"Ludo Blanket" - Blanket Knitting Pattern For Babies in MillaMia Naturally Soft Merino

Ludo Blanket: A Classic Cable Knitting Pattern for Babies by MillaMia

The Ludo Blanket is a beautifully structured, elegant and timeless baby blanket knitting pattern from MillaMia, worked in the brand's signature Naturally Soft Merino yarn. Designed for knitters at an improving beginner level, this pattern produces a finished blanket measuring 56cm/22in by 63cm/25in — a generous size perfectly suited to wrapping and swaddling a baby. The design centres on classic cable detailing that gives the finished piece a sophisticated, heirloom quality, making it an ideal handmade gift or keepsake.

Construction and Techniques

One of the most practical and clever aspects of the Ludo Blanket is its multi-panel construction. Rather than knitting the entire blanket as a single large piece, the pattern instructs knitters to work several individual panels separately and then sew them together once complete. This approach offers two key advantages:

• It makes the project far more manageable on the needles, keeping the stitch count lower at any given time.
• It results in a more solid, structured, and constructed finished blanket with excellent body and drape.

The pattern is worked entirely flat (back and forth on straight needles), which is well suited to beginners and improving knitters who may not yet be comfortable with circular or in-the-round techniques. Because each panel is knitted separately, the project is also highly portable — easy to pick up and put down without losing your place in a complex construction.

The pattern also notes that the blanket can easily be customised in size: simply adding more panels on either side, or working each panel to a greater length, will produce a larger blanket without any changes to the core stitch pattern.

Cable Techniques and Stitches Used

The defining feature of the Ludo Blanket is its cable knitting. Cables are a classic knitting technique in which stitches are crossed over one another to create twisted, rope-like or braided textures on the fabric surface. They are worked with the help of a cable needle — a short, double-pointed auxiliary needle used to hold stitches temporarily while others are knitted.

The Ludo Blanket features a specific and impressive cable manoeuvre known as Cr12L (Cross 12 Left). This is a large, 12-stitch cable cross worked over two sets of six stitches. The technique involves a short series of turning rows — knitting six stitches, turning the work, purling those six stitches back, and repeating — before slipping the first six stitches onto a cable needle held at the front of the work and knitting the next six stitches from the left needle. The held stitches are then knitted from the cable needle. This creates a bold, left-leaning cable cross that gives the blanket its striking, structured visual texture.

Key Stitches and Techniques at a Glance

• Stocking stitch (stockinette) — the foundational knit-and-purl stitch used as the base fabric, with a tension of 25 stitches and 34 rows to a 10cm/4in square
• Cables — specifically the Cr12L (Cross 12 Left), a 12-stitch cable cross using a cable needle held at the front
• Worked flat — all panels are knitted back and forth on straight needles rather than in the round
• Mattress stitch — recommended for seaming the individual panels together neatly and invisibly on the right side of the fabric
• Blocking — panels should be blocked flat before joining, ensuring even tension and a professional finish

Materials Required

The Ludo Blanket is knitted in MillaMia Naturally Soft Merino, a sport weight yarn celebrated for its softness, stitch definition, and suitability for baby garments and accessories. The pattern calls for seven 50g/1¾oz balls in the colourway Snow (124) — a classic, clean white that perfectly complements the timeless cable design and suits any nursery aesthetic.

The recommended needles are a