Ever since I made my hand-knit socks, I’ve been getting more and more excited about knitting. I’ve made some cute outfits for my dog and recently, I made this super cute baby blanket for my niece. Here’s a link to the pattern and my experience making the Meadowland Baby Afghan:
Knitting Pattern
The Meadowland Baby Afghan is a free pattern from Lion Brand Yarns. I first saw someone post it on reddit and I immediately ordered my yarn so I could make one too. I love the beautiful bright colors, the striping, and the geometric pattern. Knitting this blanket was so much fun.
Everything you need:
What I Love About Making The Meadowland Baby Afghan
I ordered the Mandala Yarn recommended in the pattern which came in a lot of color variations (I bought Valkyrie and Thunderbird). I thought this was good quality yarn and I loved how it’s self-striping. I think all of the different colored cakes of yarn would compliment each other, so you really could buy any two you like.
Making this blanket was really fun. Sometimes knitting can feel really repetitive or monotonous, but I never felt like that with this blanket. The blanket is broken up into four separate triangles which helps keep the project from feeling boring or overwhelming.
This was also the first time I had alternated colors in a knitting project. I really enjoyed that because it made the work exciting/not dull. And since the yarn itself is changing colors too, it created a really pretty ombre pattern that kept it all very interesting.
And to make it even more fun — you work a decrease row every other row, so it really builds the momentum for completing each triangle. Working this blanket felt very fast — even though it took me a little over two weeks. I really enjoyed every step.
My Experience Knitting The Meadowland Baby Afghan
Knitting the first triangle was pretty easy. Like I mentioned, I had never alternated colors in my knitting before, so I wasn’t sure how to swap between different colors. I found a Youtube video that explained it and showed how to carry the color up the side of the work. Once I got the hang of it, I got faster and more confident. I was a little confused when I got to the end of the first triangle and it said to “fasten off the last stitch” — I’m still unsure the proper way to do this. I just cut off my yarn and tied a small knot which seemed to do the trick.
Picking up stitches to start the second triangle was not too bad. I was already familiar with picking up stitches from making my socks, but I didn’t realize that the pattern says to pick up AND knit the 96 stitches. I missed the knitting part at first, but quickly realized that I was doing it wrong because it was looking like the wrong side (WS) on the right side (RS) of my work. I had to undo the mess I made which was super frustrating, but I am understanding more about knitting and now I can recognize WS and RS more easily.
After I learned from my mistakes in triangle two, the next two triangles were a breeze. I even tried to practice my Continental style knitting during these triangles. Once that was done, I used a darning needle to weave in the edges and clean everything up.
To finish the blanket, the pattern explains a fringe/edging. First, you have to pick up and knit 140 stitches. I was not able to pick up that many stitches, but I got as close as I could. Next, it asks you to do this special cable cast-on which took me a few tries to finally get right. I feel like the instructions were unclear, but I found this video that helped me figure it out:
Once I got the hang of the cable cast-on method, the edging wasn’t too difficult.
Here’s the pattern again if you want to create this cute blanket yourself. I really enjoyed making this blanket and I hope my niece loves it. ♡♡♡
