Wrap Me Up!

In my childhood home, draped over the back of the couch and usually slept on by a fat orange cat, was a large, multicolored throw my mom had knitted when I was quite small. The blanket consisted of dozens of individually knitted blocks stitched together. Each unique block contributed to a striking overall design: complex cables, seed stitch, basketweave, a variety of lace, and some plain stockinette blended in to rest the eyes on. I don’t know if mom followed a pattern—she often went rogue—or followed the recommended colorway, because the soft wool yarns were an intriguing combo of pale blue, cream, and black for the borders.

It was the best blanket to snuggle under when we kids had a tummy ache (feigned or real) and spent the day on the couch rather than at school. It was a comfy pillow, the perfect wrap on a drizzly night, and a fine castle awning across dining room chairs when I, the youngest child, was responsible for protecting an imagined fairy land of kings and queens.

Brooklyn, Brooklyn, Take Me In

These sweet memories are what returned when I first saw Melissa Dehncke McGill’s beautiful Brooklyn Museum Sampler Throw in the Summer 2025 issue. The throw is reminiscent of my mother’s in that each of the knitted squares is unique and arranged into a splendid overall design. Melissa provides 12 distinct patterns, inspired by a knitted lace sampler in the Brooklyn Museum Collection. We published the pattern and charts for the Brooklyn Museum Sampler in the print magazine, but now, to make it more convenient for you, we’re providing detailed written instructions for each chart. We’ve combined those in one place with the pattern, charts, and assembly directions.

Melissa was inspired by a sampler from the Brooklyn Museum.