Afghan Knitting Patterns

Choosing how your afghan is built

An afghan is a big rectangle, and the only real decision is how you get there. Knitted in one piece, you carry hundreds of stitches on a long circular needle for months and there is no seaming at the end – peaceful, but heavy in the lap by the final metre. Worked in strips, you knit five or six long panels and seam them, which is portable and lets you alternate cable and plain strips. Worked in squares or mitred blocks, each piece is a finished thing in an evening, which is far better for motivation and for using up odd balls, at the cost of a great deal of sewing up at the end. Sampler blankets combine the two ideas: different stitch patterns block by block, effectively a stitch dictionary you can sleep under.

What is in this collection

• Cabled afghans: classic Aran panels, plaits and honeycomb, usually in a plain pale yarn so the texture shows.
• Mitred and modular squares: built out of joined blocks, ideal for leftovers.
• Textured throws: moss, basketweave and ridge patterns that are reversible.
• Colourwork and striped blankets: where the plan for the stripe sequence matters as much as the knitting.
• Simple garter and stocking stitch throws: a first blanket, and honestly one of the nicest things to knit.

Yarn weight and quantity

Blankets eat yarn, and this is where projects stall. A lap throw might need 1,200 to 1,800 metres; a full double bed afghan can run past 3,000. Work out the metreage from the pattern for your chosen size, buy the whole lot up front in one dye lot, and add a spare ball. Aran and chunky yarns finish sooner and give a cosier fabric; DK gives a lighter blanket with better drape and takes considerably longer. Choose fibre by who will use it: superwash wool or acrylic for anything that will be washed weekly, pure wool for an heirloom throw that will be aired rather than laundered, cotton for a summer bedspread.

Practical knitting tips for a big project

Use a circular needle even for flat knitting, so the weight rests in your lap rather than on your wrists. Put a lifeline in before a complicated cable repeat. If you are working stripes across a huge piece, carry the unused colour up the side rather than cutting it every time. Keep a row counter and a written note of where you are, because a blanket is a project you will put down for a fortnight and come back to. And knit a tension square anyway: on a piece a metre and a half wide, a small tension difference becomes twenty centimetres of unexpected width and several extra balls of yarn.

Edging, blocking and care

An afghan looks unfinished until it has a border. Pick up evenly around all four sides – roughly three stitches for every four rows along the sides, one per stitch across the ends – and work garter, moss or a crochet edging, increasing at the corners so they lie flat. Block a big blanket in sections on the floor over towels, or wash it and pat it out to size. Wash on a cool wool cycle if the yarn is superwash; hand wash pure wool in the bath and squeeze the water out with towels before drying flat, because a soaked afghan is astonishingly heavy.

Afghan knitting questions

How much yarn does an afghan take?

Anything from about 1,200 metres for a lap throw to over 3,000 for a bed-sized blanket. Always follow the pattern's stated quantity for your size.

Is an afghan a good beginner project?

A garter or square-based afghan is excellent for a beginner. A large one-piece cabled throw is a commitment.

What is the difference between an afghan and a throw?

In practice, none. Afghan is the traditional name for a knitted or crocheted blanket.

Which needles should I use?

A long circular, 80cm or more, so the weight of the blanket sits in your lap.