***Note: The ad-free PDF of Square 5 can be found in my Etsy store HERE! The free version can be found below in this blog post. The Ravelry entry for Square 5 can be found HERE.
Throughout the years I have been so honoured to partner with Lion Brand Yarn, and I am excited to participate in a year-long project sponsored by them called “The Traveling Afghans“! Lion Brand Yarn has initiated a “My Life in Yarn” campaign in 2020 so that they can connect with their community on a deeper level and learn how yarn plays a role in our lives. They want to understand what inspires us as makers and how we got into making in the first place! We all share a love of yarn, whether that be knitting or crocheting, and it is fascinating hearing each others’ stories and how we discovered this love. The Traveling Afghans is a very unique project since it is a collaborative effort among 49 knit and crochet designers and bloggers from seven different countries!
There are two traveling afghans (a knit version and a crochet version) that have set sail from New York City and are journeying to a new designer every two weeks. Each designer is creating a 10″ x 10″ square to add to the blanket before sending it off to the next person. All the designers are publishing their square patterns for free online so that YOU can follow along with us and create your own knit or crochet afghan! I am pleased to be the 5th stop of the knit afghan and have loved following along with all the squares that have already been made. This year-long collaborative effort will feature stories from the designers about their paths as makers, and will give you the opportunity to learn new stitches and make new friends in the community along the way!
Here’s how you can participate:
1. Purchase a yarn kit now for either the knit or crochet Traveling Afghan so you have everything you need to make your own Traveling Afghan (project began in January 2020 and will span the entire year with a new square being released every two weeks). Note that you do not need to purchase a kit to join – you’re welcome to use any yarn you like, including what you already have in your stash! You’ll need worsted weight yarn and size US 8 (5mm) knitting needles or a J/10 (6mm) crochet hook.
2. Visit this page HERE organized by Alexi of Two of Wands for the itineraries of the afghans along with the master list of all designers and links to their sites so you can follow along as they travel around the world and new patterns get released.
3. Follow the designers on social media to get updates on their pattern releases and learn about their maker journeys. There may even be some giveaways to enter!
4. Host a CAL or KAL with your local maker friends! Get together throughout the year in person or online to add your squares. We would love to see YOUR life in yarn too, so make sure to tag Lion Brand Yarn and My Life in Yarn in your posts and use the hashtags #travelingafghans #lionbrandyarn and #mylifeinyarn and either #travelingknitafghan or #travelingcrochetafghan. You can also post your projects to Ravelry!
Here is the itinerary for the Traveling Knit Afghan (the links will be updated as the squares are added):
#1 – 1/1-1/13 – New York City, USA – Alexandra Tavel of Two of Wands – square pattern HERE.
#2 – 1/15-1/28 – Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria – Sandra Gutierrez of Nomad Stitches – square pattern HERE.
#3 – 1/29-2/11 – Dublin, Ireland – Katie Moore of The Queen Stitch – square pattern HERE.
#4 – 2/12-2/25 – Nova Scotia, Canada – Kelly Brooks of Knitbrooks – square pattern HERE.
#5 – 2/26-3/10 – Alberta, Canada – Stephanie Lau of All About Ami – square pattern found within this blog post.
#6 – 3/11-3/24 – Alberta, Canada – Chantal Miyagishima of Knitatude
#7 – 3/25-4/7 – BC, Canada – Christie Bodden of Christie Bodden Designs
#8 – 4/8-4/21 – Oregon, USA – Makenzie Alvarez of Hanks and Needles
#9 – 4/22-5/5 – California, USA – Phanessa Fong of Designs by Phanessa
#10 – 5/6-5/19 – California, USA – Angie Bivins of Whistle & Wool
#11 – 5/20-6/2 – California, USA – Jane Tsou of Gorilla Knits
#12 – 6/3-6/16 – Nevada, USA – Chenoa Wilcox of jellyKNITTING
#13 – 6/17-6/30 – Utah, USA – Rachel Misner of Evelyn & Peter
#14 – 7/1-7/14 – Colorado, USA – Jessica Potasz of Mama in a Stitch
#15 – 7/15-7/28 – Kansas, USA – Jerica Tompkins of Yarn Hook Needles
#16 – 7/29-8/11 – Kansas, USA – Mary Lee of Fifty Four Ten Studio
#17 – 8/12-8/25 – Minnesota, USA – Kaitlin Barthold of Originally Lovely
#18 – 8/26-9/8 – Minnesota, USA – Julia Anastasi of Northern Loop Knitwear
#19 – 9/9-9/22 – Winona, MN, USA – Trista Ziemendorf of While They Dream
#20 – 9/23-10/6 – Illinois, USA – Heidi Gustad of Hands Occupied
#21 – 10/7-10/20 – Illinois, USA – Jewell Washington of Northknits
#22 – 10/21-11/3 – Michigan, USA – Destiny Meyer of Knifty Knittings
#23 – 11/4-11/17 – Virginia, USA – Nathan Bryant of Loop N Threads
#24 – 11/18-12/1 – Rhode Island, USA – Jake Kenyon of Kenyarn
#25 – 12/2-12/16 – New Jersey, USA – Vanessa Coscarelli Black of Vanessa Knits
My love of yarn and crafting began when I was a young girl! I dabbled in scrapbooking, macrame, jewelry making and absolutely fell in love with the fiber arts when my parents bought me some knit and crochet books. I knit a sweater for my teddy bear and even began to crochet my own stuffed animals (I actually still have my original amigurumi that I made as a ten year old – check them out HERE). All of my crafting got put on the backburner as I focused on my studies and strived to get into my desired programs. After graduating, getting married, and starting my job, I found that I had free time once again – I dove back into crocheting after being inspired to create amigurumi again. I decided to start my blog “All About Ami” (the “ami” is short for “amigurumi”) in January 2011 to document these projects that I was working on as I thought it would be a wonderful crafting journal and portfolio that I could look back upon in the future. Once I got the hang of creating shapes, my husband Ryan and I started designing our own original patterns and I am so thankful that people around the world started taking interest and inspiration in our work. It boggles my mind that we have been blogging regularly since 2011 and I have grown so much as an artist as I have learned new skills and techniques, and designed projects that I would never have dreamed of doing when I first started! {Pictured below: Primrose Crochet Dolls, Lamb, Monkey, and Dogs}
I often reflect about how different my life would be if I had not picked up that crochet hook again as an adult and rediscovered my love of the fiber arts. Designing crochet and knit patterns is now my full-time job, and I am blessed that I can stay at home with our two young daughters while pursuing something that I absolutely love. I find crocheting and knitting so therapeutic as it helps relax and calm me, and it is so empowering being able to bring an idea in your head to life and create something tangible with your hands, yarn and hooks/needles. Crocheting and knitting has opened so many doors for me, from meeting kindred spirits, to traveling to blogger events, to being a keynote speaker at Our Maker Life. Yarn has completely changed my life and I am forever thankful! {Pictured below: Chunky Braided Cabled Blanket (crochet), Downtown Cardigan (knit), Waistcoat Basket (crochet), Wildrose Market Bag (crochet), Uptown Cardigan (knit), and Wildrose Backpack (crochet)}
Once I find a stitch that I love, I cannot help but create many different projects with it! Such is the case with the crochet granite stitch (I designed the Granite Cape, Granite Cardigan, and Granite Poncho) and the crochet star stitch (check out my Star Stitch Pouches, Star Stitch Purse, and Star Stitch Cup Cozy). After discovering the delicate dot stitch, I had so much fun creating numerous designs with it (you can find the links to these designs at the end of this blog post). Thus, it was a no-brainer that I would use the dot stitch for my Square #5 of the Traveling Afghan! The dot stitch is a very simple stitch that uses only knits and purls – it is very fun, addictive, and relaxing seeing this stitch build up as the purls stack ontop of one another!
I highly recommend blocking your squares as you assemble your afghans! You can get very clean edges with minimal rolling and stretch them to be exactly 10″ x 10″. As you can see here, I have pinned my square onto a foam block (from the dollar store) and am blasting it with hot steam. I recommend this Beautural steamer HERE that I purchased on Amazon – it can be held both vertically and horizontally and heats up very quickly. I love using this steamer to block all my projects – blocking the squares makes them much easier to seam together. I would also recommend using a bent tip tapestry needle to seam your squares as the bent tip makes picking up stitches much easier and more ergonomic!
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Here is the free pattern for Square #5 of the Traveling Knit Afghan:
***You can purchase an ad-free printable PDF of the pattern HERE. Add your squares to Ravelry HERE!
Notes:
- This square features the dot stitch, which is worked over four rows. The dot stitch features staggered purl stitches among knit stitches that provide a beautiful texture and dotted look.
- The initial cast-on number must be a multiple of 4 + 1
- To give a cleaner edge to this square, the chained edges technique is used. To work these chained edges, do the following: For right side rows, slip the first and last stitch purl-wise with the yarn in front.
For wrong side rows, knit the first stitch of the row through the back loop. Knit the last stitch of the row. You can see this technique in action in my video below. - If you do not want to use the chained edges technique, subtract 2 from the initial cast-on in this pattern and omit the instructions for the first and last stitch for each row (initial cast on number then becomes a multiple of 4 + 3).
- Keep checking to make sure your purl stitches are lining up correctly.
- Pay close attention to the parts within the asterisks ** that need to be repeated across the row.
- Block your final square to make it flatter and easier to seam.
- WYIF = with yarn in front
- BLO = back loop only
Materials:
- 5 mm knitting needles (flat or circular needles can be used)
- Wool-Ease Yarn (level 4 worsted weight) by Lion Brand Yarn (sample is in the colourway called “Fisherman”)
- Bent tip tapestry needle for seaming squares together
- Optional: steamer for blocking
Gauge: 19.5 sts and 26 rows = 4″ in dot stitch
PATTERN
Using long tail cast on, cast on 49 stitches.
Row 1 (Wrong Side): Knit first st in BLO. Purl across till last st. Knit the last stitch. (49 sts)
Row 2 (Right Side): Slip first stitch purlwise WYIF. K1. *P1, K3* repeat from * till last 3 stitches. P1, K1. Slip last stitch purlwise WYIF. (49 sts)
R3: Repeat Row 1. (49 sts)
R4: Slip first st purlwise WYIF. K3. *P1, K3*, rep from * till last st. Slip last st purlwise WYIF. (49 sts)
R5-65: Repeat Rows 1-4 or until desired length.
Cast off all stitches knitwise. Leave long tail for sewing. Block square using steamer. Attach to rest of Traveling Knit Afghan using bent tip tapestry needle.
Finished Dimensions: 10″ (25.4 cm) x 10″ (25.4 cm)
***Please watch this video below to see how to knit the dot stitch with chained edges. I filmed this tutorial for my “Chunky Dotty Scarf” which uses the exact same pattern as this square using super bulky yarn and larger needles:
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Isn’t the dot stitch so beautiful? It has such gorgeous texture and resembles little diamonds! I am excited to attach my square to the Traveling Knit Afghan and send it off to Chantal Miyagishima of Knitatude in Calgary, Alberta!
If you have fallen in love with the dot stitch as much as I have, please check out all of these designs I have created featuring this beautifully textured stitch (all are free patterns on my blog and also available as inexpensive PDF’s in my Etsy shop):
- Dotty Cardigan (bulky level 5 yarn)
- Dotty Beanie (light worsted weight yarn)
- Duo-Color Dotty Beanie (light worsted weight yarn)
- Chunky Dotty Scarf (super bulky level 6 yarn)
- Chunky Dotty Beanie (super bulky level 6 yarn – baby, child and adult sizes available)
- Chunky Duo-Color Dotty Beanie (super bulky level 6 yarn)
Thank you for following along and I am delighted that you have stopped by for a visit! If you are interested in receiving updates whenever I post a new design, feel free to sign up to my weekly e-mail newsletter HERE! I cannot wait to see your beautiful dot stitch squares – please tag me on social media and you can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest! I provide all of my designs for free on my blog (please take a look around in the PATTERNS section) and also as ad-free PDF’s in my Etsy shop. As a thank you for stopping by, you can use the coupon code “TRAVELINGAFGHAN10” for 10% off your pattern purchases in my Etsy shop HERE for one week – this includes my popular pattern bundles! Happy knitting and crocheting!
