I’m almost done with my moss stitch lap blanket.
Several months–and many books later–I’m steadily knitting and purling my way towards the end of my afghan. It’s been a new challenge for me, because it’s been years since I tried following a pattern. The projects I normally did in the past were scarves, where I would knit a row, and then purl a row. At the very least, this made very good at purling and knitting. I was more than happy to take on this project, because it alternates between knitting and purling.
How to Make a Moss Stitch Lap Afghan
The following is from the amazing site The Spruce Crafts, where you can look up information on how-to’s for projects such as knitting and crocheting. They also supply helpful instructional videos.
Materials
- This afghan calls four skeins of yarn, with about 900 to 1,000 yards total.
- While it does call for size 10 US circular needles, I’m using smaller circular needles.
Instructions
- Cast on 144 stitches
- DO NOT join in the round (the circular needles will evenly distribute the weight of the yarn)
- Repeat the following four rows:
- Row 1: knit one, purl one across
- Row 2: knit one, purl one across
- Row 3: purl one, knit one across
- Row 4: purl one, knit one across
- Join the new yarn as needed until you’re close to the final ball of yarn. Cast off. (You’re supposed to weave in ends with a crochet hook or needle, and trim extra-long ends if necessary.) I probably won’t be doing this, because I don’t know how for one thing, and I don’t have a crochet hook or needle.
That’s it! That’s all there is to it. While you can get fancy and make this project your own, I consider myself to still be a beginner in terms of actual projects. I refuse to try to do socks or sweaters (at least for now.)
What interests me are blankets and cowl scarves. I actually have a small skein of yarn that I’ll be working on next from with banana fiber yarn. It’s a small cowl, one that is actually supposed to be quiet easy. The trickiest thing for me will be following the pattern exactly. I’ll have to really concentrate because it requires you to knit four rows, and then purl three. Or something like that.
I’ve enjoyed working on this lap blanket. The moss stitch is surprisingly easy, and now that I know how to read my work, I’ve gotten better at knitting already. (Reading your work is simply a term for knowing how to look at your stitches and figure out where you are in your work. So say you’ve knit one, then purl one. Then you get up and leave your knitting for a while. If you look at your stitches by gently pulling the yarn apart, you can see that you’d need to knit one, purl one for one more row. I hope that makes sense! If not, here’s a better explanation.)
I love knitting. I’ve been doing it since I was in late elementary school. One of my good friends who happened to be in the same Girl Scout troop with me gave a tutorial on how to knit. I was the only one who kept it up, because it kept my hands busy. For some reason, even though I wasn’t very good at first, I kept at it. Now, more than 15 years later, I’m still knitting.
Now, I want to knit with a clear purpose. I have some baby cousins that I could make little soft blankets for. I want to actually make something with my yarn, instead of wasting it by making the same boring scarves over and over again. I want to find easy, yet fun patterns that I know I can accomplish. I want to feel like I’m doing something with my yarn, instead of just letting it pile up with the same patterns. I’ve done tons of scarves over the years, and now I’m ready to try something a little different.
If you’re interested in learning how to knit, start by looking up tutorials on YouTube. Or browse through The Spruce Crafts. Or join a beginner’s class, if that’s an option for you. If you’re a guy, don’t feel like you shouldn’t be knitting. If you’re a woman, and you don’t know how to knit, don’t feel bad. Knitting is not defined by gender or knitting ability. Knitting is for everyone! Knitting is about making something with your own two hands, no matter how big or small the project. It’s a thing of pride to look back at your work and feel like you’ve truly accomplished something.
Knitting is fun. Knitting is something you can do when visiting with friends, or commuting on the subway. It’s a portable conversation starter, too. When I brought my afghan into work, several of my co-workers asked me what I was making. When a woman thought I said I was making a napkin, I laughed. I gently corrected her, but we had a good laugh about it.
So, if you want to learn how to knit, go ahead and knit. It’s fun, it’s comprehensible, and it’s something you can take real pride in doing.
Happy knitting everyone!
Meghan
The Nerdy Nook 