Winter Blanket - Knitting Pattern for Christmas in Debbie Bliss Rialto DK

Winter Blanket Knitting Pattern in Debbie Bliss Rialto DK – A Festive Christmas Throw

This free downloadable knitting pattern from Debbie Bliss guides you through creating a beautiful Winter Blanket worked in the classic Debbie Bliss Rialto DK yarn. Designed with a festive Christmas theme, this cosy blanket is available in two sizes — a Baby Blanket and a larger Throw — making it a wonderfully versatile project for gifting or home decoration during the holiday season. The finished blanket measures approximately 55 cm (21¾ in) wide for the baby size and 66 cm (26 in) wide for the throw size.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces a knitted blanket or throw constructed from individual squares that are sewn together after knitting. Each square measures approximately 11 cm by 11 cm (4¼ in by 4¼ in) and features its own garter stitch border, which serves both as a decorative edging and as a practical aid when seaming the squares together. The combination of squares — some featuring textured stitch patterns and others worked with stranded colourwork motifs — creates a rich, patchwork-style fabric with a distinctly wintry, festive feel.

Techniques Used

• Worked flat: All squares are knitted flat on a pair of straight needles, meaning you work back and forth in rows rather than in the round. This is the traditional approach for blanket squares and makes the project very accessible for knitters who prefer not to use circular needles.
• Stranded colourwork: Some squares incorporate stranded knitting, a technique where two or more yarn colours are carried across the row, with the unused colour stranded loosely across the back of the fabric. This creates the classic, crisp colourwork motifs associated with Scandinavian and Fair Isle-style designs — perfect for a Christmas blanket.
• Seamed construction: The individual squares are joined together using a seaming technique once all pieces are complete. The built-in garter stitch border on each square makes alignment and sewing straightforward, producing neat, tidy joins across the finished blanket.
• Reading charts: The stranded colourwork sections are worked from knitting charts. Odd-numbered rows are read from right to left, and even-numbered rows from left to right — a standard convention for flat knitting that is clearly noted in the pattern instructions.
• Garter stitch border: Each square includes a garter stitch edging, which lies flat naturally and adds a neat, defined frame around every motif or textured section.
• Pressing and finishing: The pattern advises giving the completed squares a light press before seaming, with a specific caution not to over-press any textured squares, as doing so would flatten the stitch definition and reduce the visual impact of the surface texture.

Stitches Used

• Stocking stitch (stockinette stitch): The main fabric of many squares is worked in stocking stitch — knit on right-side rows, purl on wrong-side rows — producing a smooth, classic knitted surface ideal for showcasing colourwork motifs. The tension (gauge) for this pattern is 22 stitches and 30 rows to 10 cm (4 in) over stocking stitch.
• Garter stitch: Used for the border of every square, garter stitch is produced by knitting every row. It creates a ridged, reversible fabric that lies flat without curling — an ideal choice for blanket borders and edgings.
• Stranded colourwork stitches: Within the chart-based squares, stitches are worked in either the main colour or the contrast colour as directed by the chart, with the alternate yarn stranded across the wrong side of the work.

Materials Required

Yarn

The pattern uses Debbie Bliss Rialto DK, a premium DK weight yarn sold in 50 g / 1¾ oz balls. Two colours are required:

• Ecru 02 (Colour A): 8 balls for the baby blanket size, or 12 balls for the throw size