Knit ZigZag Blanket in Bernat Velvet - BRK0502-012159M - Downloadable PDF

Knit ZigZag Blanket in Bernat Velvet – Pattern Summary

This Knit ZigZag Blanket is a beautifully textured, generously sized throw designed for knitters of all experience levels. Rated Easy/Beginner, it is an ideal project for those looking to build confidence with basic knitting techniques while producing a striking, professional-looking result. The finished blanket measures approximately 45" x 55" [114.5 x 139.5 cm], making it a perfect lap blanket, baby throw, or decorative accent for a sofa or bed.

What Is Being Made

The project is a knitted zigzag blanket, also referred to in the pattern as a Knit Zigzag Afghan. Its defining visual feature is a bold, repeating diagonal wave or chevron motif created through a combination of yarn-over increases and centered double decreases. The blanket is worked flat, back and forth across a long circular needle, and features a structured color-block layout that cycles through four yarn colors in a deliberate sequence, producing horizontal bands of zigzag pattern separated by smooth garter stitch borders.

Materials Used

The pattern calls for Bernat® Velvet™ yarn, a chunky weight yarn available in 10.5 oz/300 g skeins with approximately 315 yards/288 m per skein. Four colorways are used:

• Main Color (MC): Mushroom (32003) – 2 balls
• Contrast A: White Sand (32029) – 2 balls
• Contrast B: Rich Blue (32019) – 1 ball
• Contrast C: Blackbird (32002) – 1 ball

Bernat Velvet is known for its ultra-soft, plush texture that mimics the feel of velvet fabric, giving the finished blanket a luxurious drape and cozy hand. The recommended needle is a U.S. size 10½ (6.5 mm) circular knitting needle, 36" [91.5 cm] long (item number 10397021), or the size needed to obtain gauge. A long circular needle is used here not for working in the round, but to comfortably accommodate the large number of stitches across the width of the blanket.

Gauge

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

Construction and Structure

The blanket begins with a cast-on of 179 stitches, which is a multiple of 14 stitches plus 11. The construction is entirely flat knitting, worked back and forth in rows. The pattern is organized into repeating 54-row color sequences, each of which is subdivided into three 18-row blocks — one for each contrast color (A, B, and C) — with garter stitch borders of 6 rows in the Main Color (MC) separating each zigzag section. This 54-row repeat continues until the blanket reaches the desired length.

Techniques Used

• Flat knitting: All rows are worked back and forth on a circular needle, never joined in the round.
• Color changing: Yarn is broken at the end of each color section and rejoined, creating clean horizontal color transitions between MC and each contrast color.
• Garter stitch borders: The Main Color sections consist of 6 rows of garter stitch (knit every row), which creates a firm, flat horizontal band that visually separates the zigzag motif blocks and prevents the edges from rolling.
• Stockinette-based zigzag pattern: The contrast color sections combine knit and purl rows with strategic increases and decreases to form the chevron wave motif.
• Selvage edge management: Five garter stitches are maintained at each side edge throughout the zigzag pattern rows, providing a neat, stable border on both sides of the blanket.

Stitches Used

• Knit (K): The foundational stitch used throughout, both in garter sections and as the base of the zigzag pattern rows.