Blankets and Cushion Covers Knitted in King Cole DK - 5734 - Downloadable PDF

King Cole 5734: Blankets and Cushion Covers Knitted in King Cole DK — Full Pattern Summary

Pattern leaflet King Cole 5734 is a downloadable PDF offering knitters the instructions to create two distinct home accessory projects: a Star Blanket with matching Cushion Cover and a Heart Blanket with matching Cushion Cover. Both designs are worked in King Cole DK weight yarn and are rated as intermediate in difficulty, making them ideal for knitters who are comfortable with basic techniques and ready to tackle simple colourwork and multi-panel construction.

Overview of the Two Designs

Star Blanket and Star Cushion Cover

The Star Blanket is a substantial knitted throw constructed in a modular, panel-based format. The blanket is made up of four vertical panels, each containing five individual squares, worked from the bottom to the top — giving a total of 20 squares across the finished blanket. Each individual square measures 13.5 x 13.5 cm (5¼ x 5¼ inches) and is worked over 33 stitches wide and 44 rows long (excluding side edge stitches), using 3.75mm needles.

The design features a star motif worked in a contrasting shade against a main background colour. The pattern uses a carefully planned colourwork scheme across the panels and squares, with each square assigned its own combination of main shade and star shade. The five shades used are named and specified precisely:

• Shade A — Denim
• Shade B — Grey
• Shade C — Steel
• Shade D — Ice
• Shade E — White

The colour combinations rotate across the squares and panels, so that each square presents a different pairing of main shade and star shade, creating a visually varied but harmonious overall blanket. For example, within the panels, combinations such as Main shade A with Star shade E, Main shade C with Star shade D, and Main shade D with Star shade C are used, among others.

An important construction note is that knitters are instructed to wind each shade of yarn into three equal balls before beginning, and to work each section of colour with a separate ball, twisting yarns together when changing colour to avoid holes — a standard technique in intarsia colourwork. This approach keeps the fabric neat on the wrong side and ensures clean colour transitions within each square.

The squares are finished with a cast-off in moss stitch, which adds a neat, textured edge to each individual section. Moss stitch (also known as seed stitch) is formed by alternating knit and purl stitches across a row, then working the opposite stitch above each stitch on subsequent rows, creating a firm, non-curling fabric with a subtle pebbly texture — ideal for edging and borders.

The Star Cushion Cover uses the same star motif and colourwork principles as the blanket squares, allowing knitters to create a coordinating accessory using the same techniques and yarn shades.

Heart Blanket and Heart Cushion Cover

The Heart Blanket follows a similar modular square construction to the Star Blanket, but features a heart motif in place of the star. Each square in the Heart Blanket measures the same 13.5 x 13.5 cm (5¼ x 5¼ inches) and is worked on 3.75mm needles, though the row count differs slightly — each square is worked over 31 stitches and 46 rows (excluding side edge stitches), reflecting the different shape of the heart motif compared to the star.

Like the Star Blanket, the Heart design is likely worked using intarsia colourwork techniques, with separate yarn supplies for each colour section and yarn twisting at colour change points to maintain fabric integrity. The Heart Cushion Cover provides a matching companion piece, using the same heart motif construction.

Techniques Used