Update the Look of the Traditional HBC Blanket with Bold New Colors

That iconic blanket, the Hudson Bay Company's Point Blanket, or Trapper blanket, with its green, red, yellow and dark blue stripes on a off-white background, is an iconic image in the history of trading posts in North America. The blankets first appeared in Canada in the 1700s and were very popular with uses as bedding, a kind of currency and robes. 

Sadly, rumors about the use of bedding to spread smallpox to indigenous populations created a dark side to the HBC blanket. Although research has not conclusively linked the blanket to this practice, the shadow of these rumors falls over all blankets and bedding traded during that time, especially in Canada.

As the picture shows, the look of the wool blanket is very appealing with its clean, bold stripes standing out from the off-white background. 

Now you can create a version of this blanket with traditional or 21st century colors. The blanket can be easily knit or crocheted. The pattern given is for knitting the blanket in garter stitch.

I was interested in updating this look with a new color scheme. I chose to use a gray background with off-white, yellow, red and blue stripes to give it a fresh new look.

The dimensions of this blanket or throw is 31" x 31". It was knit out of Berroco Vintage Chunky wool on size 10 (US) round needles. The main color choice was smoke gray (6106) and the contrasting stripes were mochi/off-white (6101), Kingfisher blue (6158), orange (6140) and Sunny/yellow (6121). 

The directions are as follows:

Cast on 118 stitches

Hint on row edge: Slip the first stitch knit-wise at the beginning of EVERY row for an edge with a tighter bump, or slip purl-wise WTYF (with the yard in front) for smooth edge.

Knit all the rows as follows:

Knit rows 1-20 in grey. Knit every row ending on a wrong side row. 

Knit next 10 rows in off-white.

Knit next 10 rows in gray.

Knit next 10 rows in mustard yellow.

Knit next 10 rows in gray.

Knit next 10 rows in orange.

Knit next 10 rows in gray.

Knit next 10 rows in blue.

Knit next 40 rows in gray (middle of blanket.

Reverse these rows to finish the blanket.

When buying wool, you will need at least two skeins for each contrasting color and five to six of the main gray color. If you want to make it larger or smaller, adjust the amount of wool accordingly.

Enjoy this project!