Whit's Knits: Hudson Bay Inspired Crib Blanket

We love the Hudson Bay Blanket for its classic simplicity and beauty. And maybe more, we love the underlying belief that, even in the midst of the great Canadian wilderness with its arduous cold and haunting vastness, the Hudson Bay Blanket will protect us. 

Originally, the Hudson Bay Blanket's lightweight warmth and insulation made it common barter for Native American goods, like beaver pelts, buffalo robes and moccasins. But in the last three hundred years the Hudson Bay Blanket has come a long way. Now it is practically a national symbol to many Canadians, and to the rest of the world, an unmistakable design icon.

I love the idea of a handknit version, borrowing the iconography of the original and lending it a little homemade twist! Sized for a baby's crib, I'm also tickled by the notion of a small child wrapped in the gear of a rugged adult. No baby in sight? Use it as a gorgeous throw over your favorite chair, in front of a roaring fireplace. It may not be an open fire deep in a white pine forest, but, hey, you're probably not a fur trapper either!

For this special project we turned to Anzula's absolutely gorgeous For Better or Worsted. A merino, cashmere, nylon blend, it is the perfect blanket yarn with its machine washable durability and cuddly soft coziness. And its quirky hand dyed colors give the Hudson Bay Blanket a fresh look, warm and bright!

So, for a great barter idea this holiday season, give a handknit Hudson Bay Crib Blanket. In exchange, you'll get a whole lot of love!

The Materials

• Anzula's For Better Or Worsted, 80% Superwash Merino Wool , !0% Cashmere and 10% Nylon. You'll need:
  • 6 skeins of Au Natural
  • 1 skein of Teal
  • 1 skein of Ducky
  • 1 skein of Candied Apple
  • 1 skein of Juniper

• A US #7, 24 or 32 inch circular needle.

The Pattern

Gauge

19 stitches = 4 inches in garter stitch

Finished Size

34 inches wide and 39 inches long (Note: Garter stitch has a tendency to stretch, so your blanket will "grow" beyond these dimensions.)

Notes

• When this pattern refers to "ridges", it means a garter stitch ridge which is formed by knitting two rows. Counting "ridges" is an easy way to determine how many rows you have knitted without having to count as you work. But if you find this confusing, just multiply the number of ridges given by 2 and that is how many rows you should knit (ie 6 ridges is 12 rows).

• Always change colors with the right side facing you, so that all of the tails are along the same selvedge.

Begin

With the Main Color (Au Natural), cast on 162 stitches.

Knit until piece measures 4 1/2 inches from the cast on edge (or 21 ridges).

With the Teal, knit 6 ridges.

With the Main Color, knit 6 ridges.

With the Ducky, knit 6 ridges.

With the Main Color, knit 6 ridges.

With the Candied Apple, knit 6 ridges.

With the Main Color, knit 6 ridges.

With the Juniper, knit 6 ridges.

With the Main Color, knit for 11 3/4 (or 53 ridges).

With the Juniper, knit 6 ridges.

With the Main Color, knit 6 ridges.

With the Candied Apple, knit 6 ridges.

With the Main Color, knit 6 ridges.

With the Ducky, knit 6 ridges.

With the Main Color, knit 6 ridges.

With the Teal, knit 6 ridges.

With the Main Color, knit 4 1/2 inches (or 21 ridges).

Bind off loosely in knit stitch.

Weave in the ends and tada!

Comments

[Bambi marksohn]

As always,your taste is impecable and your choices have a distinctly modern and classic flair. Thanks again Whitney! Thanks too,Purl!

[Frambooske]

This is so simply pure and beautiful... I'm not a big knitter but am saving this little project! Need to find out a bit more about circular needles first.. Thanks for sharing!

[purl bee]

Hi Readers-

If anyone out there is looking for a less expensive yarn to make this blanket in here are a few suggestions:

Cascade 220- 6 Skeins of Ecru, and 1 each of the accent colors. This yarn is very reasonably priced and 100% natural wool. It isn't machine washable (neither is the original Hudson Bay Blanket!) but it handwashes beautifully. http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/649-Cascade-Yarns-Cascade-220

Cascade 128- 10 Skeins of Ecru and 1 each of the accent colors. This yarn is a slightly thicker gauge, so you would probably want to move up to a size 9 or 10 needle. It is machine washable and comes in great colors! http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/6355-Cascade-Yarns-Superwash-128

Blue Sky Cotton- 8 Skeins of Bone and 1 each of the accent colors. This is the softest, easiest to work with cotton around. It's machine washable and comes in great colors! http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/721-Blue-Sky-Blue-Sky-Cotton

Happy knitting everyone!

[Drea]

I love it! If I wanted to make a full-size blanket out of this pattern, what adjustments would I have to make dimension-wise and materials-wise?

[marianellen]

Hi - I love this pattern. I don't see the Juniper colour on your site - do you know if you will be getting any in any time soon? Thanks!

[purl bee]

Hi Maianellen-

The Juniper should be back in stock shortly. If you'd like to place an order for it now you can go ahead and place an order. Then in the "special instructions" section just request that the order is held until the Juniper is in stock.

Alternatively you can email customerservice@purlsoho.com and ask that they drop you a line when it comes back in stock.

Thanks for the question!

Molly

[Merleelah]

If using the Blue Sky Cotton, would you still recommend using a #7 needle?

[purl bee]

Hi Merleelah-

If you are a tight knitter you might want to move up to a size 8 or 9. The best thing to do would be to knit a gauge and use whatever needle gives you 19 stitches over 4 inches in garter stitch.

Thanks so much for your question!

Molly

[Nancy Blanford]

I am knitting the Hudson's Bay Inspired Baby
blanket. As far as I can tell, your estimate of how much yarn "Au Natural" is needed is way off. Perhaps my math is wrong but it seems to me that this requires almost 10 skeins of Au Natural. Please double check the pattern instructions and get back to me. Thank You. Nancy Blanford

[purl bee]

Hi Nancy-

It definitely only took 6 skeins. Please check your gauge and the blanket measurements if it seems like you're using a lot more yarn.

Thanks for the question!

Molly

[laurel]

Is the Blue Sky Cotton the "worsted" cotton?

[laurel]

Is your Blue Sky Cotton the same thing as Blue Sky Worsted Cotton?

[purl bee]

Hi Laurel-

It is the same thing. Thanks for your question!

- Molly

[Christine]

I am getting ready to start this blanket, and am just wondering if you only used one strand of yarn to knit it with? Sometimes I have seen people using two, just want to make sure I am doing it right. Thanks!

[purl bee]

Hi Christine-

This pattern uses just one strand of yarn. Our patterns will always let you know if you need to be using two strands.

Thanks so much for your question!

- Molly

[purl bee]

Hi Drea,

To make the blanket bigger, you should multiply the gauge-per-inch (ie 4.75) times the size you'd like (for example, 50 inches) and cast on that number (237 or 238 stitches)

Make sure to also proportionately increase the sizes of the stripes and the distances between them. For example, if you want a blanket 58 inches long (which is 1 1/2 times longer than the original 39 inches), the stripes would be 39:58 as 6 (ridges):x. So, 9 ridges (58 / 39 x 6 = 9)!

You should have plenty of the contrast colors for a much bigger blanket, and for the Au Natural color, again, figure out proportionately how much bigger your blanket is than the original and get that much more of the main color. If you overestimate, remember that you can exchange any unused, unwound skeins (within 6 months) for your next project!

Thanks for your question. If you have specific measurements in mind and are feeling overwhelmed by the math, I'm happy to figure it all out for you!

Whitney

[CanadianJane]

Just wanted to say thanks so much for the beautiful pattern ... and then a hearty thank-you for the less-expensive yarn option in the comment area! Much appreciated. When I did the math I realized the little crib blanket would cost upwards of $350 US for my materials only... so offering a complete breakdown of the # skeins needed and types of yarn is so wonderful. I am really excited to make this, it is absolutely adorable and looks like such a fun project. Thank you again!

[Bagne]

I've never knitted anything. Would this be a good project for a beginner?

[purl bee]

Hi Bagne-

The skills involved in this project are appropriate for a beginner but it is quite a lot of knitting. We usually recommend that people start out with a quicker first project, usually a scarf in garter stitch.

Thank you for your question-

Molly

[Enid C. Band]

I would like to make this in a washable yarn. What can I use? How much of it, etc. Thanks.

[purl bee]

Hi Enid-

This yarn is machine washable, which is one of the (many) reasons we love it!

Thanks for your question!

Molly

[gaildugas]

thanks for the great pattern... i wanted to echo Canadian Jane... i hyperventilated a bit at the prospect of a $350 crib blanket...even tho i am excited to be welcoming another grandchild... so thanks for the options. this website is an absolute inspiration.

[Cheryl]

Just finished this blanket using some ecru yarn that was taking up space in my hope chest along with leftovers from the "Super Simple Baby Blanket" for the stripes. I love the way this blanket looks and feels. Thank you so much for reigniting my passion for knitting.

[Sarah]

I am just starting this beautiful project! (I am Canadian, where the Hudson Bay Blanket is very much a national symbol.)

But I have a quick question; I'm opting to use one of the more cost effective cottons, the Blue Sky worsted cotton, which is listed as machine washable. But the Blue Sky website lists it as hand washable only. Do I need to do anything extra to the yarn to ensure machine washability? Silly question, but I appreciate the answer! Thanks :)

[purl bee]

Hi Sarah-

It's not a silly question! Even though the Blue Sky Cotton says it's hand wash only we have machine washed countless things we've made from it and they've all been fine. You donn't have to do anything special to it beforehand.

Thanks for writing in.

Molly

[Ruth]

Is doubling the size of the Hudson Bay baby blanket = to a usually sized afghan? Could you give me the yarn needed for same at 200 yds. per skein. Thank you very much for your reply. Ruth

[purl bee]

Hi Ruth,

Doubling the size would result in a 68 x 78 inch throw. I would say that the "usual" afghan is something more like 48 x 58. For such a blanket you would cast on 228 stitches (provided you get the same gauge as we did). And you would need about 12 of the natural colored skeins, but I suspect you would get away with just one of each of the accent colors.

Good luck and thanks for asking!
Whitney