Bamboo Yarn

The Bernat approach to knitting

Bernat patterns are built around thick, washable, budget-friendly yarn, and they are written for people who want a finished object rather than a technical exercise. That gives the collection a particular character: lots of blankets and throws, plenty of easy jumpers and cardigans in aran and chunky, hats and mittens, cushions, and homeware that suits a weekend rather than a season. If you are knitting a gift and the deadline is close, this is a sensible collection to start in.

Blankets, and how to plan one

Blankets are the heart of the range and they are deceptively demanding, not technically but in stamina. Decide the finished size before you cast on and work backwards: a lap throw of roughly 100cm by 130cm is a genuinely useful object and achievable; a double-bed throw is several times the work. Knitting a blanket in strips or squares and joining them makes the project portable and stops the weight of the fabric dragging on your wrists. Garter stitch, simple textures and log-cabin style blocks all avoid the curling that plain stocking stitch will give you at every edge.

Choosing a project

• An evening's work: a chunky ribbed hat or a pair of simple mittens from a single ball.
• A weekend: a garter stitch cushion cover or a chunky cowl.
• A fortnight: an easy drop-shoulder jumper in aran, worked flat in four pieces.
• A month or more: a full-size blanket, which is where the yarn quantities really add up.

Yarn quantity and washability

Blanket-weight and chunky yarns swallow metres, so this is the collection where working from yardage rather than ball count matters most. A large throw can easily need several thousand metres, and running out mid-project with a discontinued dye lot is a genuine risk. Buy the full quantity at the start, in one lot, and add spare. On the plus side, most of the yarns these patterns are written for are machine washable acrylic or acrylic blends, which is exactly what you want in something that will live on a sofa and be sat on by everyone in the house.

Tension in thick yarn

Big stitches magnify small errors. At four stitches to 10cm, half a stitch out is more than ten per cent of your fabric width, so swatch even for a blanket where fit seems irrelevant – it decides your finished dimensions and your yarn total. Work the swatch on the needles you intend to use, count over as wide a span as you can, and if the fabric feels floppy and open, drop a needle size. A firmer fabric wears far better in blankets and cushions than a loose one.

Finishing and care

Acrylic does not block in the way wool does; steam will relax it and, if overdone, will flatten and deaden the fibre permanently, so hover the iron and never press. Join blanket squares with mattress stitch or crochet them together with a slip stitch seam for a decorative ridge. Add a simple crochet border in double crochet to tidy edges and stop them rolling. Wash finished pieces on a cool machine cycle and dry flat or on a low tumble setting; a heavy wet throw hung over a line will stretch out of shape and stay that way.

Bernat pattern questions

Are Bernat patterns available as free PDF downloads? The collection includes free patterns alongside paid ones; check each listing.

Which yarn weights do these patterns use? Mostly aran, chunky and heavier blanket weights, with some DK designs.

How much yarn does a blanket take? Considerably more than most people expect. Follow the pattern's yardage and buy it all in one dye lot.

Can I substitute a different brand? Yes, if you match the tension and the metres per 100g. Thick yarns vary a lot between brands.

Are the patterns beginner friendly? Many are – the garter stitch blankets, cushions and simple hats need very few techniques.