Beginners blanket on circular needles

[shelby]

I'd like to knit a blanket big enough to curl up on the couch with. No specific measurements really. But, I just started knitting and I know nothing about yarn/needle selection. I'm also not sure how many stitches I'd have to cast on to achieve a snuggly blanket.


I've been told I need some circular needles.
I have 6.5mm (US: 10 1/2) 29" circular needles.

As far as my yarn goes I have some acrylic gray stuff.. it's pretty thin. Not sure how to describe what size or kind it is. It says medium 4 on it?..


Can I work with that?
I don't want a thin thin blankey, no one wants to snuggle with lace. I'm not sure if I'd have to double up the yarn?

Any suggestions welcome.
Try to keep the abbreviations to a minimum.
I'm not very fluent in knitter yet.

!

[Craw]

I'm making a pet snuggle right now. I'm using 2 strands worsted weight (#4) yarn and size US 10.5 needles. It's coming out to be a mat, not a blanket, it's very dense. So I'd say no, I wouldn't double the yarn for a blankey on those size needles. Ideally you'd use maybe a size 8 or 9 needle and one strand. (???) Not totally sure but I know someone else here can explain better. It depends on your pattern and yarn.

[suzeeq]

You could use those needles with the medium weight yarn you have. If you use garter stitch it would be a bit thicker. You would need to Cast on about 20 sts and knit at least 3-4" to see how many sts/inch you get, then multiply that by the width you want to see how many sts to cast on for the blanket.

[of troy]

If you want a deep plush blanket, with a 10.5 needle and #4 yarn, you'll want to knit double..

The stitches for a big blanket will be crammed onto the circular (you can comfortable get about twice the width of knitting as needle (a 30 inch needle= 60 inch blanket. (29 inch needle 58 inch blanket.

me? for simple plush warmth i would go with a MOSTLY garter stitch blanket

work with 2 yarns held together (you'll be getting about 2.5 to 3 stitches per inch.. lets say 3 stitches per inch.. 56 inches width.. about 160 stitches

as for the pattern?

R1: K10, *slip 1, K10, (repeat across row)
R2: K5, *slip 1, K10, (end row with knit 5 )

this is not a hard pattern. Its an easy one to see (so you'll be able after a few rows know exactly what to do!)

it reversible (but not exactly identical!)
If you want a wider (or narrower) blanket, the pattern works with any 10 count (100, 110, 120...160, 170, 180!)

the garter makes a nice deep ridge that make the blanket warm.

[shelby]

First of all, that's a cute kitty.
I have no fancy pattern.
My knowledge of kitting stops at kitting and purling so I was either going to make a ribbed blanky or maybe a checker pattern.

Maybe it's good to have smaller needles, would that make it thicker?