Blanket Knitting Patterns

One shape, endless variations

A blanket is the project knitters return to between garments, because it asks nothing of your measuring tape and everything of your patience. Within that single rectangle the designs here go in very different directions: simple textured throws such as Jasper, easy baby blankets written for chunky, aran or DK so you can knit whichever you have, heirloom pieces with lace and diamond panels, motif blankets covered in butterflies, bunnies or kittens, and layette sets from designers including Debbie Bliss and Sirdar where the blanket comes with a matching sweater and hat.

Construction: one piece, strips or squares

• Worked in one piece: the simplest to follow and the heaviest to hold once it grows. A long circular needle carries the weight comfortably.
• Strips: narrow panels knitted separately and seamed. Portable, and you can vary the stitch pattern strip by strip.
• Squares: the classic scrap-buster and the friendliest for travel, though the seaming at the end is a project in itself.
• Mitred and modular: squares picked up from each other so there is very little sewing.
• Border-last: a plain centre with a knitted-on or picked-up edging, which is where an heirloom blanket earns its name.

Sizes and yarn quantities

Work out the finished size first, then the yarn. A car seat or pram blanket sits around 60 x 70cm, a cot blanket near 75 x 100cm, a lap throw about 100 x 130cm, a sofa throw around 130 x 170cm and a double bed cover considerably more. Yarn follows the area: a DK cot blanket often needs somewhere in the region of 800 to 1,200 metres, and a full sofa throw in aran can easily pass 2,000. Always work from the pattern's stated metreage rather than a ball count, and buy the entire quantity in a single dye lot, because a shade shift across a large flat expanse is impossible to hide.

Stopping the edges curling

Stocking stitch curls. It is not a mistake, it is the nature of the fabric, and on a blanket it is the difference between something that drapes and something that rolls itself into a tube. Give every blanket a border of at least four to six stitches of garter, moss or rib on each side and the same depth at top and bottom, or plan to add a picked-up or crocheted edging at the end. Slip the first stitch of each row for a cleaner selvedge, and place a marker at the border-to-body transition so you never lose count.

Fibre choice, finishing and gifting

Wool blankets are warm, light and springy but usually need hand washing. Superwash wool and acrylic go through a machine, which matters for anything a baby or a dog will use. Cotton is cool and heavy — lovely as a summer throw, exhausting as a full bed cover. Once finished, block the blanket damp and pinned to shape so the texture opens and the edges sit straight, weave ends in deeply along the stitch direction, and if it is a gift, write the washing instructions on the tag. Christening shawls, wedding throws and new-baby blankets are the ones people keep for decades, so it is worth spending the extra evening on the border.

Blanket knitting questions

What is the easiest blanket to knit? A garter stitch or simple textured rectangle in chunky yarn, with no seams and a built-in border.

Should I use straight or circular needles? A long circular needle every time for a wide blanket. You still knit back and forth; it simply holds the stitches and the weight.

How much yarn will I need? It depends on size and weight — follow the pattern's metreage and add a spare ball rather than risking a dye lot change.

How do I join squares neatly? Mattress stitch in the project yarn, matching row for row, or crochet them together with a slip stitch for a visible ridge.

Can I knit a blanket in strips to make it portable? Yes, and it is the usual solution once a one-piece blanket becomes too heavy to carry around.