Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Get Your Squish on with This Cozy Blanket Knitting Pattern

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I have recently gained a great affection for the knitting stitch known as fisherman’s rib. It’s sort of like brioche, but it’s easier to knit, and make sit super squishy, warm, non-curling fabric that is great for all sorts of projects.

A few years ago I knit a fisherman’s rib scarf for one of my daughter’s teachers, and that post is consistently one of my most popular, so I guess a lot of other people like this simple stitch, too.

Also checkout the fisherman’s rib super scarf free pattern on our sister site Craftbits.com

The way it’s made is by knitting into the row below, which gives the ribbing more depth and stretchiness than standard ribbing. Once you get the hang of it, it’s actually really easy to do. I’m working a pattern in half fisherman’s rib right now (so that’s regular ribbing on one side and fisherman’s rib on the other) and I don’t even have to look at my knitting to know where to work into the stitch any more.

If you’re already a fan of this stitch, or you want to see what all the fuss is about, the Squishy Fisherman’s Rib Blanket from Bernat is a great place to start.

This pattern uses super bulky yarn, so you can stitch it up in no time. I noticed that for the yarn it calls for, Bernat Softee Chunky, you would only need three balls of yarn, which makes the cost of the blanket less than $15 (OK, maybe a little more if you have to pay for shipping).

The blanket is rated easy, and as knit comes out to about 38 by 48 inches, or 96.5 by 122 cm, which is a nice size for snuggling on the couch.  But since the pattern is based on 1×1 ribbing, you can easily adjust the size to make it bigger if you want.

You can grab the free pattern from Yarnspirations.

[Photo: Yarnspirations]

Have you read?

Patchwork Blanket Knitting Patterns

Any time of year is a good time for stash busting, but if you can combine it with knitting a blanket that will keep you warm when it (finally!) gets cooler that’s even better. Let’s take a look at some fun patchwork blanket knitting patterns. 

If you want to keep it super simple, you can just make blocks of garter stitch and sew them together, like the beginner’s patchwork baby blanket from Mini Baa Baa or the color block blanket from Make and Do Crew. Both projects are worked in strips and sew together, with the baby version calling for two strands of DK or light worsted weight yarn held together and the larger one using bulky yarn. 

Add a little more texture with the mixed blocks of the cottage quilt throw from Mama in a Stitch. This one combines garter stitch and seed stitch and uses worsted weight yarn. She used a crochet join to make the chains on top of the blocks, but you can join them however you like. It calls for eight colors but you can use what you have, and there are three size options. 

Get a real sampler style patchwork blanket with this design from Knit Sew Make. It calls for worsted weight yarn and has four size options. All of the patterns just use knit and purl stitches so this one is still pretty easy for beginners. 

If you want a more complex colorwork project that will keep you entertained all season, try the Peace by Piece blanket pattern from Needle and Feather. This one is made up of two color colorwork blocks and calls for worsted weight yarn. You can choose to use just a few of the blocks and repeat them more often, or make multiples of the whole set. 

The knitted patchwork recipe from Martine Ellis (free on Ravelry) uses mitered squares in fingering weight yarn, so it’s perfect for using up all your leftover sock yarn and mini skeins. This one is a tutorial more than a pattern so you can make your blanket as big as you like or keep going until you run out of yarn. 

Susan B. Anderson’s 100 Squares blanket (find it on Ravelry) has a lot of mitered squares, too, but they’re arranged in fun ways and includes some quilt inspired designs as well. This one also is a bit of method more than pattern but it sure looks like a lot of fun for using all the leftovers. 

Of course you can totally improvise a patchwork blanket using the yarn and stitches you like, but I hope these patterns inspire you to look at your leftover yarn in a new way.