Star Blanket in Rowan Baby Cashsoft Merino - Downloadable PDF

Star Blanket in Rowan Baby Cashsoft Merino – Knitting Pattern by Linda Whaley

This Star Blanket is a beautifully crafted knitted baby blanket designed by Linda Whaley and published by Rowan (pattern reference ROWEB-03628). Available as a free downloadable PDF, it is rated as an intermediate skill level project, making it ideal for knitters who are comfortable with basic techniques and ready to explore more intricate stitch patterns. The finished piece is a classic, heirloom-quality blanket suitable for a newborn or young baby, worked in a delicate 4-ply weight yarn for a soft, lightweight result.

Yarn and Materials

The pattern calls for Rowan Baby Cashsoft Merino, a luxuriously soft 4-ply weight yarn that blends the natural warmth of merino wool with the gentle touch of cashmere — making it an excellent choice for baby garments and accessories. The pattern uses 10 x 50g balls, available in either White (shade 00101) or Lavender (shade 00114), offering a classic palette perfectly suited to a nursery gift or keepsake piece.

• Yarn: Rowan Baby Cashsoft Merino, 4-ply weight
• Quantity: 10 x 50g balls
• Shades: White 00101 or Lavender 00114
• Needles: 1 pair 3¾mm (UK no. 9 / US 5) knitting needles

Tension

The stated tension is 25 stitches and 38 rows to 10cm, measured over the stitch pattern using 3¾mm needles. Achieving the correct tension is especially important in a blanket of this type, as it directly affects the overall dimensions and the clarity of the decorative star motif. Knitters are advised to work a tension swatch before beginning.

Techniques and Construction

The Star Blanket is worked flat on a single pair of needles, from one end to the other, making it a straightforward construction with no seaming required. The blanket features a moss stitch border running along all edges, which provides a neat, non-curling frame for the central patterned field. Moss stitch — worked by alternating knit and purl stitches across every row — is a classic edging technique well suited to baby knits, giving a textured yet tidy finish.

The central panel of the blanket is worked in a lace and texture stitch pattern that creates the signature star motif. This involves a repeating sequence of rows that combine knit and purl stitches with yarn-over increases and paired decreases to form the decorative openwork design. The interplay of these elements builds up the geometric star shapes across the fabric.

Stitches Used

• Moss stitch – used for the border edges throughout the blanket
• Knit (K) and Purl (P) – fundamental stitches forming the base fabric and texture
• K2tog (knit two together) – a right-leaning decrease used to shape the lace motif
• sl 1, K1, psso (slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over) – a left-leaning decrease paired with K2tog to create symmetrical lace shaping
• yfwd (yarn forward) – a yarn-over increase that creates an eyelet hole, central to the lace star design
• yfrn (yarn forward and round needle) – a yarn-over variant used when moving from a knit to a purl stitch, maintaining the correct stitch count within the pattern repeat
• yon (yarn over needle) – another yarn-over variant used when moving from a purl to a knit stitch

Pattern Structure and Skill Level

The pattern is rated intermediate, primarily because of the multi-row lace repeat that requires attention to the position of yarn-overs and decreases across both right-side and wrong-side rows. Knitters will need to be comfortable reading a written row-by-row pattern and tracking their place within a repeat.