stixyarn.

com/tangled

Puzzle Baby Blanket

by Paula Levy craft: knitting difficulty: intermediate sizes: one size MEASUREMENTS: approx 40 x 40

I love knitting and I love puzzles, so why not combine the two?! Each puzzle piece is knit to shape, back and forth, with an invisible garter stitch seam. The pieces are joined to their neighbors with a modified running stitch. This type of seam produces almost no bulk and is unobtrusive, an important consideration when working with different colors. The border is two rounds of crochet slip stitch which gives the Puzzle Baby Blanket a nice rounded edge. 1

materials: yarn

Scarlet Fleece Painted Merino (100% Washable Merino wool; 230 yd [210 m]/3.2 oz [90 gm]; CYCA 3): Kiwi (MC), 5 skeins, Popsicle (A), 4 skeins. Two or three 24 or longer circular US size 4 (3.5 mm) needles to use for knitting and st holders; 2 US size 4 (3.5 mm) short dpns. Size D-3 (3.35 mm) crochet hook for slip stitch edging (see Notes) Adjust needle size to obtain correct gauge. Waste yarn; crochet hook suitable for crocheting loose chain in waste yarn; removable stitch markers; tapestry needle; blocking surface; rust-proof pins;

Instructions: Puzzle Pieces SHAPES A (make 4) & B (make 8) With MC, provisionally CO 14 sts. Row 1 and all odd rows through 35 (WS) K all sts. Row 2 Row 4 Row 6 Row 8 Row 10 Row 12 Row 14 Row 16 Row 18 Row 20 K1, (K1, yo, k1, yo, k1) 4 times, k1 - 22 sts. K1, (K2, yo, k1, yo, k2) 4 times, k1 - 30 sts. K1, (K3, yo, k1, yo, k3) 4 times, k1 - 38 sts. K1, (K4, yo, k1, yo, k4) 4 times, k1 - 46 sts. K1, (K5, yo, k1, yo, k5) 4 times, k1 - 54 sts. K1, (K6, yo, k1, yo, k6) 4 times, k1 - 62 sts. K1, (K7, yo, k1, yo, k7) 4 times, k1 - 70 sts. K1, (K8, yo, k1, yo, k8) 4 times, k1 - 78 sts. K1, (K9, yo, k1, yo, k9) 4 times, k1 - 86 sts. K1, (K10, yo, k1, yo, k10) 4 times, k1 - 94 sts. K1, (K11, yo, k1, yo, k11) 4 times, k1 - 102 sts. K1, (K12, yo, k1, yo, k12) 4 times, k1 - 110 sts.

needles

hook

notions

gauge: 23 sts and 50 rows = 4 in Garter stitch on Size 4 needles before blocking. To check gauge: Cast on 30 sts. Work in Garter Stitch for approximately 6. Block swatch and measure. Gauge can be expected to change in the blocking process. STITCH GUIDE: Crochet slip stitch (sl st): Insert hook into designated space. Yarn over and draw new loop through space and then through loop on hook. stitch guide continued on next page --->

Row 22

Row 24

STITCH GUIDE (continued): Right lifted increase (RLI): Put right needle under the purl head below the next st on LN pointing away from you. Wrap RN as if to knit, and draw the new st through. (This maneuver does not require the left needle.) See Fig. 1. Left lifted increase (LLI): Put left needle under the purl head below the last st on RN pointing away from you. Insert RN in the same direction as well. K1 from this position. See Fig. 1. Provisional CO: With larger crochet hook and waste yarn, make a loose chain of a few more sts than the pattern calls for. Turn the chain over; you will see a series of bumps. With the main knitting needle, pick up the required number of sts, each in its own chain. (The extra chains are in case any are hard to find.) NOTES: The charm and challenge of hand-painted yarn is the color variations, even in skeins from the same dye lot. To blend the colors in a large piece, you would alternate two or more skeins every two rows. In a project like this one, you can also color block by assigning different skeins to different shapes. In either case, it is worth your while to un-coil all skeins to see how they vary. Each garter stitch rib is composed of the stitches in one row (shown in darker gray in the diagrams) and the running threads of the next row (shown in paler gray). Understanding this is helpful for doing this project. There are a lot of tails to weave in this project. I suggest taking care of them as you go along. The exception is the lengths used to seam pieces together; these will be used to reinforce the areas where four corners meet. notes continued on next page --->

Puzzle Pieces (continued) SHAPES A & B (continued) Row 26 K1, (K13, yo, k1, yo, k13) 4 times, k1 - 118 sts. K1, (K14, yo, k1, yo, k14) 4 times, k1 - 126 sts. K1, (K15, yo, k1, yo, k15) 4 times, k1 - 134 sts. K1, (K16, yo, k1, yo, k16) 4 times, k1 - 142 sts. K1, (K17, yo, k1, yo, k17) 4 times, k1 - 150 sts. K1, (K18, yo, k1, yo, k18) 4 times, k1 - 158 sts. BO1, k across row. Slip the last 2 sts back to LN, pass the left st over the right st to bind off, and return the rem st to RN - 156 sts on needle. Do not cut yarn.

Row 28

Row 30

Row 32

Row 34

Row 36

Row 37

With RS facing, bring the side edges of the piece together and sew seam as follows: start at the center (where you cast on), leaving a tail of about 6. Weave back and forth between the running threads on the right-hand side of the seam and the purl heads on the left-hand side. (See Fig. 2) At the top of the seam, go under the loop below the live st and on the right-hand side, go under the BO st. Secure yarn. At the center, move the cast-on loops to 2 or 3 dpns. (Note: there should be 13 loops, but occasionally a 14th one appears. Treat it like all the other loops). Remove waste yarn. With RS facing, thread the tails from the seam and the beginning of the CO into a tapestry needle. Thread carefully through all the cast-on loops, removing them from the dpns. Pull tight and secure tails.

NOTES (continued): The increase lines (yo, k1, yo) are quite evident after the first few rows, so I usually did not mark them. Mark them if you wish, of course. I do recommend placing a removable marker through a stitch on the RS; confusing the sides is asking for mistakes. Corner increases are continued onto the BO row. Yarn over at the appropriate location, then pass the previous st over the yarn over. It is now a regular st, and you can continue with the BO. To have BO sts all around the piece, I treat the purl heads on the sides of the indentations and lobes as if they were sts (See Fig. 3). On the indentations, the heads on either side of the base are doubled because of the pattern decreases. The border is two rounds of crochet slip stitch. The hook has to be quite small to get into the spaces, but you also do not want the rounds to be too tight. Draw the loop through the space and enlarge it a bit before drawing through the loop on the hook.

Lobes Move 2 sts from each side of seam onto dpn. Use a second dpn for knitting, using the main needle to hold the rem sts. With RS facing, join yarn. Rows 1 - 5 Row 6 Row 7 Row 8 Row 9 Row 10 Rows 11 13 Row 14 Row 15 Row 16 K4. K1, RLI, k2, LLI, k1 - 6 sts. K6. K1, RLI, k4, LLI, k1 - 8 sts. K8. K1, RLI, k6, LLI, k1 - 10 sts. K10. K1, ssk, k4, k2tog, k1 - 8 sts. K1, ssk, k2, k2tog, k1 - 6 sts. K1, ssk, k2tog, k1 - 4 sts.

Cut yarn and place 4 sts on small holder. *With RS facing, slip 35 sts from LN to RN. Join yarn. Work another lobe over next 4 sts. When lobe is complete, cut yarn, and place 4 sts on holder.* FOR PIECE A ONLY Work from * to * 3 times. On last repeat, do not cut yarn or move final 4 sts to holder. FOR PIECE B ONLY Work from * to * 2 times. On last repeat, do not cut yarn or move final 4 sts to holder.

FOR A & B [BO sts at top of lobe. Pick up and place 9 loops from left-hand side of lobe onto dpn (See Fig. 3) and BO as if they were sts. BO in knit to next lobe, working yo, k1, yo at the corner. With dpn, pick up and place 9 loops from right-hand side of lobe onto a dpn, BO as if they were sts] 4 times for Shape A and 3 times for shape B. Cut yarn and secure to the first stitch. SHAPE C (make 5)

SHAPE C (continued) Row 30 Row 31 Row 32 Rows 33 & 35 Row 34 Row 36 K13, yo, k1, yo, k13 - 29 sts. K1, RLI, k27, LLI, k1 - 31 sts. K15, yo, k1, yo, k15 - 33 sts. K all sts. K16, yo, k1, yo, k16 - 35 sts. K1, SSK, k14, yo, k1, yo, k14, k2tog, k1 - 35 sts on needle. K1, SSK, k29, k2tog, k1. Put these 33 sts on holder. Cut yarn.

With CC, provisionally CO 14 sts. Work Rows 1- 19 as for shapes A and B. Row 37 Row 20 BO 1, k9 (10 sts on RN), yo, k1, yo, (k20, yo, k1, yo) 3 times, k11. Slip last 2 sts back to LN, pass the left st over the right st to bind off, and return the rem st to RN - 92 sts. K3, move these 3 sts to holder, k2tog, *k13, SSK. K6. Put last 6 sts on holder, k2tog.* Repeat from * to * 3 times. K13, SSK, put last 3 sts on holder.

For rem three sections, with RS facing, join yarn at the beg of another section. Work Rows 22-37 for each section. After fourth section, do not cut yarn or move sts from needle. Sew seam and finish center. Reunite all sections on needle. [With RS facing, BO to the next indentation, working yo, k1, yo at the corner. Pick up and place 9 loops from righthand side of indentation onto dpn and BO, BO 6 sts from holder, pick up and place 9 sts from left-hand side of indentation and BO.] 4 times. Cut yarn and secure to first stitch. SHAPE D (make 4) With CC, provisionally CO 14 sts. Work Rows 1- 19 as for shapes A and B. Row 20 BO1, k9 (10 sts on RN), yo, k1, yo, (k20, yo, k1, yo) 3 times, k11. Slip the last 2 sts back to the left needle, pass the left st over the right st to bind off, and return the rem st to the right needle - 92 sts.

Row 21

Note: Row 21 separates the work into 4 sections of 15 sts each. Row 22 K7, yo, k1, yo, k7. Put all other sts on needle onto holder - 17 sts on needle. K all sts. K8, yo, k1, yo, k8 - 19 sts. K9, yo, k1, yo, k9 - 21 sts. K1, RLI, k19, LLI, k1 - 23 sts. K11, yo, k1, yo, k11 - 25 sts.

Rows 23 & 25 Row 24 Row 26 Row 27 Row 28 Row 29

K1, RLI, k23, LLI, k1 - 27 sts. 5

SHAPE D (continued) Row 21 K3, slip these sts to holder, k2tog, k13, SSK, k6, move 6 sts just completed to holder, k2tog, k36, ssk, k6, move 6 sts just completed to holder, k2tog, k13, SSK, move rem 3 sts to holder. This row divides the work into 3 sections, 2 with 15 sts and 1 with 38 sts.

SHAPE D (continued) Row 34 K16, yo, k1, yo, k34, yo, k1, yo, k16 - 72 sts. K1, SSK, k14, yo, k1, yo, k36, yo, k1, yo, k14, k2tog, k1 - 74 sts. K1, SSK, k68, k2tog, k1 - 72 sts. Do not cut yarn.

Row 36

Row 37

Sew seam and finish center. Work Rows 22 - 37 as for Shape C. Cut yarn and move these sts to holder. Put 15 sts from other short section onto needle and work as for previous section. For the last section, put 38 sts from long center section on the needle. With RS facing, join yarn. Row 22 K7, yo, k1, yo, k22, yo, k1, yo, k7 - 42 sts. K all sts. K8, yo, k1, yo, k24, yo, k1, yo, k8 - 46 sts. K9, yo, k1, yo, k26, yo, k1, yo, k9 - 50 sts. Row 21 Row 27 Row 28 K1, RLI, k48, LLI, k1 - 52 sts. K11, yo, k1, yo, k28, yo, k1, yo, k11 - 56 sts. K1, RLI, k54, LLI, k1 - 58 sts. K13, yo, k1, yo, k30, yo, k1, yo, k13 - 62 sts. K1, RLI, k60, LLI, k1 - 64 sts. Rows 23 & 25 Row 32 K15, yo, k1, yo, k32, yo, k1, yo, k15 - 68 sts. K all sts. 6 Row 24 K all sts. K8, (yo, k1, yo, k24) 2 times, yo, k1, yo, k8 - 73 sts. Row 22 Reunite 138 sts on main needle. With RS facing, BO as for Shape C, but, of course, there is a long edge and only 3 indentations. Cut yarn and secure to the first stitch. Shape E (make 4) With CC, provisionally CO 14 sts. Work Rows 1 - 19 as for shapes A and B. Row 20 Row 23 & 25 Row 24 BO1, K9, yo, k1, yo, (k20, yo, k1, yo )3 times, k11. Slip the last 2 sts back to the left needle, pass the left st over the right st to bind off, and return the rem st to the right needle - 92 sts on needle. K3, move these 3 sts to a holder, k2tog, k13, SSK. K6, put last 6 sts worked on holder, k2tog. Knit all sts until 5 rem, SSK, put last 3 sts on holder. This row divides the shape into 2 sections, 1 with 15 sts and 1 with 67 sts. K7 , (yo, k1, yo, k22 )2 times, yo, k1, yo, k7. Put rem 15 sts on a holder - 67 sts rem on needle.

Row 26

Row 29 Row 30

Row 31

Rows 33 & 35

SHAPE E (continued) Row 26 K9, (yo, k1, yo, k26) 2 times, yo, k1, yo, k9 - 79 sts. K1, RLI, k77, LLI, k1 - 81 sts. K11, (yo, k1, yo, k28) 2 times, yo, k1, yo, k11 - 87 sts. K1, RLI, k85, LLI, k1 - 89 sts. K13, (yo, k1, yo, k30) 2 times, yo, k1, yo, k1 - 95 sts. K1, RLI, k93, LLI, k1 - 97 sts. K15, (yo, k1,yo, k32) 2 times, yo, k1, yo, k15 - 103 sts. K all sts. K16, (yo, k1, yo, k34) 2 times, yo, k1, yo, k16 - 109 sts. K all sts. K1, SSK, k14, (yo, k1, yo, k36) 2 times, yo, k1, yo, k14, k2tog, k1 - 113 sts. K1, SSK, k107, k2tog, k1. Put these sts on a holder - 111 sts. Cut yarn.

Blocking Wet all pieces thoroughly. Pin out to 8 square. Do not be too concerned with the lobes and indentations; they will adjust to each other. Allow to air dry. Joining Pieces The pieces are first joined into rows of 5 after which the rows are joined together. A modified running stitch and MC are used throughout (See Schematic for placement). Aligning the pieces is more art than science. Edges should be straight, corners should meet, and the lobes should sit properly in the indentations. Referring to Fig 4, hold 2 pieces with WS tog. Insert needle front to back under one of the BO chain on the forward piece. Bring it across and go under corresponding chain of back piece. Move over one chain, bring the needle forward under it, then forward under the chain that was previously worked on the forward piece. Move over one chain, bring needle front to back under it, then under the chain previously worked on the back piece. On occasion, stitches will need to be eased in, especially in the areas of the lobes and indentations. Do this by moving over one chain without going under the chain previously worked. To join rows work as above. When you get to a four-corner spot, work the seaming stitch under two chains of each piece, circling around until you are in position to continue joining the rows. On the underside use a yarn tail to take a few stitches around the join to reinforce it. Darn in ends. Border

Row 27 Row 28

Row 29 Row 30

Row 31 Row 32

Row 33 Row 34

Row 35 Row 36 Row 37

Put 15-st section back on needle. With RS facing, join yarn. Work Rows 22 - 37 as for Shape C. Do not cut yarn or transfer sts. With right side facing, sew seam and finish center. Secure yarn. Reunite 144 sts on needle. With RS facing, BO as for Shape C, but, of course, there is one long edge and only 2 indentations. Cut yarn and secure to the first stitch.

With RS facing, join MC. Crochet slip stitch under each BO chain and slip stitch under two strands at the seams. When round is completed, cut yarn and secure to beginning of round. Turn piece so that you are working in the opposite direction from the previous round. Join MC. 7

Border (continued) Work slip stitch under each of the slip stitches from the previous round. When round is completed, cut yarn and secure to beginning of round. Finishing Darn in all remaining ends. Thoroughly wet the piece and lay it out on a flat water-proof surface. Pull it to its final dimensions, make sure seams are straight, and pat out any puffiness around the lobes. Pin in place if necessary and allow to dry.

Original design by Paula B. Levy Paula specializes in geometric and modular knitting designs. With an eye towards the elements of structure and knitting technique, she aims to produce projects that excite the imagination and are a pleasure to knit and use. She is paulabethl on Ravelry and her e-mail is paulabethl@yahoo.com. She blogs at Now, how am I supposed to knit a blog? (supposed-to-knit.blogspot.com).

8 8 20 cm

40 20 cm

(100cm)

40 (100cm)

A
Make 4
8

B
Make 8

C
Make 5

D
Make 4

E
Make 4

3. Tilt RN

4. Wrap yarn and knit

LLI
1. Insert LN
2. Insert RN

2. Wrap yarn and knit

RLI
1. Insert right needle

Figure 1

2 1
Figure 2
9

Figure 3

2 4

5 1
Figure 4
It is of the utmost importance to Tangled to provide accurate and well-written patterns. All Tangled patterns have been carefully edited for errors. If you think you may have found a mistake please contact the Stix Chix at contact@stixyarn.com This pattern is copyright 2012 by Paula B. Levy and may not be distributed in any way. Photos by Brittany Tyler.

10