Oh, poor S. But yeah, you've got to try the Cascade swapout, because the Lamb's Pride is itch city if you ask me and my mohair sensitivity--hardly the thing for a blankie to cuddle with!

Oh no! I remember my brother's favorite blankie. It finally disintegrated to a square about 2" x 3". He'd lay it over his eyes to sleep.
Can you do panels of red and blue and then sew or crochet them together?
"Yarn a blankie" is too cute!

oh that just is painful to see. poor kid. at least he's giving you ample time to replace it.

How sweet! You are a good mommy to make him another one.

This happened to my daughter too, but I managed to rescue, frog, and reknit the blankie before it fell apart. It's still a huge favorite over here at our house.

Instead of making a yo/k2tog to make holes, why not make him a clapotis? (from Knitty) Is has the lines of dropped stitches that he might like, and with the added bonus that you can make horizontal (not intarsia) stripes with the yarn, but the dropped stitches go vertically so you get a neat effect.

Just a thought :-)

It must make you feel good that he loves something you made him literally to pieces - so sweet!

How very sweet. I love they way kids understand and don't understand knitting at the same time. Good luck with the operation.

Vertical stripes are easy to make if you knit the blanket lengthwise...just cast on for however long you want it to be. And use a really, really long circ! =)

Awww, that's so sweet that he picks out his own yarn and thinks it takes "90 days to yarn a blankie" I loved that! Too cute!

Yes, Katie, but how do I knit the same pattern sideways?

I loved the 90 days line, too. The original blankie looks much-loved.

For Katie's idea, could you knit several rows of stockinette, then do a row of yo,k2tog, two rows of stockinette, followed by another row of yo,k2tog?

wow...that blankie is in worse condition than my blankie was at his age.
and I think Cascade220 is a must. as for the stripes....Andrea and Katie's idea for lengthwise sounds like the way to go...
let us know if it works! can't wait to see it.
and my condolences and xoxo to S.
and absolutely NO DANGLING over the bed!!!

That is almost as bad as the one my cousin carried around from the time she started walking until she was 10. It was in shreds and had to be resewn so much that it was mostly thread instead of fabric.

This is making me miss MY blankie... you are the BEST mama for making another one.

Awww, that's so sweet! What an adorable thing, it takes 90 days to yarn a blankie. I'd switch the yarn tho =)

There's a seafoam stitch that has the drop stitches running vertically.
http://knittingonthenet.com/stitches/seafoam.htm
Maybe it can be adapted somehow to work with the blanket? I haven't looked at the pattern closely in a while, so I don't know how feasible it is. Or hopefully you'll be able to convince S that horizontal stripes are much better in "90 days" heheh.

I want to make blankies for my babies. They are 6 and 4..I wonder if I am too late.

Is the original blanket wool? I would think it might be better (and more "easy care") in Cotton Fleece.

Blankies are strange things, our middle child attached himself to a Hudson Bay Blanket I snuggled in while he nursed at night. Itchy right! It didn't bother him a bit, try the switch but keep that yarn just in case.

That is so sweet -- I wonder where he got the idea that it takes 90 days to "yarn" a blankie? It's funny how kids can be so specific in their ideas of things.

Aw... What a sad day. I am much relieved for you that S would even agree to a new blankie!! Wooh!

Breaks my heart. I so know how he feels (I still have my pillow I loved so much, and I'm 36:))

I vote for the lengthwise pattern too:

something like, say, 10 rows of stockinette
1 row of YO k2tog
row of stockinette
join new yarn
row of stockinette
1 row of YO k2tog
10 rows stockinette.... etc.

Seems like that would create pretty much the same pattern... Good luck with it whatever you decide to do! :)

I think he coined a new way to speak of knitting. I'm off to yarn a baby sweater now...LOVE that!

Seeing as how I never got a baby blankey I'm almost jealous... but mom did knit me a BIG blankey when I was sick last year, so I can't complain. 5+ feet square, basketweave in WW Woolease. I still drag it to medical tests.

I think the best way to imitate the pattern would be one where you k1,yo on one row, and then drop the yo's on the next row. it would give you that 'laddered' look.

Oh, and seriously, Cascade 220, or some other non-mohair blend (or a superwash or wool/acryl blend). I made the entrelac scarf from knitty with Lamb's Pride, and it itches like you wouldn't believe.

So sad...hope you can knit him a good replacement. I bet he'll be checking up on your progress alot.

Poor S! Sounds like you have a good plan, though.

I have a 4 year old with an over loved lovey.

Was thinking lately, don't you need to get crackin' on a blankey for the new baby? Reading the preview in Bloglines, that's what I thought this post was going to be about.

Awww. That is really sweet. Is Lamb's Pride soft?? "90 days to yarn a blankie." Too precious!

Aww, poor kid. You're such a good mom for knitting him a new one.

Is Lamb's Pride soft? You mentioned Cascade 220 ... I have never worked with Lambs Pride so I don't know which one is softer.

When my daughter's blankies got too fragile, she was easily persuaded to put them (all three..Ba, Baby Ba and Grandma Ba...don't ask) into a "special" pillowcase. And she would cuddle the pillowcase at night. Of course, she didn't have the need to run her fingers along the edge, so it may not be a usuable idea for you.

You're a good mom. Be glad that S. didn't stumble upon Koigu or some cashmere and decide he needed that.

Delurking, 90 days is a reasonable deadline ;-)

Another way of getting vertical stripes is described in e.g., Domino Knitting by Vivian Høxbro. Knit a stripe and cast off, pick up stitches along edge and cast on for next color. At the end of each row knit the last st together with an edge stitch. Works great with garter stitch based patterns.

I know that he'll love the replacement blankie just as much! You're so generously knitty to your kids, and they love it so much!!

Allison -

Your blog is on my "favorites", I'm going to be in Boston next weekend to visit a friend we are going to be near Copley, can you recommend a favorite yarn shop for us to drop in on? Thanks!

You could have me blindfolded in a pitch dark room and falling over drunk and I could still tell the difference between Lamb's Pride and Cascade 220! Cascade 220 is so scratchy!

Every where I take my Skully sweater to be that is being knitted with Lamb's Pride I have knitters coming out of the wood work to ask about the yarn and pet it.

Lamb's Pride hands down winner every single time!

My thought would be to knit it sideways by doing garter for a couple of rows then one row of k1, yo, k the last st, then the next row you k1, drop the yo. I think you could do that twice, then go back to the garter, and it would give you that double row of open loops.

my goodness it was well loved! you could almost frame the fragments as a kind of historic record - as they sometimes do in museums with ancient fabric

To answer Cathy's question about a baby blanket for wee one, I'm still working on the plans for that one. I have some yarn in my stash that's earmarked for it and a pattern in mind (nothing fancy), but I'm not planning on starting it until the summer. We gave the boys their blankies as it started to get chilly their first fall and I'm planning to do the same for wee one. So no baby blanket scheduled until after baby is born. But don't worry, she will have one!

wow...I guess I'm lucky Gil never got attached to anything...I mean he likes taking various toys to bed...and if he goes to grandma for the night he'll take this fleece blanket we got for like $2.5 as some sort of a promotion...but otherwise...the only thing he was attached to for 3 years was my boob...
anyway...I have idea for you if "S" wants " vertical"...you know how you can knit a cardigan side to side...instead of fromt he bottom up...well say you did horizontal stripes on a circular needle so you could have like really LONG rows...and then when you casted off it would be vertical...do you follow?

Oh, poor S... and it is just soooo sweet of him to think it takes "90 days to yarn a blankie". Framing that old blankie is a wonderful idea!