Mystery Blanket Club 2026: post 2, March

March 1, 2026 Debbie Abrahams

WELCOME TO THE SECOND INSTALMENT OF THE 2026 MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB! And with the weather just beginning to turn with a much needed sunny day or two here in the UK, I am loving the challenges of working on new projects as we move into Spring. This is one of my busiest times of the year for designing with workshops, knitting holidays, new kit ideas and club projects on the go, with some tight deadlines to meet!

We are enjoying our new arrival in the household - meet Mia! Here she is snuggling up to Seth's beloved (and very worn out) Mousey. She is very well behaved, especially around all my yarn and blankets, and is getting on tremendously well with Zelda. So we are a very happy household indeed at the moment, which is helping to brighten up the gloomier days of drizzle and rain.

There are four squares to knit this month with a variety of different techniques to keep your motivation levels in top gear. And with many of you right up to date and eager to make a start on the next batch of squares, your wait is over!

However, before you dive in and start knitting, it would be great if you could spare fifteen minutes to read through all the latest news about the club. As well as some lovely member stories, there are lots of tips and advice about the squares you are knitting this month which will help make your knitting easier and hopefully more enjoyable too!

Remember that the tech vids in our Tutorials are always there if you need a bit of extra support. There is one new tech vid (for cables) and all of the others are available as well to view should you need any guidance:

HERE'S SOME FUN FACTS TO START THIS MONTH'S BLOG...Mary Leeson from Loughborough in Leicestershire has come up with some mind boggling facts and figures about the 2025 Mystery Blanket Club. She has calculated that:

the Option One Mystery Blanket consisted of 175,580 stitches, excluding pick ups and surface embellishment;
the Option Two Mystery Blanket consisted of 180,100 stitches, with exclusions as above;
the four edgings totalled 27,896 stitches;
strips 1, 3, 5 and 7 totalled 84,996 stitches;
strips 2, 4 and 6 had fewer stitches than Option Two because of the picture knits which totalled 62,686, whereas Option Two totalled 67,203 stitches.

So, with the same amount of squares to knit in this year's blanket, this is probably very close to what you will achieve. It's pretty awesome, isn't it, and just goes to show how much work there is in each of the blanket designs. Thanks Mary for those super facts, I found them totally amazing!

THE MARCH PRINTED PATTERNS HAVE ALL BEEN POSTED, with the overseas sent on the 28th February by standard Airmail, and the UK sent on the 25th February by Royal Mail Tracked Delivery. So if you opted for this, keep an eye out for a brown envelope which will be dropping onto your doormat very soon!

If you didn't choose this option but have changed your mind, it is not too late. For details of how to set this up, please contact Sue at sue@debbieabrahams.com and she will set up your payment and add you to the printed patterns list.

UNFORTUNATELY THERE IS A MINOR ERROR IN THE MARCH MAIL-OUT. It is on page 6, in the second column.

ROWS 1-34 after NEXT ROW (WS) should say, ROWS 1-38. The remainder of that instruction is correct. This has been added to the Addendums on our website.

OUR MOTHER'S DAY MYSTERY KNIT BOXES HAVE SOLD OUT, however, there are plenty of other lovely gift ideas in our online shop if you are looking for something really special. And if you can't choose anything yourself, we also have Gift cards available in several different denominations.

What about an Allure Bag kit?...

...or a Fraggle Rock Cowl (both available in our online shop).

IF YOUR PURCHASE IN OUR ONLINE SHOP EXCEEDS £75 YOU CAN USE OUR SPLITIT PAYMENT PLAN TO SPREAD THE COST, with the flexibility to pay over 2-4 months (you choose) with zero interest. It's always worth keeping that in mind if your basket is full but you don't want to take anything out of it!

IN A FEW WEEKS TIME I WILL BE LAUNCHING SIGN-UPS FOR A BRAND NEW CLUB, the details of which will be revealed to you very soon. Would you like a few clues though?!? Yes, it does include beads (and lots of them!), and the projects won't be a 'mystery' (yes, there are more than one!), and there will be options to have a full membership with everything you need included, or beads and patterns only. We have a fabulous super offer for our first one hundred-and-fifty members who sign up for a full membership, plus there are other benefits for all of the members.

Sounds good?!? If this has got your knitting adrenaline going, keep an eye on your inbox for our launch in March (with the club beginning in May)...

IF YOU FANCY AN AMAZING KNITTING HOLIDAY TO TURKEY TUTORED BY ME THEN WHY NOT JOIN ME THIS SEPTEMBER FOR AN INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE! I am thrilled to have been invited by Stitchtopia to be the expert on this tour, with my great friend Sue Culligan joining me as Tour Manager. The holiday combines knitting workshops with visits to some of Turkey's most fascinating places including The Blue Mosque, The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, and the Acropolis of Pergamum. There will also be the opportunity to participate in some other textile workshops, guided by local ceramic and felt-making artists.

Stitchtopia offer high quality craft holidays tailored specifically for knitters, giving you the opportunity to explore the world in the company of fellow crafters. This unique experience will take you on the most wonderful adventure to discover the rich and varied heritage of Turkish arts and crafts, whilst learning new knitting techniques and mastering your existing skills.

Click on the link below to the Stitchtopia website to find out more and book your place. Places are limited and we are nearly at full capacity, so don't delay, and I will see you in Turkey!

Book on Stitchtopia website

PHEW! AFTER ALL THAT EXCITMENT THERE IS MORE TO COME AS IT'S TIME TO GUESS THE TITLE OF THIS YEAR'S MYSTERY BLANKET!

Last week I revealed the first letter in the word puzzle, and it obviously triggered a lot of ideas and a lot of correct answers. So the first members to guess the title correctly are: Karen Johnston, Jenece Robinson, Linda Murray, Hazel Lackie, Heidi Meier, Jennie Slaney, Susan Rosenquist, Maria Wilkinson, Caroline Gardner-Thorpe, Debbie Smith, Elsbeth Pearce, Judy Landerschier, Lavonna Young, Trisha Harrison, Alison Riddell, Pat Gordon-Smith, Claire Maycock, Lisa Sawyer and Sophie Houston. Apologies if I have missed anyone off this list, let me know and I will include you at the top of next month's list.

If you are still trying to work out what the title is, another letter might help you. This month I am adding the letter 'F' to the puzzle:

_ _ _ L / _ F / _ _ _ _ _ _ _

There always lots of clues in the patterns, so take a look at the names of the squares, the stitch patterns and colours, do they remind you of anything? I know that some of the correct guesses last month were triggered by the names of the squares, so maybe some research into some of the more exotic ones might lead you to the correct answer. There are no prizes for a correct guess, but with your permission I will include your name in the next blog. So go on, why not have a go?!? Send your answers directly to me at: debbie@debbieabrahams.com. Good luck!

THERE ARE FOUR SQUARES TO KNIT THIS MONTH, WITH ONE OPTION TO CHOOSE:

Square 29: Majorelle 2 - slip-stitch bead pattern:

Square 30: Embossed - cable pattern with twisted stitches:

Square 31: Bahia - striped pattern with garter stitch and hooked-in beads:

Square 36, Option One: Opulent - fairisle pattern with hooked-in beads:

Square 36, Option Two: Opulent - striped pattern with textured stitches and slip-stitch beads:

Don't forget to check out the Pattern notes and tips for each square which are to the right of the main image on the first pattern page. This advice will give you important information about the square and things to watch out for. Also take note of the description of the square under the title which tells you what the stitch structure is.

SQUARE 29, MAJORELLE 2: there is no second choice for this square, so get your beads at the ready for a beading extravaganza!!!

Tech vids to help you with this square:

All of the beads in this square are pre-threaded and added to the knitting using the slip-stitch technique. The bead threading is similar to Square 15 in that they are threaded on in two batches, chart rows 1-38 and chart rows 39-64. Be aware that beads are knitted in on both right-side and wrong-side rows.

There was some confusion last month over the bead threading which some members thought was incorrect as it did not follow the chart. However, beads are always threaded on in the reverse order to how they are knitted in, with the last bead on the chart threaded on first. It's a bit of a strange one to get your head round, but when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Fortunately you don't need to worry about this though as I have given you the bead threading instructions, and my test knitters assure me that the sequence is correct!

As it is essential that the beading sequence is absolutely spot on to get the beaded pattern correct, it would be a good idea to grab your nearest and dearest (or a random stranger if you are struggling!) to read out the threading sequence to you so that you can focus on picking up the correct colour beads. Then you should have the most amazing and enjoyable beading experience with no errors!

SQUARE 30, EMBOSSED: this cable pattern has twisted stitches to make them more defined and neater too. If you have not tried cabling before, this is your opportunity to give it a go!

Tech vids to help you with this square:

You can knit this square from either a worded pattern or a chart - or follow both if preferred. The worded pattern matches the chart row for row, so if cable charts are new to you and you want to try working from one, you can double check your rows by cross-referencing them on the chart.

You will need a cable needle to knit this square, and there are several choices of different styles on the market if you need to purchase one. I have several and have to admit that I swap between them all from a curved hook to a straight one with an indent in the middle. You will find your own favourite one I am sure, but what is important about whichever cable needle you use is that it must be the same size or smaller than the needles you are using to knit the square, otherwise you won't be able to slide them onto the cable needle. They usually come in sets of sizes, which are basically small, medium and large, each one covering several needle sizes.

There are two set-up rows after the cast-on (or pick up from Square 29), which you work before starting the main pattern. There is an increase in the first of these two rows, so make sure that you read the brackets correctly to achieve the number of stitches required at the end of this row. These sorts of instructions with brackets are the same as reading a mathematical equation. What is inside the brackets is repeated (five times in this case) with some stitches knitted outside of the brackets at the beginning and the end of the instruction.

The chart looks busy and maybe a little daunting at first, but the key below it tells you what all the symbols mean. The cable symbol, c7f, means cable seven stitches to the front, for which you will find an explanation for in the Abbreviations on page 19. And the horizontal dash means to knit the stitch through the back of the loop on the right-side and purl through the back of the loop on the wrong-side. Basically the cables are ribbed - a twisted rib - with sections of the cables in between knitted in stocking stitch.

By knitting and purling stitches through the back of the loop, they are twisted which tightens them up and consequently makes them look much neater. You can see the difference quite clearly if you look at the parts of the cable where the stitches are not twisted. It might take a bit more effort to knit than a regular cable, but I am sure you will love the result!

SQUARE 31, BAHIA: this simple stripe pattern has no option so all of the members have a comparatively easy square to knit this month, with just a scattering of hooked-in Gold beads to knit into some of the brightly coloured stripes.

Tech vids to help you with this square:

Garter stitch stripes are combined with stocking stitch stripes in this all-over stripe pattern repeat. Cut off yarns when instructed, but Stone can be carried up the side of the work to reduce the amount of loose ends.

If you are familiar with fairisle you could use the weaving-in technique to get rid of some of the loose ends on the wrong side of the work. I usually use a combination of the two - I weave in some and the rest are sewn into the back of the work (following the same line of colour across the work), or I sew them into the seams when the strips of squares are sewn together later on.

There's just one more thing to point out, and that is the variable needle sizes. Your main needle for this square is 3.50mm, but 2.50mm needles are needed for the garter stitch stripes. If you don't change your needles then your garter stitch stripes will be looser than the stocking stitch stripes, and consequently the width of the square might be a bit wavy and the square may knit up too long in length. So watch out for them, they are in bold to grab your attention!

SQUARE 36, OPTION ONE, OPULENT: this is the second fairisle pattern in the blanket with a second option if you don't want to tackle this technique this month.

Tech vids to help you with this square:

You can choose either option for this square, it does not have to match the option you chose for Square 8, Ornate.

The pattern is worked partially from worded instructions and partially from charts, beginning on page 12 working from Chart 1. Rows of Indigo garter stitch separate the bands of fairisle, with beads hooked into some of the stitches.

The fairisle sections are knitted using 3.50mm needles, but you will need to swap to 2.50mm needles for the Indigo garter stitch stripes. The changes in needle sizes are in bold in the pattern instructions so that you can see them more easily.

You are instructed several times to transfer the stitches back onto the other needle, which is what you were instructed to do in Square 8, Ornate. This is so you can continue working with colours that are at the opposite end of the work, and for the garter stitch stripes (which are two rows of knit), they must begin with a right-side row. Alternatively you could knit this square using a circular needle or double-points, then you would just need to slide the stitches to the other end of the needle.

Just be aware that when you start to work from Chart 2, you are beginning Row 1 with a wrong-side row. However, because the chart is completely symmetrical you can read it from whichever direction you prefer as the pattern will come out the same.

There are 15 Yellow beads and 10 Indigo beads hooked into the fairisle pattern. In Chart 1 the Yellow beads are hooked onto a Peacock stitch, and in Chart 2 Indigo beads are hooked onto a Rose stitch which might be difficult to see on the chart.

SQUARE 36, OPTION TWO, OPULENT: if you don't fancy knitting fairisle, this textured and striped pattern with slip-stitch beads is an easier alternative to Option One.

Tech vids to help you with this square:

You can choose either option for this square, it does not have to match the option you chose for Square 8, Ornate.

There are changes in needle sizes throughout this square to keep the width uniform and the length correct, so these are important to do to make your square as perfect and beautiful as possible! They are hi-lighted in bold so you don't miss them.

Rows 3 and 4 have very long instructions, but don't be put off, they are not difficult to knit, you just need to follow what you are being instructed to do very carefully. Once you get going on these rows you won't need to read through the instruction for every repeat across a row. I promise you that you will remember it as despite the length of the instruction, each repeat (in brackets) only uses two stitches.

Keeping the yarns picked up in the correct order across these two rows is really important to get the stitches looking like the image on page 14. On both rows Rose is picked up under Grass, and Grass is picked up on top of Rose. If you are not sure what I mean by this then take a look at my fairisle tech vid which shows the stranding technique and how to pick up the yarns from under and on top.

Don't forget to pre-thread your Yellow beads onto the Indigo yarn before you join it in. There are 21 beads in each of the four stripes.

And those are your four squares for this month. I hope you enjoy knitting them up!

IT IS ALWAYS A COMPLETE JOY TO HEAR FROM THE MEMBERS, AND THIS MONTH I HAVE THREE LOVELY STORIES TO SHARE WITH YOU!

Lisa Sawyer from British Columbia in Canada was delighted to have completed her 2025 Mystery Blanket. 'The Seashore'. Here is her beautiful blanket, with her beloved cat Fred and Labradoodle Sirius Brown enjoying a restful snooze on it...

Lisa says: "I wanted to share these photos with you. It's interesting how the animals instinctively knew it was an important object, this blanket - they both love laying on it!"

Fantastic work Lisa, and great to see your lovely pets making good use of it!

Claire Maycock from East Lothian in Scotland knitted a design from my first blankets book, 'Blankets & Throws To Knit' and found a unique way to display it - as a wall-hanging. Doesn't it look amazing!

Claire says: "I'm a big fan of yours and only learned to knit in the Covid lockdown, taught by my teenage daughter! Since then I have knitted your 'Magic Carpet' blanket which I backed and is now hanging on the wall in our dining-room. I also joined the Mystery Blanket Club in 2022 with the fab 'Deco Dreams' theme, and now of course the 2026 Mystery Blanket!"

I am stunned to hear that you only started knitting about five years ago Claire! Magic Carpet is a challenging project, so you've done so well to knit it up so beautifully, and I think there's no better way to show it off than as a wall-hanging - spectacular!

Heidi Meier from Milwaukee in Winconsin, USA completed her 'Star of Wonder' bunting and found the perfect place to hang it - doesn't it look great, and a perfect for the space!

Heidi says: "I loved knitting and love displaying the snowflake banner! Have you designed a flower themed banner?I would so enjoy displaying one for the summertime!"

What a fabulous idea Heidi! You'll have to watch this space to see what is in the pipeline next for kit projects. I love banners and bunting too, and glad you enjoyed knitting yours so much, thanks for sharing!

IF YOU HAVE A STORY - AND SOME PICS WOULD BE GREAT TOO - THEN DO WRITE IN, I always love to hear from you! Send your Debbie projects, thought and ideas to me at debbie@debbieabrahams.com and I will share them in the next blog!

IF YOU HAVE NOT JOINED ANY OF OUR JOYFUL SOCIAL MEDIA GROUPS FOR THE MYSTERY BLANKET, THEN WHY NOT SIGN YOURSELF UP TODAY!

You never need to feel that you are on your own when you are part of a Debbie Abrahams Mystery Blanket Club. With social media at our fingertips, we can easily make connections across the world and stay in touch with each other. So if you are not following us on these various different platforms, why not join today!

Ravelry: this social media platform is super friendly and free to join. You will find on there a group for the Mystery Blanket, with many of the members very willing to give help and advice if you have a question: Debbie Abrahams Handknits.
Facebook: there are two groups on Facebook, but the one to visit for Mystery Blanket help and advice is: Debbie Abrahams Mystery Knitters. The members here on this platform are also very happy to help each other and share thoughts and comments about the project, so it's well worth joining, and it's free to join too.

These are our other social media platforms. Please follow us on as may as you can to make our Debbie Abrahams world online even bigger and better!

Instagram: debbieabrahams_knitting
Pinterest: debbieabrahams@debbieabrahamsk
Facebook: Debbie Abrahams Handknits

OUR MONTHLY MEETINGS AT YARN LOFT KICK OFF THIS MONTH, SO IF YOU LIVE NEARBY, WHY NOT COME AND JOIN US?!? Our first meeting this year is on Wednesday 4th March at Doreen's lovely knitting shop in Carrington, Nottingham. It's a great opportunity to meet other members, get some help and advice with your squares, have a chat and a giggle, and enjoy a hot cuppa and a biscuit.

Our meetings are always really fun and the couple of hours we spend together are spent having a good old catch up while knitting our projects, plus there's the opportunity for a spot of shopping too! All members are welcome to join us, whether you are working on this year's Mystery Blanket, or any other Debbie project.

We meet from 4:00pm-6:00pm at Yarn Loft which is at 118 Hucknall Road, Carrington, Nottingham NG5 1AD, tel number 07825 702433, website: www.yarnloft.co.uk. There is a small sub of £3.00 to pay to Doreen on the day to cover her opening costs and refreshments. I hope to see you there!

AND FINALLY, I AM THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THE WINNER OF THE SECOND 2026 MYSTERY BLANKET CLUB FREE PRIZE DRAW! Each month a member is picked at random to win a Debbie Abrahams prize. So it is worth reading my blog from beginning to end every month to check whether you are a winner!

PRIZE DRAW TWO (MARCH): this months' winner is Member 79, Jacqueline Lund from London in the UK. Well done Jacqueline! Please choose a prize from the following selection and email me with your choice: debbie@debbieabrahams.com:

Your choice of one of Debbie's knitting kits from our online shop up to the value of £30 (excluding shipping);
Your choice of six packs of Debbie Abrahams Beads (size 6 and/or size 8) from the selection in our online shop;
£30 voucher towards a Debbie Abrahams Club (MBC27 or my brand new yet-to-be-revealed club!);
A Mystery bag of five gifts.

Now it's time to grab your knitting needles and make a start on your March squares! I have a busy few weeks ahead getting ready for my first workshop in April at Nunsmere with the gorgeous Janie Crow, plus my brand new club to launch later on this month (how exciting!!!). So I will sign off now, wish you many hours of happy knitting and look forward to seeing you back here for all the latest Mystery Blanket Club news at the beginning of April! I'm off to have some kitty cuddles with Mia before settling down with some knitting myself - a perfect afternoon! Take care everyone, Debbie xx