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EasyFree Baby Blanket Knitting Pattern
This stripy blanket is a fun way to put your leftover yarn to good use. The blanket is made of 3 long panels worked in garter stitch and then connected with sideways panels worked perpendicular. To finish the blanket I added an all-around border, which can be omitted.
Skills Required/Techniques Used:
-Knit & purl, cast on & bind off
-Pickup & knit, 3-needle bind-off (optional)
Finished measurements: 42” (105 cm) square
Materials: Red Heart (affiliate link) Super Saver 100% acrylic yarn, aran weight, 333 m (364 yds)/198 g, Color White – 1 skein. (A)
Red Heart (affiliate link) Super Saver 100% acrylic yarn, aran weight, 333 m (364 yds)/198 g Color Bright Yellow – 2 skeins. (B)
Red Heart (affiliate link) Super Saver 100% acrylic yarn, aran weight, 333 m (364 yds)/198 g Color Lemon – 0.5 skein. (C)
Red Heart (affiliate link) Classic Multi 100% acrylic yarn worsted weight, color Monet 167 yds (153 m) /85 g - 1 skein (D)
Note: I didn’t have enough of color D yarn and replaced it with Pale Blue yarn.
Needles: US #8 (5.0 mm) straight and two pairs of circular needles 40” long, one spare needle for 3-needle bind-off, and very long circular needles for the border (I connected two 60” long cables from KnitPicks’ set of interchangeable needles)
Gauge: 14 sts x 30 rows = 4" x 4" (10 cm x 10 cm) in garter st.
Notions: yarn needle, markers for the border
Abbreviations:
k - knit
p - purl
m1 - make 1 increase - make a backward loop over the right-hand needle and in the next row/round purl/knit as a regular stitch.
RS - right side
WS - wrong side
sm - slip marker
pm - place marker
rm - remove marker
Pattern Notes:
Garter st in rows: all rows knit
Garter st in rounds:
Round 1: knit
Round 2: purl
Repeat rounds 1-2
Chain Selvedge
The selvedge/edge stitches are worked as follows: slip the first stitch knitwise and purl the last one.
Short Overview of the Pattern:
The blanket can be made using the modular method, without any seams, or alternatively, all its parts can be hand sewn together. The blanket is worked in garter stitch, mostly in rows, the border is worked in garter stitch in rounds.
First, three similar striped panels are worked. Then, stitches are picked up and knitted along the long side of one of the panels. The first sideways panel is done. Repeat with the second striped panel.
Now you have 2 side pieces of the blanket, each piece consists of a striped panel and side panel. You have to connect these pieces to the remaining striped panel, which goes in the middle.
You have 2 options at this point: you can hand sew the pieces or you can use 3-needle bind off to connect the parts. At this point the blanket can be finished, or you can add an all around border. After all the parts are attached, the garter stitch border is worked around the blanket with mitered increases at the corners.
Blanket
Striped Panel:
Cast on 30 sts with color A and knit a foundation row.
Row 1: sl 1, knit to the last st, p 1. Turn.
Repeat row 1 as follows:
10 rows – yarn A (5 ridges)
10 rows yarn D (5 ridges)
16 rows yarn A (8 ridges)
Repeat 10 rows with yarn D and 16 rows with yarn A ten (10) more times, until you have 11 stripes of yarn D.
Finish with 10 rows (5 ridges) of yarn A. Total 290 rows.
Bind off
Work 2 more striped panels as the first one.
Side panel:
With yarn B, pick up and knit (p&k) 147 sts along the side of the first striped panel (145 sts + 2 selvedge sts)
All rows: sl 1, k 145, p1.
Work 20 rows (10 ridges) with yarn B
Work 18 rows (9 ridges) with yarn C
Work 20 rows (10 ridges) with yarn B
Don’t bind off if you are going to finish the blanket with 3-needle bind-off. Transfer the stitches onto a spare needle and set aside.
Bind off all sts if you are going to hand sew the panels.
In the same way work the second side panel along the edge of the next striped panel.
Connecting the Panels:
If you are going to hand sew the panels, position the remaining striped panel between the side panels, align and sew them together.
3-needle bind-off method of connecting the parts.
3-needle bind-off is done on the WS.
With yarn A pick up and knit 147 sts along the side of the remaining striped panel, RS facing. Align with the open stitches of the first piece, RS to RS. Work 3-needle bind off as shown in the video:
Repeat on the other side of the central striped panel.
Border (optional).
Round 1: With yarn B, pick up and knit sts along the sides of the blanket, picking sts along the all four sides of the blanket. When you picking up stitches along the side of the panel, do it at each selvedge chain; when you pick up sts at the ends of the stripe panels pick them up at each bound stitch. Also pick up 1 st at each corner. Place a marker before each corner st.
Round 2: purl all sts, at the corners work as follows: work to the marker, m1, sm, p1, m1 (2 sts increase at each corner).
Round 3: knit all sts, at the corners work as follows: work to the marker, m1, sm, k1, m1 (2 sts increase at each corner).
Round 4: purl all sts.
Repeat rounds 3-4 seven more times or to desired width of the border.
Bind off.
Finishing:
Weave in all yarn ends.
Have fun!
