FO – Rabbit Illusion Baby Blanket

It’s another “Finished Object”- friday. Today I can mark off another technique on my knitting bucket list.

rabbit illusion baby blanket - top

Pattern: Rabbit Illusion Baby Blanket by Steve Plummer
Needle size: 3.00 mm
Yarn: Wollmeise Lace, in “Maus jung” and purple, held double
Finished measurements: 60 x 98 cm

rabbit illusion baby blanket - detail

The technique is called illusion knitting. It is also known as “shadow knitting”. You use two colours. You knit two rows of color A, then two rows of color B, and repeats this throughout the body of the work. Only knit or purl stitches are used.

rabbit illusion baby blanket - bottom

A knit stitch is flat, while a purl stitch is raised. Therefore, you can change which color (dark or light) stands out by changing from knit to purl. So the basic idea is to create a pattern in knit stitches in the colors one wants and purl stitches in the background color. When looking straight at the knitted piece, the stitches look approximately the same, but from an angle, only the raised purl stitches are visible.

rabbit illusion baby blanket - back

The back side looks a bit different. But still interesting.

The illusion knitting is an interesting technique. Simple, but interesting enough to keep your attention. A perfect project for watching TV.

I hope the recipient likes it. The parents have real bunnies. And now one on a blanket. It is for their newborn baby girl, Mila.

2 Responses

  1. daisy boyer
    | Reply

    Bonjour j ai le méme modéle de Rabbit illusion mais je ne comprend pas comment suivre le patron pouvez vous m aidez s il vous plait merci

    • donnarossa
      | Reply

      Hi Daisy,

      unfortunately, I don’t speak french (anymore). The pattern itself I linked in the post. But here is a great tutorial where they explain it step by step: http://www.illusionknitting.woollythoughts.com/tigertutorial.html. You knit each colour for two rows. The first row is always knit stitches (on the right side). The wrong side row will be knits and purls – depending on the motif. If you do a knit stitch on the WS row, this will create a bump on the right side (which is then visible watching the piece from an angle). It’s suitable for knitters of all abilities.

      The charts used for illusion knitting is a bit different than for lace. In the tutorial, it’s explained how to read it.

      Sabrina

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