A Great Baby Blanket Knitting Pattern for Beginners

I belong to a Facebook group for new knitters, mostly because I like to see what questions they have (and sometimes I even answer them, LOL) and what kids of projects they are making.

It seems like a lot of knitters start with, or make early on in their knitting careers, a bias knit washcloth. (There’s a very old pattern of mine for one of these on the Internet Archive, or try this one from Handy Little Me.)

This is actually a great place to start (though I tend to suggest a scarf as a first project) because it’s a small project, it teaches you the knit stitch as well as increases and decreases, and it doesn’t matter if it comes out a little wonky because it will still wash people or dishes.

What happens when you knit the same square bigger? You get a super cute baby blanket that’s also a fine project for a newer knitter.

A version of this is the Sea Lavender Baby Blanket from Yarnspirations. Using Bernat Blanket yarn in three colors, this easy bias knit square is a perfect gift for a new little one. Make it in the colors of baby’s room or whatever colors you like. I know it kind of looks like this one is two colors, but there is one color used throughout and you alternate stripes between that color and the other color, switching your contrast color halfway through.

Of course once you have the knack for knitting on the bias, you can make a project as big as you like. You don’t have to stop with a baby-sized blanket. But this one is a great option for little ones and would be ideal for tummy time since it’s so squishy.

You can download the pattern for free from Yarnspirations.

[Photo: Yarnspirations]

Next Pattern:

Stitch dictionaries are a fun way to learn new-to-you knitting stitch patterns or to take a deep dive into a particular technique. Debbie Tomkies offers 100 cable stitch designs and thoughts on how to incorporate them into projects in her Cable Knitting Stitch Dictionary.

Each stitch pattern is shown in a large swatch photo and with written and charted instructions. Any special stitches are included on the page. The stitches are rated on a difficulty scale of 1 to 3, and the pattern notes also indicate how many extra stitches you should add to a project if you’re going to work this cable (since cables pull the fabric closer together you need to compensate for that) as well as how many stitches and rows are in the repeat if you want to design a project yourself.

The cables are arranged into sections: classic cables, combinations, all-over panels, creative cables, motifs and panels and cabled edges and borders.

It’s fun to flip through the designs to think about projects you can add a single cable or two to or make with an allover cabled design. Or you could make swatches of different cables and sew them together into a pillow cover or a throw.

At the back of the book there’s a section on general cable knitting techniques, reading charts, working swatches and avoiding errors (though it mentions working the wrong number of rows between cable turns, it doesn’t share how to count rows between cables to avoid this mistake).

It also talks about how to design your own cables, combine cables in a project, choose the right yarn and needles and determine how many more stitches you need to cast on when working cables instead of stockinette stitch. There’s also a glossary of symbols and abbreviations you may find in cable knitting and other patterns.

The book provides a good overview of things you can do with cables, as well as some fun things you might not have tried like infinity cables and horizontal cables. It’s a great book for a designer who likes to work with cables or a knitter who wants to play with different stitches in their projects.

About the book: 176 pages, paperback, 100 stitch patterns. Published 2024 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $26.99.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?