Stained Glass Ripple Afghan
This is a twist on the old standard Feather and Fan. Slipped stitches provide the strands that are later picked up to form the sides of the windows.
The afghan can be made with most yarns and appropriate needles for yarn. The example is made with Caron Simply Soft yarn and size 8 (5mm) needles.
Example is a 37 inch square lap blanket, but pattern can be easily modified to make any size.
In the example I used about 7 oz of Black and around 3.5 oz each of Red, Iris, Berry Blue and Limelight.
Any corrections I have discussed in the comments have been incorporated in the pattern.
Techniques:
Slipped stitches – hold yarn in front or back of work as indicated. Slip the indicated number of stitches by inserting needle to the front, as you would to purl. It is very important to leave adequate slack in this trailed yarn before working the next stitches. Accomplish this by fully extending the work in section of dropped stitches.
Picking up trailing yarn strands – on row with stitches indicated pick up the trailing yarn strands by first inserting needle under the trailing strands then through stitch to knit. Pull knit loop through back below the strands. The strands will be behind the completed stitch. Do this for 5 stitches. The strands will be on the wrong side for the length of these five stitches.
Color:
The effect of the pattern is most striking when using at least two colors. A primary color forms the frames for the little stained glass pieces. The sections worked in a secondary color can all be worked in a single color, in a repeat of several colors, or even in different colors for each section, perhaps from scrap yarn.
Pattern:
Multiple of 18 plus 5. Change number cast on to change width.
Cast on 167 with primary color.
Rows 1 and 2: Knit.
Row 3: K3, p2, *with yarn in front, slip 13 purlwise, p5* repeat between * to last 5 stitches, p2, k3.
Row4: K5 *with yarn in back, slip 13 purlwise, k5* repeat between * across.
Row 5: Change to secondary color. K3 *(yo, k1) twice, yo, k2tog three times, k1, k2tog three times, (yo, k1) three times* repeat between * across to last 2 stitches, k2.
Row 6: K3, purl across to last three stitches, k3.
Row 7: Knit.
Row 8: Repeat row 6.
Rows 9 and 10: Repeat rows 5 and 6.
Row 11: Change to primary color. *K9, k5 by inserting needle under the two loose strands before into stitch to knit, k4* across to last 5 stitches, k5.
Row 12: Knit.
Rows 13 and 14: Repeat rows 3 and 4.
Repeat rows 5 to 14 until afghan is desired length. On last repeat do not work rows 13 and 14. Cast off while knitting an additional row.
can’t wait to try this. Feather and fan is one of my all time favorits patterns. This looks like a great stash buster. It also falls into the category of “why didn’t I think of that”. congratulations and thanks.
Can and feather has been my favorite since I was 15. I made my 1st shawl with a 10 Inch fan feather pattern. I m are thick scarves for my Momma to keep here neck warm wh enough she lived in an assisted living home. She then requested others in colors to match what she would wear. She liked That pattern BEcause of its airy trait. She ended up with 3 of them before she died!
I am trying to make your stained glass ripple afghan. On row 5 — k1, k2tog three times, (yo, k1) twice* repeat between * across to last 3 stitches, yo, k3. — the pattern say K2 tog three time therefore decreasing 3 stitches, but then you only yo, k1 twice therefore increasing 2 stitches. I am loosing one stitch each time I do the pattern. Am I not reading something correctly or is there a correction to this pattern?
You are right! Thank you so much for the catch. I’m correcting as follows:
Row 5: Change to secondary color. K3 *(yo, k1) twice, yo, k2tog three times, k1, k2tog three times, (yo, k1) twice* repeat between * across to last 3 stitches, yo, k3.
Change to:
Row 5: Change to secondary color. K3 *(yo, k1) twice, yo, k2tog three times, k1, k2tog three times, (yo, k1) three times* repeat between * across to last 3 stitches, k3.
Needed one more tweak on row five. Should now end with k2.
Has the original pattern been changed to reflect the changes, or do I have to re-write it before beginning.
Nothing like looking forward to disaster.
HI, i am having a problem with Row 11: K9, k5 with the first stitch catching the 2 horizontal strands on one side of the stained glass part, but it doesn’t mention picking up the other side – is it pick up the strands in the first of the 5 sts. K3 and then pick up the strands again on the 5th stitch, K9?
Thanks for any clarification
Each of the five stitches are made with the two strands running behind them. The end result will have the two strands running along at the back of the work for the length of five stitches. I hope that makes sense.
Mama, how long do you think this takes, if I am an average, not real fast, knitter?
I’m a very slow knitter so I’m not the best person to answer that. The general pattern knits pretty quickly because it’s a pretty simple pattern, but the color changes do slow it down. Every repeat took me a couple of hours, but as I say, I’m a very slow knitter.
Pam is that you? Roger
Hi
I’m an editor for AllFreeKnitting.com, a sister site to the popular FaveCrafts.com. We have recently linked to your beautiful pattern on AllFreeKnitting: http://www.allfreeknitting.com/Knit-Afghans-and-Blankets/stained-glass-ripple-afghan
I would like to feature a small picture and a link to your pattern in one of our newsletters next week. Would this be all right with you?
Currently our newsletter has more than 120,000 subscribers and we are a great way to drive traffic to your blog – for free.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Caitlin
WONDERFUL! Colorful and looks easy to do, too. Thanks!
can’t wait to try it!how long would you say it took you to make this?
I would appriciate it if these patterns were in PDF form so when I print I don’t get all of the comments. A waste of paper when this happens.
Thanks
Yep, that’s kind of a pain. All posts on the blog now have a print/pdf link at the bottom. Thanks!
So many people were missing the printer icon that we decided to move it to the top.
I just select the text I want to copy and when I go to print when it say All, or from page to page, or selected I chek selected text and it doesn’t waste as much paper.
Mama…RE: Jan. 11th…’one more tweak on row 3…should now end with k2’…If the CO is a multiple of 18, +5, why the tweak? As I read the pattern, your +5 is how you started the row…and the slip 13, p5 makes up the multiples of 18 until you get to the last 5 sts. It seems to me that the p2, k3 was correct…you would slip 13, then (last 5 sts) p2, k3. It WAS correct to begin with…why the change? What am I missing? Thanks…
LuvToKnit – I’m a slow knitter, so it probably takes me longer than most. It is a fairly fast pattern because a lot of it is straight knitting or purling.
Dolores – Sorry about the comments printing. I will look into having an option to open the page without comments to print.
knitter – The last tweak didn’t really change the pattern, but just the format. I did say continue the repeat until the last three stitches then k3. The repeat actually goes through the last two stitches, so I just changed it to make the last two stitches k2. There are 18 stitches in the repeat and the K3 beginning and k2 ending are the plus 5.
I think I have it now…my pattern, as shown on my screen today, says to repeat to the last 5 sts,p2,k3…hence, my question.
But, if I rewrite Row 3, as you have (I think) indicated, to change the format, what you say works…COOL!!
Row 3: K3, *p2, slip 13, p3*, repeat * to * to last 2 sts, k2. (Right??)
knitter,
>Row 3: K3, *p2, slip 13, p3*, repeat * to * to last 2 sts, k2. (Right??)
On the last repeat, only p2 after the slip and then finish with k3.
jhich one is correct for row 3? the pattern states to P5 not 3
Is the pattern above corrected or do we have to read all the notes below the pattern in order to get it all right. I would love to try this but want to be sure I’m doing it right. Thanks!
The pattern is corrected and can be followed as currently presented.
Pattern is beautiful. I also would like to see the pattern in pdf version. There are several FREE pieces of software that you could download and use to convert your patterns into pdf. You would be able to edit the patterns when needed and then post the edited pdf version on your site. Hopefully you will find one of those is workable for you. I do enjoy seeing other people’s questions because sometimes they clarify things for me and their questions with your answers help me figure out what I may not be understanding at the moment.
Keep on posting those patterns!
Lee Ann
The PDF link has been added, but it’s somewhat imperfect. Thanks for the input. 🙂
I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SOMEONE EXPLAIN TO ME THE MEANING OF
*with yarn in front, slip 13 purlwise*.IT’S ALL NEW TO ME AND I NEED ALL THE HELP I CAN GET IT.
IS ANYONE LOCATED IN PHILLY?
THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING.
PS ENGLISH IS MY SECOND LANGUAGE, SO PLEASE I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND ME.
MELA
Mela, I will try and explain for you.
When you are knitting, the yarn is behind your needles, when you are purling your yarn is in front of your needles.
So when it says “yarn in front” bring your yarn in front of your needles. When it says “slip 13 purlwise” it means to put your right needle in the stitch on your left needle as if to purl (but don’t work the stitch, just bring it onto the right needle) and do this 13 times. Hope this helps you and good luck with your knitting. 🙂
This is a muct for me to try.. I have dificulty following directions, but it is a beautiful blanket. A must have
Thank you
This pattern is perfect for a project I am just beginning. I want to knit lap blankets for people in nursing homes and I’ve been looking for a pattern that incorporates bright colors.
I actually made this sample for that very purpose and hope to create more patterns for lap blankets.
I wish this pattern was a little easier. I am just a beginner for knitting.
Hello Mama. You are very cleverly done this! This is like a fan pattern but devided by a black rows! Very-very nice!
I do like it very much. Specially that it was done in dark colour – it does stand out very well. Very clever lady! Please ,come up with some more out or ordenary knitting!
Thank you. Best wishes: Julie
I was able to print out only the pattern by: open up a blank Word document (now minimize that), now open up the pattern and highlight only what you want to print out (pictures and all) and hit control + C. Minimize that window now, bring up the Word window and hit control+ V. The entire text and pictures will now be copied into a word document that can be printed out.
Thanks! There’s also now a little print/pdf button at the bottom of the pattern itself that will open up a printfriendly.com window and let you save or print without comments. It’s not the best solution and you get to look at more ads (theirs, not ours!), but it does work relatively well. One nice feature to be aware of, though, is the ability to delete images and sections of text in the preview window. Just be careful not to delete any of the instructions before saving/printing. 🙂
Sorry for the inconvenience. We’ll update to a better solution when there’s time, but hopefully this will work for now.
– Admin robot
I love this and have made many feather n fan afghans. As there are corrections on this, is there somewhere I can print it from with put all the comments attached?
Any corrections mentioned in the comments have already been incorporated into the main pattern.
It seems as though there are several corrections to the pattern.I am a new knitter and find it confusing to try to follow these corrections and to also work with the original part of the pattern.Would it be possible to have a new printing of the pattern with the corrections included?Thanks
I can’t wait to get my sweater done and start on this fun project!
how many skeins of black and for each of the four colors are needed. thank you for such a beautiful design.
For a 35 inch square lap blanket, you will only need one of the 7 ounce skeins of each of the colors. It takes most of a skein of the black and about a half skein of each of the other colors.
I love this pattern but am intimidated by all the stitches. I am a “newbie” but would love to try this and use up my stash. Any other new knitters tried this?
i can’t waite to buy the yarn and start to knit your lap blanket. would it be posible to knit the color fans larger than what it shows ???? ther i go trying to change every thing. betty
To me, half the fun of the new pattern is modifying it and experimenting with it. 🙂 My only caution on making this one bigger is that the thread from the slipped stitches would need to be longer/looser. In designing this, I made them as long as I felt comfortable so that they wouldn’t become too much of a nuisance since they are still sort of loose even after being picked up in the later row.
are the colors still available
I just checked http://www.joann.com and they had all the colors still available on the web site. The colors are black, red, berry blue, iris, and limelight.
hi again mama, its me betty i do want to make this pattern the size of a throw. probably twice as big as the lap size. can you help me as to how much yarn i will need, i am only going to make it in two colors. thank again for tour wonderful pattern. betty
Of the primary color (where I used black), you will need about
14 ounces and about 28 ounces of the secondary color.
How clever! Great variation on feather and fan. I’m going to use it for a shrug.
Great idea! I think that would make a wonderful shrug.
hi mama, so sorry i can’t seam to i guess read the pattern right i don’t when the secondary color comes i am not sure i need your heil. thanks betty
Start the secondary color on row 5. Switch back to the primary color on row 11.
sorry mama do you mean do the fith row in just the second color an th same cecond color untill row eleven, i am sorry trying to understand thanks betty
That’s right. You will do four rows of the primary, then six rows of the secondary, then back and forth like that.
thank you mama..betty
Thanks for your beautiful pattern.
On Row 4, You begin with K5 then there are 18 sts between the *-*, I cast on multiples of 18 plus 5 on each end. There are five stitches left off on your pattern, should the pattern end with K5 ?
The cast on is a multiple of 18 plus 5 total, not 10. Sorry for the confusion.
hi mama me again i am going to get this right if you willbare with me, i do not understand how you get the primary color to seperate the secondary color. i made a sample and i need your help. thanks agsin, betty
As you repeat rows 5 to 14 to continue the blanket, you will always use your secondary color for rows 5 to 10 (6 rows) and the primary color for rows 11 to 14 (4 rows).
hi mama, i think i finealy mastered the pattern. i made a sample before i start on the real one. i just don’t why i am getting so many holes, can you help ? thanks betty
Mama — what a beautiful pattern! I just found it online & can’t wait to try, but I think I may try it with different pastel colors, with white or cream for the primary color. I will try to remember to let you know how it works. Thanks!
That sounds beautiful! Please let me know how it goes.
Hi,
Could you tell me approximately how many skeins did you need of each color for the afghan of this size? Thanks
For a 35 inch square lap blanket, you will only need one of the 7 ounce skeins of each of the colors. It takes most of a skein of the black and about a half skein of each of the other colors.
Have you considered putting this technique on YouTube? I think it will be so helpful for many of us, including myself . . .
If I get a chance to, I’ll do that.
I would like to try the pattern but it is unclear how many ounces is needed to complete this lap aphgan . The directions only say 4 med weight worsted. Thanks Suzanne
In the example I used about 7 oz of Black and around 3.5 oz each of Red, Iris, Berry Blue and Limelight.
hi mama well i am on my way to knitting your beautiful patternn. i am making it in two colors, black as my primary and beige as my secondary ,so beautifull.i found that if i put a marker every 18, st. it is easiser for me to find a mistake if i make one. hope this littletip will help someone. kntting this pattern.thanks again.betty
Thanks for the excellent tip!
very interesting, think Ill try it
Hello,
love your work, it is beautiful. I was at a flea market the other day, and was asked if I had a pattern to finish this ladies blanket. It looked very much like this, but with no fan. I thought it might be called a popcorn stitch, but cannot find a pattern to match hers. The main blanket puffed out in pearl, like a ball, and in between it was knitted together with other stitches. The balls were only about 6 rows, I think it was maybe 4 stitches pearl, then 6, then maybe 8, then back again to 6, and then 4. Each forming a ball like look, but I could not figure out the between stitches. I really hope you can help. The lady is about halfway through her blanket, but lost her pattern, I told her i would look at home for a pattern, but cannot find one. i would really appreciate the help.
Thank you
Wendy
I’m not familiar with anything like that. Sorry.
Wendy, if you could send me a picture, I might be able to figure it out…I’ve been knitting for many years and quite a few years ago, my mother got a card that had a small knitted doily on the front…she asked me if I thought I could figure it out. I suggested that she photocopy it to 200% and send me the copies…it took me about 2 hours to figure out the pattern and about 6 to knit it up…
If that’s an encouragement to you to let me give it a try, I’d love the opportunity…
[…] room. Or maybe it’s because of the beautiful color combination. Or it could be because the pattern is so simple even beginners like me can knit this pretty […]
This is wonderful. Thank you so much for taking the time to create this, post it for all to see, and even answer questions that have nothing to do with the design! (Or which are clearly listed in the pattern. ; ))
I am thinking of felting a swatch of this. I have felted a couple of slip stitch patterns for bags and tea cozies, and they generally work well when knitted flat. However, I have found that some slip stitch patterns knit in the round can stretch out over the slipped stitches and distort a bit.
Re: felting. I will of course use a yarn that felts for my swatch—probably Lamb’s Pride worsted.
I would like to knit this as pram blanket, would DK wool be suitable and how many stitches do you suggest
Any help appreciated
Thanks
Kate
I think a DK wool would be very suitable. If you used US 6 needles (4mm), then you would need approximately 5.5 stitches per inch of width that you want. The original cast on of 167 would yield a blanket 30″ wide. Some other choices – 185 for 33.5″, 203 for 37″, and 221 for 40″.
hi ther mama, it’s betty i have finished my afgan beige and black it is beautifull made it about 5 by 5 that’s yards.imwill send you a picture as soon as i ca. so proud of it . betty
It sounds magnificent. I can’t wait to see it.
mama, i forgot to ask you, have you ever heard of a potato chip pattern ? betty
I have but haven’t made one. Here is a pattern:
http://kraftykash.blogspot.com/2009/07/knitting-potato-chip-scarf.html
hi mama, i want to send you a picture of my afghan, but i don’t have your email address betty
Thanks so much for sharing the picture of your beautiful afghan!
http://blogs.thetucker.com/knit/2011/04/20/bettys-stained-glass-ripple-afghan/
this is the instructions on the pattern for Row 3: K3, p2, *with yarn in front, slip 13 purlwise, p5* repeat between * to last 5 stitches, p2, k3.
However on the blog copmments yu stated that Row 3 had to be tweaked to thisRow 3: K3, *p2, slip 13, p3*, repeat * to * to last 2 sts, k2. (Right??)
On the last repeat, only p2 after the slip and then finish with k3.
which one is correct?
The pattern is correct as written now.
Under techniques what does Multiples of 18 plus 5 refer to. Thanks
The pattern is a repeat of 18 stitches plus 5, so you can vary the width of the afghan by casting on any multiple of 18 plus 5.
Thank you for your swift response. I gave the pattern to a friend of mine who doesn’t use the computer much and I’m a crocheter not a knitter.
I believe you saw my version of your beautiful afghan pattern that I made in baby colors and posted on the Knitting Paradise forum in April (http://www.knittingparadise.com/t-6676-1.html). I was delighted when you posted a comment, and was happy to post the link to your pattern page so that many more knitters could add it to their to-do lists. I can’t begin to tell you how much I love your pattern and how many wonderful compliments I have received on the baby blanket that I made using it.
Ever since making the blanket the leftover yarn has been pleading with me to design some other baby items to go with the blanket, and I would love it if you would allow me to use your stitch pattern to do so. I want to be able to give you proper credit for the stitch design, and would also like to include a link to your original pattern for the afghan if/when I publish any patterns using your Stained Glass Ripple stitch pattern.
Thanks again making this great afghan pattern available! I look forward to hearing from you.
Tammy K.
I would be honored. When you have the designs done, I would love to link them here as well if you didn’t mind.
Thank you for this beautiful pattern. I have started it but just can’t understand how to do row 5. I get mixed up trying to do the strands. My computer shows the examples so dark I can’t see the yarns on the needles. Could you please explain to me how to do the strands. I’ve tried several things but somehow it doesn’t look correct.
Thanks for the pattern as well as your time for helping me.
The strands are created on rows 3 and 4. For rows 5-10, leave the strands hanging on the front of the work. You will pick them up on row 11.
This is the most beautiful afghan I have ever seen I can’t wait to try it
Hi,
I knit red, white and blue blankets for wounded soldiers and think this pattern would be great! I’m trying to figure out the logistics though. Hope this makes sense:
Your black = my white
Your red=my red
Your purple=my blue
Your light blue=my red
So on and so forth. The question is, which is the primary, secondary, etc colors?
Thanks!
Tracy
That would make a very lovely blanket. White would be your primary color so would be used for rows 1-4 and 11-14. Red and blue would be your secondary colors, so you would alternate them for the rows 5-10.
Thanks for the quick response! I’ll let you know how it goes 🙂
I’m about to begin this pattern and I’m curious about the cast on number. The pattern says 167 but doesn’t say the finished size based on that. Will that result in the 37″ square lap blanket? I know it depends on personal gauge but I can use that as a guide at least!
The 167 is for the 37″ width.
This is beautiful. Is it okay for me to make a prayer shawl out of this pattern?
Absolutely! I love it when others create on what I create.
So many comments on this wonderful pattern. I’m having trouble picking up the trailing yarn strands . I can’t make sense of the pictures/instructions. I do So want to figure this out – can anyone help me with the trailing yarn situation in this pattern?
I found a video of the butterfly stitch which has the basic concept that this part of my pattern is based on. I think it should help with picking up the loose strands. In my pattern, I have five knits that pick up the loose strands instead of just the one in the butterfly stitch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsU5qpK1owQ
Oh, wow…that video certainly cleared things up for me…now I may just try this…that is really an awesome pattern…thanks for the video…I can learn by seeing, much better than just reading or looking at a still pic…so does it matter if I use just two colors? Do I need to make any special adjustments using just two?
`
No special adjustments for two colors. Betty made a beautiful one in two colors – http://blogs.thetucker.com/knit/2011/04/20/bettys-stained-glass-ripple-afghan/
What a beautiful pattern. As people ask questions many of the replies are that the pattern is now correct as written. Where can I find the corrected pattern? I tried inserting the corrections from the postings into the printed pattern but that makes it twice as confusing. It would be greatly appreciated if I could print the corrected pattern so I can start this great piece. Thank you so much!
The correction is already incorporated in the pattern, so you can follow it just as it is written.
I am a new-ish knitter and I do not understand the term “trailing stitches”…I looked at the butterfly video but am still feeling confused 🙁
Okay, I watched it again and now I understand…my post-Christmas/no longer sleep deprived head is evidently more
“with it” 🙂
What size needle do you suggest for this pattern?
Follow the recommendation of your yarn. I made mine with Caron Simply Soft and used their suggested size 8 (5mm) needle. This blanket can be made in almost any weight yarn, so depending on the weight yarn you are using, you might want to use a different size.
can you email me the supply list for the stained glass ripple afghan please. (ex.: needle size circular / straight yarn etc
thanks so much
bonnie
The example is made with Caron Simply Soft yarn and size 8 (5mm) needles. I used a long circular needle, like a 29″ or so.
Example is a 37 inch square lap blanket, but pattern can be easily modified to make any size.
In the example I used about 7 oz of Black and around 3.5 oz each of Red, Iris, Berry Blue and Limelight.
I would be glad to calculate your yarn needs if you let me know what size blanket you want to make and how many colors you will be using.
hi mama, i did have a patern to knit a circular doilly i cannot find it. do you have the directions ?? itwent something like this cast on 30 st, knit across, knit back to half way , turn and knt leaving the unknitted st. on leftneedle, then knit across and follow the first again. i cannot seem to remenber all of it . thanks in advance . betty
hi mama i need your help, i had a patern for a circular doily. can you help betty
How do I print only the pattern and pictures without the comments?
At the top of the pattern is a printer button that creates a clean copy to print.
Hello,
I am beginning this pattern using size 8 needles. I want to make it about 70 inches. I initially casted on 382 but when I got to the end of R3 I did not have enough stitches left to p2 and k3 so I am starting over a third time now. I think I am miss interpreting the multiple of 18 plus 5. Also I need what I am suppose to do on R11 clarified.
Thanks
It looks like you want 21 repeats across the row. That would be 18 x 21 = 378. Then add 5 for a cast on of 383. So you should just be 1 short. You could just increase a stitch somewhere to get on track.
Row 11: Change to primary color. *K9, k5 by inserting needle under the two loose strands before into stitch to knit, k4* across to last 5 stitches, k5.
On row 11, you are going to incorporate those pairs of loose loops that have been hanging on the front of the work to that point. K9 as usual and then for the next 5 stitches, you want to lift the first pair of loops so that you are knitting under them. What this will do is make the loops be at the back of your work for those 5 stitches, but on the front for the others. This catches the loops and fixes them into place.
Hey, I am knitting this beautiful blanket..but as a beginner I am having some difficulties reading the pattern.
Please help me to understand to read this row:
Row 11- when I did it I end up with a lot of extra stitches, I know I am doing it wrong. I did it like this: knit 9, knit 5 grabbing the loose strands then knit 4, then continue again k9, k5 grabbing loose ends k4..
It’s not working for me…
Thanks…
I am so sorry I am just now getting back to you on this.
Before row 11 you should have 13 stitches in the area with the loops from the slipped stitches and 5 stitches between those loops. If not, then the problem was from those earlier rows. On row 11 you just knit the stitches between the loops as usual. For the 13 stitches in the loop area, you knit the first four as usual. For the middle five, you want to knit so that the loop is at the back instead of the front. You can do this by either always putting the needle under the loop before inserting into the stitch to be knit, or you can just move the loop to the back, knit the five stitches, then move the loop back to the front. Then finish knitting the four stitches of the set of 13 stitches.
Very confusing with all the comments.
Can the correct one be typed again without any comments?
The main pattern is correct. The comments are just for discussion or questions about the pattern.