A casual worsted weight afghan with great texture, worked in panels of alternating colours (stripes).
Worsted weight yarn in 3 different colours - I used about 1100g (400g Colour 1, 400g Colour 2, 300g Colour 3 plus some for the edging)
Circular needle or long double pointed needles in appropriate size
Gauge is not really crucial, use what looks good to you - mine worked out to be 13.5 sts per 4 inches (10 cm)
Size is approximately 4 feet wide by 5.5 feet long, but can be easily adjusted by varying the number and length of the panels
Panel One:
With colour one, loosely cast on 33 stitches.
Knit first st. *Yarn fwd, k2tog* to end - 33 sts. Turn.
Repeat row above til you've used up almost 200g of your main colour. If all goes well, this should take you to over 5 feet in length. The panel will be somewhere in the area of 9.25 inches wide.
Make 1 additional panel exactly the same. (I used 400 grams of yarn altogether.)
Panel Two:
With colour two, loosely cast on 21 stitches.
Work the same as panel one, to the same length as panel one. This panel will be around 5.75 inches in width.
Make a total of 3 panels like this. (Mine took 400 grams in total.)
Panel Three:
With colour three, loosely cast on 13 stitches.
Work the same as panel one, to the same length as panel one. It'll be about 3.5 inches wide.
Make a total of 4 panels like this. (Mine took 300 grams altogether.)
Assembly:
Arrange completed panels in a symmetrical pattern (by panel number):
2 - 3 - 1 - 3 - 2 - 3 - 1 - 3 - 2
I used a dark colour for Panel 1, a bright for 2, and a light neutral for 3.
Join panels together by sewing from the wrong side, single crocheting them together, etc.
Add a single crochet edging, fringe, etc. as desired.
Cuddle up and enjoy!
The ideal finished length of the afghan should be at least equal the person's height. I figure if their toes are cold they can always curl up under it, so I make mine about 5.5 feet long. :)
Depending on the amount of yarn you have available, you can make a different number of panels in 2, 4, 5 or however many colours in the widths that please you. I prefer a symmetrical arrangement, but your tastes may be different. You may want to read up on Math for Craft Design if you'll be using different number of colours, panel widths, etc.
You can use a bulkier yarn, and it'll work up quite a bit faster than with worsted. You'll probably want to work the panels on fewer stitches than suggested, though.
Calculating basic yarn amounts is not too difficult. If Panel One uses 200g, you'll need about 140g (200 x .7) for Panel Two and 80g (200 x .4) for Panel Three. That's per panel, and only works if you're using the same yarn. Always have extra on hand to be sure you have enough. Any edging or fringe will take additional yarn, too.
I used the colours I had on hand - navy, burgundy and camel. It would look great done up in pastels or brights, too.
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