Mochi Plus 'Parquet Squares'
Baby Blanket
Designed by Sandi Rosner for Crystal Palace Yarns

Changing the direction of the knitting creates interesting angles in the shifting colors of Mochi Plus. With the parquet squares technique, there are no cast on or bound off edges, so the entire blanket is fluid and elastic. The 16 blocks are knit together as you go.

Materials
Yarn: Crystal Palace Yarns Mochi Plus (80% Merino Wool, 20% Nylon, 95 yards – 50 gram ball): 9 balls of any color. Mochi Plus in #561 Baby Face is shown.
Needles:
Crystal Palace Bamboo Needles Size US 9 / 5.5mm.
Adjust needle size if necessary to get the correct gauge.
Crochet Hook: Size I-9 / 5.5mm
Smooth waste yarn for provisional cast on and holding stitches.
Tapestry needle.

Finished Measurements
About 30” x 30”

Gauge
17 sts and 34 rows = 4”/10cm in garter stitch

Abbreviations
CO Cast on
K Knit
K2tog Knit 2 stitches together
P2tog Purl 2 stitches together
RS Right Side
Sl Slip
St(s) Stitch(es)
W&T Wrap and turn – used to prevent holes when working short rows. With yarn to WS, slip next st as if to purl. Bring yarn to RS and sl the stitch back to left hand needle. Turn the piece and work in the opposite direction.
WS Wrong Side

Provisional Cast On
A provisional cast on is meant to be temporary, allowing you to retrieve live stitches form the cast on edge and work in the other direction. While there are several methods for accomplishing this, my favorite is worked with a crochet hook.
Using smooth waste yarn, place a slip knot on the crochet hook. Hold the hook in your right hand and a knitting needle in your left hand. * Bring the yarn around the needle, catch it with the hook and draw it through the slip knot. Repeat from * until the desired number of stitches are on the knitting needle. You are essentially making a crochet chain around the knitting needle. Work a few extra chain sts without the needle, and fasten off. Begin knitting with your main yarn. When directed to retrieve these stitches, begin at the end with the extra chains. Unzip the crochet chain and catch each stitch on a knitting needle as it comes free of the chain.

Directions

Block 1:
Using a provisional cast on, CO 30 sts.
Rows 1-61: Sl 1, k to end.
30 garter ridges complete. The final row is a RS row.
Place all sts on waste yarn for holding.
Block 2:
Pick up and k 30 sts along left hand side of Block 1.
Rows 1-60: Sl 1, k to end.
30 garter ridges complete. The final row is a RS row.
Place all sts on waste yarn for holding.
Block 3:
Pick up and k 30 sts along left hand side of Block 2.
Work same as for Block 2.
Block 4:
Pick up and k 30 sts along left hand side of Block 3.
Recover 30 sts from provisional cast on.
Row 1 (WS): Knit.
Row 2: Sl 1, k28, k2tog (1 st of new block with 1 st of cast on edge). Turn.
Row 3: Sl 1, k to end.
Repeat last 2 rows 28 times more.
Next row (RS): Sl 1, k to end. Place all sts on waste yarn for holding.
Block 5:
Pick up and k 30 sts along right hand side of Block 1.
Work same as for Bock 2.
Block 6:
Pick up and k 30 sts along left hand side of Block 5.
Work same as for Block 2.
Block 7:
Pick up and k 30 sts along left hand side of Block 6.
Recover 30 sts from holder at top of Block 1.
Work as for Block 4, but do not put sts on hold.
Block 8:
Pick up and k 30 sts along right hand side of Block 2.
Row 1 (WS): Sl 1, k28, k2tog (1 st of new block with 1 st from final row of Block 7).
Row 2 (RS): Sl 1, k to end.
Repeat last 2 rows 29 x more. Place all sts on waste yarn for holding.
Block 9:
Pick up and k 30 sts along left hand side of Block 8.
Work same as for Block 2.
Block 10:
Pick up and k 30 sts along left hand side of Block 9.
Recover 30 sts from holder at top of Block 2.
Work as for Block 4, but do not put sts on hold.
Block 11:
Pick up and k 30 sts from right hand side of Block 3.
Work same as for Block 8.
Block 12:
Pick up and k 30 sts from left hand side of Block 11.
Work same as for Block 2.
Block 13:
Pick up and k 30 sts from left hand side of Block 12.
Recover 30 sts from holder at top of Block 3.
Work as for Block 4, but do not put sts on hold.
Block 14:
Pick up and k 30 sts from right hand side of Block 4.
Work same as for Block 8.
Block 15:
Pick up and k 30 sts from left hand side of Block 14.
Work same as for Block 2.
Block 16:
Pick up and k 30 sts from left hand side of Block 15.
Recover 30 sts form holder at top of Block 4.
Work as for Block 4, but do not put sts on hold.
Break yarn leaving a tail about 18” long.
Use Kitchener stitch to graft the stitches from the last row of Block 16 to the right hand side of Block 5.

Border
Using a provisional cast on, CO 5 sts.
Place held sts from Block 5 on right hand needle with WS facing, then knit 1 WS row across cast on sts.
Next row (RS): Sl 1, k3, k2tog (1 border st with one stitch from block).
Next row: Sl 1, k to end.
Repeat to end of block.
Next row (RS): Sl 1, k4, pick up 1 st from side of Block 6, turn.
Next row: P2tog, k to end.
Repeat last 2 rows 29 times more, picking up 1 st form each ridge of Block 6.
Corner:
Sl 1, k3, w&t, k to end.
Sl 1, k2, w&t, k to end.
Sl 1, k1, w&t, k to end.
Sl 1, k3, k2tog (1 st of border with first st on hold at top of Block 6), turn, sl 1, k to end.
Sl 1, k1, w&t, k to end.
Sl 1, k2, w&t, k to end.
Sl 1, k3, w&t, k to end.
Continue as established, attaching border to held stitches and sides of blocks as you go and using short rows to turn corners.
When the border is complete, use Kitchener stitch to graft the final row to the sts from the provisional cast on.

Weave in ends. Block gently.

Special thanks to Sandi Rosner for sharing her cozy baby blanket pattern with us.
Watch for workshops and classes taught by Sandi at knitting events around the knitting world!

copyright 2010 Sandi Rosner & Crystal Palace Yarns/Straw Into Gold, Inc. - We are happy to share this free knitting pattern with knitters. The pattern may be used for non-commercial personal or knitting guild use. It is not to be used in any publication in print nor should it be reproduced in electronic/digital format without permission. Knitting shops carrying CP Yarns Mochi Plus are welcome to print and share this pattern with customers of our yarns.
Please do not use this pattern to teach classes and workshops using non-Crystal Palace Yarns.

Retail shops in the USA should contact CPY Wholesale for information on purchasing Crystal Palace Yarns and email cpyinfo -at- straw.com (replace the -at- with @)

or write to:
Crystal Palace Yarns, 160 23rd St., Richmond, CA 94804
phone: 510-237-9988,  fax: 510-237-9809