Wrap up (Beg/Int): Knit1, Purl 2, Repeat ...

This week we had to go old school in a big way to design our own blanket squares. Here are the instructions. 

Using worsted weight yarn, your gauge will be approximately 5 stitches per inch (most will get this with 4.5mm needles but adjust if necessary). Since we need an 8 inch square, you will need to cast on 40 stitches (8 inches x 5 stitches/inch). We are also adding a selvedge edge on both sides so you will need two extra stitches. This brings our total to 42. The selvedge edge is worked by slipping the first stitch and knitting the last stitch on every row.

Now for calculating your pattern. Once you have chosen or designed your particular stitch pattern, you will need to fit it into the 40 stitches. If your pattern repeats over a number of stitches that divides into 40 evenly, you're set. For this square design, stitch patterns of 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 20, and 40 are ideal. If not, don't worry. You can still center your pattern in the following manner. I'll use an example where my pattern is worked over 5 stitches +3. The +3 is necessary to establish the pattern repeat (5 stitches). There are two possibilities when working with +n stitches. Either they are at the beginning of the row or at the end. Let's look at each separately.

Example A

Here is a sample pattern where the repeat is at the beginning:

The first thing you do is subtract the +3 from 40. This leaves you with 37. Divide the repeat into this (5) and you have 7 with 2 stitches left over. If you want to center your pattern over the 40 stitches, you need to divide those two stitches. This is how your pattern would look in notation:

Your right side rows (odd numbers) would look like this:

Selvedge st - last stitch of repeat -  repeat (done 7x) - 1st stitch of repeat - +3 - selvedge st

Your wrong side rows (even numbers) would look like this:

Selvedge st - 1st stitch of repeat - repeat (done 7x) - last stitch of repeat - +3 - selvedge st

Example B
The method is almost the same when the repeat is after the +3 (or n stitches).

Everything is the same until you get to the knitting. Here is how your notation might look for this pattern:

Your right side rows (odd numbers) would look like this:

Selvedge st - +3 - last stitch of repeat -  repeat (done 7x) - 1st stitch of repeat - selvedge st
Your wrong side rows (even numbers) would look like this:

Selvedge st - +3 - 1st stitch of repeat - repeat (done 7x) - last stitch of repeat - selvedge st

The important thing to note is that the first and last stitch change position depending on which direction you're knitting. This is necessary since we read from left to right, but knit from right to left. It may sound a little confusing, but once you do a few rows you'll realize  why.  
Yarn over and out!
JAS