In honour of Valentines day, I couldn’t resist a heart pattern. This is the fourth square for my knitted blanket project. It is another pattern that uses knit and purls only. I used a darker red wool of DK weight from my stash. It was recovered from a disastrous jumper and resulted in lots of short lengths of yarn tied together. There are more joins on this square than I wanted. Lesson learnt. I’ll use only continuous lengths of wool to complete squares in future.
They are not the clearest heart shape. Try looking out of the corner of your eye or squinting. It reminded me of the Magic Eyes pictures that were all the rage back in the 90s. We used to have a Magic Eye book, but I have no idea what happened to it. Maybe if I relax my eyes, I’ll spot it in the bookcase. Wasn’t the trick to put the picture up to your nose and then move it back slowly? If you have no idea what I’m talking about, or just want to walk down memory lane, click on the link below and look inside the book. Pictures hidden inside others, that take on a 3D appearance.
Magic eye
I may need to buy another copy. Anyway if you try the method with my heart pattern, you may just make out the hearts, although there is no 3D effect. Sorry!
This might be fun on a jumper for the children. I would use a lighter, maybe brighter colour, so the hearts show up clearer.
Elusive Heart square
Cast on 41 stitches.
Abbreviation: P (purl), K (Knit)
repeat the stitches between the pair of *s until the end of the row or the last few stitches.
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: P7, *K1, P12,* K1, P7
Row 3: K6, *P3, K10,* P3, K6
Row 4: P5, *K5, P8,* K5, P5
Row 5: K4, *P7, K6,* P7, K4
Row 6: P3, *K9, P4,* K9, P3
Row 7: K2, *P11, K2,* P11, K2
Row 8: P2, *K11, P2,* K11, P2
Row 9: K2, *P5, K1, P5, K2,*
Row 10: P3, *K3, P3, K3, P4,* K3, P3, K3, P3
Row 11: K4, *P2, K3, P2, K6,* P2, K3, P2, K4
Row 12: P13, K1, P12, K1, P14,
Row 13: K13, P3, K10, P3, K12,
Row 14: P11, K5, P8, K5, P12
Row 15: K11, P7, K6, P7, K10
Row 16: P9, K9, P4, K9, P10
Row 17: K9, P11, K2, P11, K8
Row 18: P8, K11, P2, K11, P9
Row 19: K9, P5, K1, P5, K2, P5, K1, P5, K8
Row 20: P9, K3, P3, K3, P4, K3, P3, K3, P10
Row 21: K11, P2, K3, P2, K6, P2, K3, P2, K10
I repeated rows 2 to 21 two and a half times to make the square.
It might be fun to knit this pattern up as a cushion for a loved one. For Valentines Day. To make the hearts stand out more, try using two colours. Maybe red hearts on a white background. On a blanket, the back of the knitting shows, otherwise I might be tempted to knit it again in two or more colours.
I like this stitch. I might put this on my list for next year and make up three jumpers for the children, using the heart pattern. Although, as TF will be four by then and at school (eek!), he may start saying no to some of my ideas. I can see the girls liking it. What do you think?
Ooh I like that one, thanks for sharing. Would look lovely as a blanket or scarf maybe.
Ow. I hadn’t thought of a scarf. What a lovely idea. That’s going on my idea list.
That is lovely! Those hearts are so neat because they are kind of hidden but once you see them certainly there! I am sure it will be a beautiful blanket.
Thanks Abbie. I’d not thought of the hearts that way. How lovely. I see what you mean. 🙂
Look at all this amazing knitting you are doing!!! Fabulous!!!
Thanks se7en. I’m loving it as a challenge. It has inspired the girls too. Last night, before bed, I had both of them sitting with me knitting. 😛
This is such a pretty pattern!
I think the girls would love it as a jumper / sweater. I don’t know how the other boys will react to your son! Of course, if he likes the idea then I’d say go for it — maybe the boys in his class wouldn’t even notice!
I just started teaching my daughter how to knit this Christmas holiday (after I gave her knitting needles in her stocking). She liked it at first, but hasn’t picked it up since! Mind you — I haven’t done any knitting of my own to inspire her…
I think a tractor or animal pattern may suit him better. I better find one to include in my blanket. Just so he can see that I have thought of him.
I find that my children are totally inspired when they see me doing anything. Now they are of the age that we can craft along together, which is fun. It is noticeable that the crafts I like best are the ones that they complete the projects. Crocheting has gone very quiet recently, but knitting and sewing are popular.
I officially announce that… I’m copying the new stitch square blanket idea …if that’s Ok? :0)
What a lovely idea..not at all boring …small interesting challenges in nice manageable amounts…I think my attention span can cope with squares.
I’ll use the Vogue stitch dictionary…though I must admit those hearts look rather yummy!
Oh Val, you are more than welcome to copy the idea. I’d love to see your progress. Maybe we can keep each other focused on completing the project.
I’m enjoying the challenge of the different stitches. It is the right size project to knit a square in one evening. I’m hoping by the end of this I’ll be more likely to include interesting stitches in my knitting. Not just making a jumper using stocking stitch.
I’m pulling ideas from lots of different sources. I have enough knitting books and patterns to inspire more than the 49 squares, even before I look on the internet. Intrigued by your book. Off to look…….
You’re doing a beautiful job with your knitting! I’m so grateful that you’re posting all the patterns…next winter I totally want to tackle the project of doing a block blanket and try my hand at knitting some fabulous squares. I think for me, it would be a great way to practice and increase my knitting knowledge…but for now…scrap carigans and scarves have me up to my needles in yarn!!
xo maureen
Thanks Maureen. I was wondering if I should post all 49 squares with instructions. It would be lovely to think others might be inspired to pick up their knitting needles and join in. I love the idea of a scrap cardigan. Must ……finish…….blanket…..first!
Hello there! I thought I’d stop by after seeing you’d left a comment at my blog…and I’m so glad I did! I love love love this heart pattern. I was just on ravelry a few days ago looking for something like this and came up empty. And now I found you:) I look forward to having a bit more time and checking this out some more. Happy weekending!
xo Jules
Hi Jules. I’m glad you like the heart pattern. I think it would be easy to include in most knitting. Thanks for dropping by.
Hi Cheryl – what a fantastic idea trying all these patterns is – a really clever way to try something different in a managable way….bet loads of people will be trying alongside you! Its great that your girls are inspired by it too 🙂
Thanks Mousy Brown. I’m feeling inspired by all these stitches. I keep on thinking about how I can combine them into a garment. Trying hard not to be distracted, as I’ll end up with only half a blanket.
I loved the heart square and will be knitting one for KasCare a charity which provides blankets made from 20cm squares knitted by volunteers from 40 countries.
Thanks for sharing the design.
If you don’t know what to do with oddments left over from projects, take a look at the KasCare website. There may be a group near you.
Nice idea. I’ll look into it.