Stitch Up Some Zen with This Easy Knit Blanket

There is just something about a garter stitch blanket. The knitting is easy and relatively mindless, and the resulting knit fabric is cozy, kind of chunky and rustic and just looks like something you want to snuggle under.

I knit a twin sized bed sized garter stitch blanket out of a bunch of yarn leftovers many years ago, and it’s still one of my favorites (even though I machine washed it and kind of felted parts of it so the sides aren’t totally even any more). I also have a never-ending garter stitch stash busting project that involves long strips of garter stitch joined as I knit. The goal with that one is to make it 6 feet by 6 feet, so it may actually never be done.

For something a little less daunting, which you don’t necessarily need to make with odd balls, though you totally could, check out the Zigzag Zen blanket from Anniina Juuti.

This pretty blanket is worked with two strands of fingering weight yarn held together to make a DK weight, or you could just use DK held singly, or even worsted weight if that’s what you have on hand.

It features alternating horizontal and vertical stripes, and you can make it with a consistent “background” color as shown or go wild and make it with all the scraps you’ve ever saved.

The pattern includes sizing for a baby blanket and a throw, but if you use a different weight of yarn your size will be a bit different. You could also just keep working the pattern with more sections added to make it as big as you want.

You can grab a copy of the pattern for this fun blanket (and see all the cool variations people have made, including one that’s crocheted instead of knit) on Ravelry.

[Photo: Anniina Juuti]

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Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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