Basketweave Knit Throw in Bernat Maker Outdoor - Downloadable PDF

Bernat Maker Outdoor Basketweave Knit Throw – Pattern Summary

This free downloadable PDF pattern from Bernat, handmade in partnership with Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores®, guides knitters through creating a large, cozy Basketweave Knit Throw measuring approximately 54" x 65" [137 x 165 cm]. Designed for beginner knitters, it is an excellent introduction to textured knitting, combining simple knit and purl combinations to produce a classic basketweave surface pattern with neat garter stitch borders and decorative tassel braids along the edges.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a generously sized knit throw blanket worked flat on a long circular needle. The throw features a structured basketweave body flanked by garter stitch side and bottom/top borders, giving it a tidy, polished finish on all four sides. Eighteen tassel braids are added as a decorative fringe detail, cut from 22" [56 cm] lengths of yarn and attached along the edges for a handcrafted, artisan look.

Materials Required

• Yarn: Bernat® Maker Outdoor™ in colorway Sandy Beach (99002) – 9 balls, each 8.8 oz/250 g (249 yds/228 m), totalling approximately 2,241 yards. This is a chunky weight yarn specifically engineered for outdoor use, making the finished throw suitable for porches, patios, and garden spaces as well as indoor use.
• Needles: U.S. size 11 (8 mm) circular knitting needles, 36" [91.5 cm] long, or the size needed to achieve gauge. Circular needles are used here to accommodate the wide stitch count while still working back and forth in rows rather than in the round.

Gauge

The pattern requires a gauge of 12 stitches and 17 rows = 4" [10 cm] in stockinette stitch. Achieving correct gauge is important for reaching the intended finished dimensions of the throw.

Techniques Used

• Flat knitting on circular needles: The throw is worked back and forth in rows — not in the round — using the long circular needle simply to hold the large number of stitches comfortably.
• Garter stitch borders: Both the bottom and top borders, as well as the side edges throughout the body, are worked in garter stitch (knitting every row), which lies flat and frames the textured centre panel neatly.
• Basketweave pattern: The body of the throw is worked in a 12-row repeating basketweave pattern, achieved by alternating blocks of knit and purl stitches that shift position every six rows. This creates the characteristic woven, dimensional look associated with basketweave knitting.
• Slip stitch selvedge: Every row begins with a slipped stitch purlwise (Sl1P), creating a clean, even chain selvedge along both vertical edges of the throw.
• Shaping increases and decreases: A single increase row using Kfb (knitting into the front and back of a stitch) adds stitches before the body pattern begins, and a corresponding decrease row using K2tog (knitting two stitches together) reduces the stitch count back before the top border, ensuring the borders and body are proportionally balanced.
• Tassel braid construction: Lengths of yarn are cut and assembled into 18 tassel braids and attached to the throw, adding a decorative handmade finishing touch.

Stitches Used

• Knit (K) – the foundational stitch used throughout borders and body pattern
• Purl (P) – used within the basketweave body pattern to create textural contrast
• Slip 1 Purlwise (Sl1P) – used at the beginning of every row for a tidy selvedge edge
• Kfb –