Free Knitting Pattern – Feather And Fan Baby Blanket

I recently had the opportunity to knit the Feather & Fan Blanket using the free pattern available on the Mary Maxim website. I have to say, it was a pleasure to work on this project. The pattern was easy to follow and the results were beautiful.

I used Bernat Baby Sport yarn, which is soft and lightweight, perfect for a baby blanket. The yarn is also easy to care for, it’s machine washable and dryable, which is great for a baby blanket that will need to be washed frequently. The yarn comes in a variety of colors, which gave me the opportunity to choose the one that I liked the most.

The Feather & Fan pattern is a classic and timeless design that creates a beautiful texture. The pattern is easy to follow and the instructions are clear and easy to understand. The pattern creates a beautiful texture that adds depth and interest to the blanket, making it a perfect choice for a baby blanket.

The finished blanket is soft, warm and cozy, perfect for a baby’s delicate skin. The size of the blanket is perfect for a crib or stroller, it’s not too big or too small. The blanket is also easy to care for, it can be machine washed and dried, which is great for a baby blanket that will need to be washed frequently.

Overall, I would highly recommend this pattern to anyone looking to knit a beautiful and timeless baby blanket. The pattern is easy to follow and the results are beautiful. The Bernat Baby Sport yarn is perfect for this project, and the finished blanket is soft, warm and cozy, perfect for a baby’s delicate skin. It’s a great way to create a special and thoughtful gift for a new parent or to add a touch of warmth to a baby’s room.

It’s kind of coincidental that I recently posted about patchwork blanket knitting patterns right before reviewing a book that makes a patchwork blanket, but this one would also be a great choice if you’re looking to bust some stash and learn a lot about colorwork knitting at the same time.

Knit an Heirloom Blanket by Annah O’Leary includes charted designs for 50 colorwork blocks worked flat that can be combined to make a blanket or used in other projects. The book calls for worsted weight yarn but also offers suggestions for using fingering, DK or even bulky yarn, which will give you blocks of different sizes.

It opens with a section on materials and tips for choosing colors and maintaining contrast among blocks across a large project. There’s also information on how to read charts and colorwork basics such as maintaining tension, measuring gauge, catching floats, holding yarn and yarn dominance, among other things.

There are 196 squares (14 by 14) in the blanket shown on the cover, which, including the edging, makes for a blanket that’s about 79 inches, or 200 cm square knit in worsted weight yarn. You can adjust the size as needed by working more or fewer blocks, especially if using a different weight of yarn.

The sample was worked in Cascade 220 and the book includes the amounts of yarn used in each color so you can knit a blanket exactly as shown. Or use stash and leftovers from other projects to make a possibly less harmonious but more meaningful project.

Colorwork patterns are arranged into 10 themes: flowers, tiles, diamonds, stripes, peaks, woven, sky, leaves, lovestruck and architecture. They’re also rated by skill level on a range of 1 to 3 balls of yarn. If you’re newer to knitting or colorwork in particular, you can start with the easier squares and move up as you build more skills.

Each pattern is shown as a large black and white chart with three or four possible color variations, though or course you can also go your own way on the colors. There’s also a knit sample of each block pictured at the beginning of each pattern section.

There’s also a section to help you finish your blanket, including tips for weaving in ends, blocking, joining squares and adding a border. She also suggests different project sizes and color palettes for smaller scale projects.

In addition to the big blanket there are five other project ideas including a baby blanket made of 6 by 8 squares, a hot water bottle cover, a couple of pillows and a wall hanging. These are sure to give you ideas of different ways to use the blocks in other projects.

Knit an Heirloom Blanket includes lots of fun colorwork blocks and ideas for using them that are sure to appeal to those new to colorwork as well as those with more experience. Even if you never knit a full blanket with them, you can add these motifs to your collection to work in other projects.

About the book: 144 pages, paperback, 50 charts and 6 patterns. Published 2026 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $25.99.

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