645 Herringbone Blanket - Knitting Pattern for Home in Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky

Pattern 645: Herringbone Blanket – Knitting Pattern by Kirsten Hipsky Using Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky

The 645 Herringbone Blanket, designed by Kirsten Hipsky, is a striking home accessory knitting pattern that recreates the look of a classic herringbone quilt entirely through clever construction rather than complex stitch work. Available in three finished sizes — 40" x 42", 40" x 54", and 52" x 54" — this blanket is an excellent project for intermediate knitters who want a visually impressive result using accessible techniques. The pattern is a downloadable PDF and is rated intermediate in difficulty.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a cozy, generously sized knitted blanket or throw suitable for home décor. The finished piece is inspired by traditional quilt patterns, specifically the herringbone design, and achieves its distinctive diagonal geometry through the construction method rather than through intricate stitchwork. The blanket features a color-blocked interior made up of bias-knit striped strips and is finished with a contrasting color border that frames the piece and adds a lively pop of color.

Construction and Techniques

The blanket is worked using a combination of techniques that give it its signature herringbone appearance:

• Bias knitting (bottom-up, worked flat): Each individual strip is knitted on the bias — meaning stitches are increased on one end and decreased on the other every row, causing the fabric to grow at a diagonal angle. This is what creates the herringbone effect when the strips are seamed together.
• Stripes: Each strip alternates between Color A (Natural) and either Color B (Light Gray Heather) or Color C (Medium Gray Heather), creating garter ridges of contrasting shades. Unused yarn is carried up the side of each strip by twisting the two colors around each other on every right-side row, maintaining a tidy edge and avoiding the need to cut and rejoin yarn frequently.
• Seamed construction: The individual bias strips are knitted separately and then sewn together in a specific arrangement — alternating Color B strips and Color C strips — to produce the full herringbone visual effect across the blanket face.
• Picked-up border: Once the strips are assembled, a border is worked by picking up and knitting stitches along the edges of the blanket using Color D (Capri). The border is worked in garter stitch, picking up approximately 3 stitches for every 4 rows along the long edges, and corners are navigated by picking up additional stitches from the edge of each previously completed border strip. This creates a neat, integrated frame around the entire blanket.

Stitches and Stitch Techniques Used

Despite its impressive appearance, the 645 Herringbone Blanket relies on a small, approachable set of stitches and techniques:

• Garter stitch: The entire blanket body and border are worked in garter stitch (knitting every row when working flat). This creates a squishy, reversible fabric with horizontal ridges that contributes to the blanket's cozy texture.
• Kfb (knit front and back): Used as the increase method on wrong-side rows to add one stitch at the beginning of the strip, maintaining the bias angle.
• K2tog (knit two together): Used as the decrease method on right-side rows to remove one stitch, working in tandem with the kfb to shift the strip diagonally as it grows.
• Pick up and knit: Used extensively when constructing the border, picking up stitches along the assembled blanket edges at a ratio of 3 stitches for every 4 rows.
• Bind off: Standard bind off is used at the end of each strip, with the final stitch intentionally left on the needle to serve as the first stitch when picking up along the border.

Gauge

The pattern calls for a gauge of 3 stitches and 6 rows to 1 inch in garter stitch. Achieving accurate gauge is important for hitting the intended finished dimensions across all three size options.