5, *K2, P2, K6, P2*, repeat from * to * to last 7 stitches, K7

B) Row 2, 4, 6, 8, 10

K5, *P2, K2, P6, K2*, repeat from * to * to last 7 stitches, P2, K5

C) Row 9

K5, *K2, P2, C3F, P2*, repeat from * to * to last 7 stitches, K7

When desired length, knit 10 rows and then cast off, and sew in loose ends. 

Note: C3F means put 3 stitches on a spare needle and hold to the front of your work, knit 3 stitches, but the stitches from the spare needle back on the circular needle, them knit those 3 stitches.

Finished size approx. 40" x 50"

This blanket is very similar to this pattern, but with more rows in between cables

Cabled Headband and Cabling Tutorial

I have a friend who is starting to knit and the only skill left for her to learn is to cable. I told her, as I am telling you, that cable knitting is way easier than it looks! I was afraid for a while until my mom showed me how, and I am hooked! I also put together a mini cabling tutorial at the bottom if you don't know how. I made up this pattern with a simple cable for her to learn, and I am sharing it with you! Around the university, these headbands are really popular, and are great for when your hair is in a ponytail. If you try this pattern, let me know how it went in the comments!

Note: C4F means cable 4 stitches forward. Take the next 4 stitches and slip them onto your spare needle, and leave it at the front. Knit the next 4 stitches from your main needle. Put the 4 stitches from the spare needle back onto your main needle, and knit them. You just cabled! See pictures below for more detailed instructions.

Materials
1 ball worsted weight yarn (4; I used Red Heart Super Saver)
Size 8 (5 mm) needles
Extra needle for cabling

Instructions
Cast on 20 stitches

Row 1: K3 P3 K8 P3 K3
Row 2: K1 P2 K3 P8 K3 P2 K1

Row 3: K3 P3 K8 P3 K3
Row 4: K1 P2 K3 P8 K3 P2 K1


Row 5: K3 P3 K8 P3 K3
Row 6: K1 P2 K3 P8 K3 P2 K1

Row 7: K3 P3 C4F P3 K3
Row 8: K1 P2 K3 P8 K3 P2 K1

Repeat rows 1-8 until it reaches desired length. Sew the two ends together, and weave in the ends.

Mini Cabling Tutorial

Here is a mini tutorial, with pictures of how to cable for the purposes of this hat. It's really not that hard, but I hope that the instructions/pictures make sense! When I say "main needle" I mean the yellow ones, and the spare needle is the purple one.

1. Slip 4 stitches onto a spare needle.

2. Leave the needle with the spare stitches at the front of your work. Knit the next 4 stitches from your main needle.

3. Slip the stitches from your spare needle back onto your main needle.

4. Knit the 4 stitches that you just slipped back onto the main needle, and continue knitting to the end of the row as per the pattern directions.

All done! That wasn't too hard right?

Knitted Baby Bow Hat

I love Pinterest for getting craft ideas, recipes, and patterns, but one of the frustrating things about it is that some of the pictures lead to listings on Etsy or other places that don't have the pattern. But that won't stop this crafty girl! I semi-made-up this pattern by modifying a simple hat pattern I have in my stash and copying the picture. This pattern is fairly simple, and really cute! Perfect for using up scraps too :) I'm not great at knowing sizes, but I think it would fit a 0-3 month infant. To make it bigger, add stitches in multiples of 4 before casting on. You could also use the basic hat pattern and add stripes, flowers, or make it look like an animal. See my Crochet Hat Round-Up post for ideas. Be creative!

Knitted Baby Bow Hat

Materials:

2 colours worsted weight yarn (size 4)

6 mm (US 10) knitting needles

Hat:

Using main colour, cast on 44 stitches. Work knit 1 purl 1 ribbing for 1". Work 4 rows stocking stitch (knit one row, purl one row). Switch to accent colour and work 4 rows stocking stitch. Switch back to main colour and continue in stocking stitch until it measures approx. 5" from beginning.

Decrease:

Row 1: [Knit 2, knit 2 together] to end of row
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: [Knit 1, knit 2 together] to end of row
Row 4: Purl
Row 5: [Knit 2 together] to end of row
Row 6: [Purl 2 together] to end of row.

Cut yarn and pull through loops.

Bow:

Cast on 16 stitches (using accent colour yarn)
Knit in garter stitch (knit every row) until the bow measures approx. 1".
Cast off and sew in ends.

Finishing:

Sew the bow onto the coloured stripe by looping around it several times. Make sure that you sew through the bow piece at least once so it can't get pulled out. Sew in all loose ends, and sew the middle seam.

Notes:

You can easily modify this pattern to be bigger by adding stitches in multiples of 4 (i.e. add 4, 8, 12, etc. stitches), and making it a bit longer. If you want it to be stretchier, use bigger size needles. To make it tighter, you can use smaller needles for the ribbing at the bottom, and bigger needles for the main part.

If you want to make this pattern with baby weight yarn, cast on 64 stitches and use 4mm knitting needles.  

A black and white one, made a bit bigger by adding stitches

A turquoise and white one, made tighter by using smaller sized needles for the ribbing at the bottom

Knitting Update

I have been a horrible blogger recently as it has been about 2 months since I last posted something! My excuses are working full-time, buying a house, and getting everything ready for our wedding! (There will be lots of wedding posts coming up soon!) Another tough thing about my blogging is that most of the things that I make are for gifts, and I don't want to post pictures until after I have given it to whoever it is going to, and sometimes I don't know who I am making something for. This post is basically just a menagerie of different knitting projects that I have done recently and am either keeping or have already given to their recipient. I am sorry that I do not have the patterns posted, most of the ones I use have been from my mom's collection from yarn labels, booklets, and other sources. The Bernat website has lots of great patterns to check out too!

Knitted Mug Cozy

Cable Mittens

Corner-to-Corner Throw Blanket

 

Corner-to-Corner Baby Blanket

The pattern for the two blankets above is way too easy not to share! It's basically the same as the basic dishcloth pattern, but rectangle and with thicker yarn. Get some yarn and a round needle with the appropriate gauge (I used Homespun). Cast on 3 stitches. Knit 1, inc 1, knit to end of row. Repeat until desired width. Alternate row 1 [Knit 1, inc 1, knit to end of row.] and row 2 [Knit 1, knit 2 together, knit to end of row] until desired length. Knit 1, knit 2 together, knit to end of row. Repeat until 3 stitches left, cast off.

Throw Blanket

This blanket has a story.... I made up the pattern to this one all on my own. I was sitting looking at someone's sweater, and figured out the pattern for it, and made it into a blanket pattern. I started knitting with some brown yarn that I had got on sale, and after I started onto the 3rd ball I realized that it was a different colour! Somehow I bought 3 balls of chocolate brown, and 3 balls of another shade of brown. The moral of the story is to always double check the name of the colour on the lables before you buy 6 balls that you think are the same colour! Needless to say, I ripped out the blanket, and haven't tried out my pattern again yet. 

Baby Hat and Bootie Set

Crocheted Scarf

Flower Neck Warmer

Baby Flower Hat

For this hat, I just followed a basic baby hat pattern, and used the pattern for the flower in the neck warmer above but with smaller needles/yarn. I got my mother-in-law onto this, so now all her baby girl hats have flowers on them. Way cuter this way!

Knitted Seed Stitch Throw Blanket

Cowl Scarf

Cabled Hat

Cabled Throw Blanket

Knit Throw Blanket

 This blanket also has a story to it... I bought two different colours of yarn, brown and beige on clearance at Michael's and was knitting with the two strands together. I got about 3/4 through and realized that I didn't have enough beige yarn to finish, so I went back to Michael's. Unfortunately the yarn was discontinued, so I couldn't get more of it! So I ripped out the whole thing, and started over by knitting 3 strands together- 2 brown and 1 beige. I did finish it in time for the wedding it was a gift for! I am pretty sure that this pattern was either straight knitting, or seed stitch (k1 p1 for a row, p1 k1 on alt rows)

Adult Flower Slippers

Classic Baby Booties

Earflap Hat and Baby Booties

Mini Knitted Sweater Garland

These little sweaters made an appearance on my blog last Christmas, you can find the link to the pattern through my posting here.

Knitted Dog Vest

Classic Baby Hat and Booties

Baby Carseat Blanket

This pattern is for a carseat blanket; the hole is to put the buckle through. I feel like I need to put a picture with the blanket because it is often mistaken for a baby poncho. This was given to my sister-in-law, who had a baby girl just 2 weeks ago! The baby shower post is here.

Baby Shower Bonanza!

This past weekend was a baby shower for my future-sister-in-law Laura, who will be having a baby just before our wedding! I am so excited for them, and I was almost as excited to do my fair share of DIY projects for the shower and my future neice-y or nephew-y!

I will not be making tutorials for any of these projects, so I will post links to the ones that I used if you want to make any of these things yourself!

1. Baby Bunting Banner

This one was easy peasy. I just cut triangles out of different papers, cut out the letters "b a b y" with my cricut and glued them on, then used double-sided tape to attach the triangles to a ribbon.

2. Cake Pops

You can see my previous post on how to make cake pops if you want to make them. This time I did them a little differently because I used the cake pop maker that Jordan got me for Christmas. It is like a waffle iron and allows you to bake the cake into the ball shapes instead of mixing them with icing, which is much faster. These are a big hit with the kids!

3. Diaper Cake

My future-sister-in-law Lindsay asked me to make a diaper cake for the shower, and I couldn't have been more delighted. I have seen a bunch of these on Pinterest, and was dying to make one! It wasn't that hard either. I followed this tutorial, but instead of using cardboard to make the form, I used white foam board that I got from dollarama.

Pinterest vs Reality: Diaper Cake

4. Knitted Carseat Blanket

This one I got the pattern out of a knitting magazine so unfortunately I can't share the pattern. This is a carseat blanket, the hole is for the buckle on the carseat. The pattern is fairly simple, and it didn't even take a full ball of yarn!

5. Sewn receiving blanket, change pad, burp cloth, and bib

I am learning how to sew, and going a little overboard with it! It took just over 3 metres of fabric to make all of this, so I was very happy with how it turned out! Here are the links for the tutorials:

For the bib, I followed this tutorial, but just used solid fabric for both sides. I was careful when sewing on the velcro, so the bib is reversible as well!

Pinterest vs Reality: Baby Bib

I did a similar thing with the burp cloth, I followed this tutorial, but made my own pattern using newspaper. I also sewed the edges in instead of leaving them frayed.

Pinterest vs Reality: Burp Cloth

I also made this receiving blanket, following this tutorial. I have made a few of these by now, and I think that they turn out really cute with the different fabric combinations!

Pinterest vs Reality: Receiving Blanket

And finally, the changing pad, complete with a pocket to store some extra wipes and diapers, and it even rolls up to fit snugly in your diaper bag. I followed this tutorial, and was happy with the way it turned out.

Pinterest vs Reality: Changing Pad and Wipes Holder

And there you have it folks! It seems like I've been very busy, but I haven't been working for a few weeks so it really is my pleasure to do all these crafts! Enjoy!