HONEYCOMB WAVES BLANKET: FREE PATTERN!

After months of working on this, it is finally ready to publish! Enjoy.

MATERIALS:
• US 9 (5.5 mm) Needle (I used a 36” circular)
• 7 balls Noro Taiyo (220 yds/ 201.2 m each) or other bulky weight self-striping yarn in an assortment of colors that you like. I used 1 ball of each of the following colors: 5, 6, 11, 14, 15, 17, & 18.
• Tapestry needle & scissors

GAUGE: While gauge is not particularly important for this project, inquiring minds often want to know! My gauge was 3.5 sts per inch in stockinette stitch.

ABBREVIATIONS:
CO: Cast on
BO: Bind off
K: Knit
P: Purl
Sl: Slip stitch

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS:
50” (L) x 45” (W)
Note: This will vary depending on your gauge, desired length, and weight of yarn used.

NOTES:
1)Please read the entire pattern before beginning. The pattern is easily memorized once you get started, but it really helps to take a close look at the pattern notes first.
2)This pattern is comprised of three knitted strips that are later sewn together. If you prefer, you can forgo sewing strips altogether by casting enough sts to create the desired blanket width. However, the contrasting color changes may not be as dramatic unless you can find a yarn with particularly long color changes. As can be seen in my pictures, the Taiyo yarn resulted in a color change approximately every honeycomb repeat (i.e., about every 15-20 rows).
3)The honeycomb pattern is created with multiples of 12 + 3. Each strip has 4 pattern repeats, resulting in (48 + 3) = 51 sts. Out of personal preference and to make sewing up easier, I added an extra 2 sts for selvedge edge sts, resulting in a total of 53 sts for CO.
4)I slipped the first stitch of each row (i.e., the selvedge sts) to create a nice even edge for sewing.
5)See chart below for additional pattern guidance.
 

HONEYCOMB WAVES PATTERN:

Using Main Color (MC), CO 53.
Row 1: P.
Row 2: K.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 once.
Row 5: With CC, *K6. With yarn in back, Sl 3. K3*. Repeat ** 3 more times. K3.
Row 6: *P6. With yarn held in front, Sl 3. P3.* Repeat ** 3 more times. P3.
Repeat Rows 5 & 6 two more times.
Row 11: With MC, *K6, P3, K3*. Repeat ** 3 more times. K3.
Row 12: K.
Row 13: P.
Row 14: K.
Row 15: With CC, *With yarn in back, Sl 3, K9*. Repeat ** 3 times. Sl 3.
Row 16: *With yarn in front, Sl 3, P9*. Repeat ** 3 times. Sl 3.
Repeat Rows 15 & 16 two more times.
Row 21 (corrected!): With MC, *P3, K9*. Repeat ** 3 more times. P3.
Row 22: K.
Row 23: P.
Row 24: K.

Repeat Rows 5-24 until desired length is achieved.
BO on right side in purl.
Knit two more strips.
Sew strips together.
If desired, pick up sts along outer selvedge edges and knit 4 rows of reverse stockinette st to match CO and BO rows. This will create a nice edge all around the entire blanket. (I did not do this on my blanket, but it probably would have been nice touch!)

Honeycomb Stitch Pattern Notes:
1)Chart below shows pattern from the RIGHT side. For example, the first 4 rows below show Purl sts. This is to indicate that there should be 4 rows of reverse stockinette stitch showing on the right side.
2)As noted above, the first and last sts in each row are selvedge sts and are NOT shown in the chart below nor in the instructions above. This is because some knitters like to include selvedge sts whereas others prefer not to.
3)The shaded boxes represent the Main Color (MC) yarn, whereas the light colored boxes represent the Contrasting Color (CC).
4)The outlined box below indicates one complete pattern repeat.



A reader requested a picture of the back of the blanket, so here you go! Hopefully, this will help with knowing how to carry the yarn when slipping sts.