...B. A. B. Y. Blanket Pattern...

...so I finally got 'round to writing up the pattern for the B.A.B.Y. Blanket...

...I knit mine in strips and joined as I went...by picking up stitches along the side of the strip just done and knitting them together with the last and first stitches of the rows of the next strip...

...same method as here...except instead of turning the block on it's side and matching horizontal to vertical stitches...it's a one to one match and vertical to vertical...

...just a quick sketch of the pattern...

...so I knit the first strip of 4 squares in stockinette stitch...alternating colours one white block of 35 stitches by 48 rows...followed by a blue block 35 by 48 rows...then another white one and another blue one...

...and I picked up the stitches along one side...

...my gauge was 24↑ X 16→ ...which works out to a 3 to 2 rise over run...you may have to adjust the number of stitches to get a perfectly square block...

...then I started the second strip...casting on 35 stitches in blue and knitting to the end of the row...picking up one stitch from the needle in the white square...you don't really have to pick up all the side stitches ahead of time...you could just pick them up as you go...whichever way is easiest for you...

...complete the strip with alternate blocks of white and blue...

...pick up the side stitches on the second strip...and cast on with white again for the third strip...and knit another strip just like the first one...white...blue...white...blue...picking up the stitches along the side of the second strip...

...then cast on with blue and knit the final strip alternating blue...white...blue...white...and picking up and knitting the stitches along the side of the third strip...

...now all four strips are complete...

...at this point embroider the letters diagonally across the front of the blanket one letter embroidered in blue in each of the white squares...

...using the charts below...

...embroider the letter B in the top left hand block...

...then a letter A in the next white block down diagonally...

...then embroider another B in the next white block down diagonally from the A...

...and finally embroider a Y in the bottom right hand white block...

...now because of the tendency of stockinette stitch to curl...the blanket needs some sort of a border to help it lie flat...I did a single crochet border for 7 rows of single crochet around the perimeter of the blanket...

...but you could pick up stitches around and knit in garter stitch for several rows...or if you're making the blanket for a baby girl a crocheted shell stitch border might be pretty...any border you like...

Final Notes:

...I used size 10 US needles and a J crochet hook for the border...gauge is not terribly important for the finished size of the blanket...but you want to adjust the number of stitches you cast on so that your finished squares will be square...

~Have a lovely day!