The Joanna pattern

My mother and the ladies at her work used to have a large knitting circle.  They ran out of babies to knit for locally (my children are very well stocked in knitted items) and my mother got everyone to start knitting for the Wellington NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) and Wellington Hospital Trust.  The pattern and drive to help the hospital came from loss: the hospital is where Joanna was born and died and the work gave Mum a practical way to 'give back' to the hospital.

One thing she did was create the pattern below.  It makes a small blanket: about the size of bassinette or to cover an infant in a baby car seat.  You can easily make two or four and join together if you would like a large blanket.  I still use the single blanket on my daughter's bed.  It goes across the top of her other blankets - more for decoration than anything else.  It is the absolute perfect size for a prem/ sick baby.  If you want a cot blanket or pram blanket then I suggest making it wider or knitting two and joining them together in panels.

The Joanna pattern

Cast on 80 stitches in double knit.

Knit four rows
K5P2(K8P2 x7) P2K5
K7(P8K2 x7) K7
Repeat the above two rows five times.  Then start over from the beginning.

Make it as long as you want it!