686 Leaves and Lines Afghan - Blanket Knitting Pattern for Home in Valley Yarns Haydenville

686 Leaves and Lines Afghan – Knitting Pattern Summary

The 686 Leaves and Lines Afghan is a beautifully textured blanket knitting pattern designed by Kirsten Hipsky and published under the Valley Yarns brand. This intermediate-level pattern produces a cozy, decorative throw adorned with embossed leaf motifs, eyelets, and textured ridges, making it an elegant addition to any home. The pattern is available as a downloadable PDF and is worked in Valley Yarns Haydenville, a worsted-weight yarn.

What Is Being Made

This pattern creates a large knitted afghan (blanket or throw) in three size options:

• 36" x 54" (shown in the pattern photos)
• 54" x 54"
• 54" x 72"

The finished blanket is assembled from individual bias-knit counterpane squares, each measuring approximately 9" square after blocking. The squares are sewn together in a 4 x 6 arrangement (and adjusted for larger sizes), allowing knitters to experiment with different layout configurations for entirely different visual effects. This modular, counterpane-style construction is a hallmark of classic textile traditions, updated here with a modern, graphic sensibility.

Design Details and Visual Texture

The afghan features two distinct square types that are combined during finishing:

• Leaf Sections – squares featuring a central embossed leaf motif worked in stockinette relief against a garter or textured background
• Line Sections – squares featuring eyelet rows and textured ridges that create a graphic, linear contrast to the organic leaf shapes

The interplay between the organic, botanical leaf shapes and the geometric lines and eyelets gives the blanket its striking, layered visual character. Because the squares can be laid out in multiple arrangements, knitters have creative flexibility in how the finished piece looks.

Techniques Used

This pattern employs several knitting techniques suited to an intermediate-level knitter:

• Bias knitting – each counterpane square is worked on the diagonal, with stitches increased from a single cast-on point and then decreased back down, creating the characteristic square shape without seaming individual pieces into shape
• Lace – eyelet rows are created using yarn-over and decrease combinations (e.g., yo, k2tog), producing an open, decorative texture
• Embossed leaf motif – a charted leaf motif is worked in stockinette stitch against surrounding texture; the leaf grows and shrinks in stitch count across right-side rows using yarn-overs and decreases, requiring careful stitch tracking
• Seamed construction – all squares are worked flat individually and then seamed together during finishing; Line sections are sewn to Line sections and Leaf sections to Leaf sections before the full blanket assembly
• Worked flat – all knitting is done back and forth in rows, making this accessible to knitters who prefer straight or circular needles used flat
• Blocking – all squares are blocked to the finished 9" measurement before seaming, an essential step for achieving even, professional results
• Stitch marker usage – six stitch markers are used to isolate the leaf motif within the larger square, helping knitters track the changing stitch counts of the motif separately from the rest of the row

Stitches Used

The pattern draws on a variety of stitch types and techniques to build its textured surface:

• Garter stitch – used as the primary background texture and for gauge; gauge is measured as 5 sts and 10 rows = 1" in garter stitch
• Stockinette stitch – used within the leaf motif to create the embossed, raised leaf shape
• Yarn-overs (yo) – used both for lace eyelets and for shaping the leaf motif
• SSK (slip, slip, knit) – a left-leaning decrease used for shaping the bias squares and the