Cute Chronicles – The Pixel Heart Blanket

Su-per happy gaming craft time!

Knitting isn’t quite instant gratification; it takes time and patience. When I was first learning how, any elation at having successfully completed a row was quickly dampened by the crushing realisation of having to complete at least ten more to create a scrap half an inch long.

Now time and experience points have levelled me up enough to approach projects with the reality of them turning into 40+ hour epic adventures rather than quick fixes. Except for the Pikmin hats – those were really fast. But there’s always going to be one dungeon that really saps your time and energy. For me, that’s the Pixel Heart Blanket.

It was the seed of an idea which sprouted when my sister told me I was going to be an auntie. Filled with ambitions of being the cool auntie who introduces her little niece to the joy of video games, I planned out this design. The idea was that the blanket would be snuggly and practical, mainly white/cream with three red/black pixel hearts in the corner (since all good heroes start their adventures with three hearts).

All good heroes start their adventures with three hearts.

When it became apparent that I had miscalculated the amount of cream yarn, it morphed into a blanket with a single large heart in the middle. After a while of progressing through the pattern, it became clear I had approached the colourwork in the wrong way and the blanket morphed into a patchwork square affair. I had grand designs for coins and mushrooms to accompany the hearts, but these didn’t work out either and the patchwork design was modified yet again to have alternate hearts and blank textured squares, before this started to look ridiculous and I rage quit.

My niece was born and she continues to grow at an alarming rate which is apparently normal for babies although you don’t really understand until you witness it first-hand. She’s making good use of the blankets that my crochet whizz of a mother churned out while I was still fussing over the one. Oh well, maybe I can turn the pixel heart into a pillow or something, since the charting is still good, as is the general idea. In case you, intrepid crafter, are brave enough and know of a new challenger appearing soon who could do with a blanket, here are my pattern notes so you can benefit from my defeat. One day, pixel heart. One day…

Pixel Heart Blanket Notes
Finished measurements: Following from recommended size borrowed from baby blanket pattern in another book, approx 81.5 x 122cm (32 x 48 inches), or as appropriate
Knitted using Aran weight yarn in red, black and white on 5mm needles (No gauge because I was lazy)
Pattern consists of:

• 6-row horizontal, 6 stitch vertical seed stitch border across entire blanket
• Each patchwork square is 32 stitches/32 rows square
• There are three patchwork squares, separated by a 6-stitch seed stitch gap

Cast on 120 stitches
Knit 6 rows seed stitch
Row 7: 6 stitches seed stitch for border, place marker. Pixel Heart Patch: Row 1 of pixel heart pattern, place marker at end. 6 stitches seed stitch. Place marker. Plain Patch: K32. (Plain patches will be worked in stockinette stitch of R1: K, R2: P). Place marker. 6 stitches seed stitch. Place marker. Pixel Heart Patch: Row 1 of pixel heart pattern, place marker at end. 6 stitches seed stitch for border.
Continue working chart, purling on alternate rows and working colour in intarsia style
Row 39: Work across in seed stitch for 6 rows.
Row 40: Repeat 3-patch pattern, making the two outer patches plain and the middle patch a pixel heart one.
Finished blanket should have 3 x 6 patch pattern (with seed stitch borders).
End with 6 rows seed stitch.
Blanket can have fleece or other suitable material sewn on back for extra warmth and snuggliness.