Checkerboard Variegated Throw

Ah, March.  After taking a break from the blog because of our move, I am finally posting  a new project. 

The Checkerboard Variegated Throw below I made for my sister to raffle-off to raise money for her Relay For Life team.  The American Cancer Society's Relay For Life raises money for Cancer Research. The region for this walk is Relay For Life of West Marion, and Lisa (a survivor!!!) has a team named: Breast Friends Forever (get it?).  If you would like to support this cause you are welcome to go to the website and make a contribution!

The idea for this throw came from the pattern Checkerboard Wrap by Laura Bryant, featured in Knitter's Magazine (I think December 2012, sorry my copy is packed away at the time of this writing).  The throw is worked with 3 strands of one variegated yarn which transitions into 3 strands of another.  The edge is finished with two rounds of single crochet in a contrasting color. Below are the photos followed by the pattern.  When finished the throw measures 40" x 63", is very soft and fluffy.

Checkerboard Variegated Throw

Materials: 

Size 35 needles

Color A:  3 skeins of Lion Brand Homespun (Mixed Berries)

Color B:  3 skeins of Lion Brand Homespun (Ambrosia)

Color C:   1 skein of Lion Brand Homespun (Plum)

Special Notes:

1.        Because this project is worked with 3 strands of yarn I found it best to create center-pull balls for each skein.  This kept them from getting tangled and allowed me to easily use both ends of a ball of yarn (inside and outside), as needed.

2.       The checkerboard pattern for this throw is:   8 stitch repeat, altering knit and purl, for 8 rows. 

	-	Knit on RS, Purl on WS
	-	Purl on RS, Knit on RS

16
																	15
14
																	13
12
																	11
10
																	9
8
																	7
6
																	5
4
																	3
2
																	1

3          The Stripe Blends for this throw are: ("stripes" are a total of 24 Rows)

4	B	B	B
3	A	B	B
2	A	A	B
1	A	A	A

        For each stripe, hold 3 strands together and work the Checkerboard pattern for a total of 24 rows.  Color C is used for the boarder.

Instructions:

With 3 strands of Color A, cast on 48 stitches.

Stripe 1:  Work in Checkerboard pattern of 8K, 8P, 8K, 8P. 8K, 8P (six changes) with AAA for 24 rows.
My checkerboard is based on altering 8K and 8P stitches for 8 Rows.  Then in the 9th row I switch and knit the purl stitches and purl the knit stitches.  In the 10th row, repeat row 9 and follow this pattern for the 8 Rows.  And repeat this process throughout. 

Stripe 2:  Cut 1 strand A, join 1 strand of Color B and work pattern for 24 rows with AAB

Stripe 3:  Cut 1 strand A, join 1 strand of B, and work pattern for 24 rows with ABB

Stripe 4:  Cut 1 strand A, join 1 strand of B, and work pattern for 24 rows with BBB

To Finish: With Color C, crochet in 2 strands together, single- crochet stitch around the edge of the piece twice.