Super Easy Baby Blanket Knitting Patterns

Whenever there’s a new baby in your life, whether it’s your own or someone in your friend group or family is having a baby, there’s a strong drive among all knitters to cover that little thing in knits. And every baby is cuter when surrounded by tiny knit things.

My favorite thing to knit for babies (and I’ve knit a whole book of baby knits) is baby blankets, because you can make them any size and use any stitch pattern you like and they are sure to be useful. The main thing is they don’t have to fit, which is great because newborns come in a lot of different sizes and they grow really fast.

If you’re in the market for some new baby blanket knitting patterns to add to your collection, check out the Doodle Pip Makes Etsy shop. They have (as of this writing) 54 downloadable patterns for baby blankets, all using knits and purls to make cute designs on the surface of the blanket like hearts, bunnies and flowers.

And lest you think these patterns are too girly, there are also dinosaurs (as in the blanket pictured above) and boats. And plenty of patterns that have allover stitch patterns rather than surface designs that make an image.

While some of them are a little more complicated than others (again, like the dinos since there are different patterns across the blanket rather than one large pattern or a repeating one), they’re all doable for newer knitters because they include row by row written instructions rather than having you work from a chart.

In their shop you will also find a few full kits for knitting blankets and coordinating hats, as well as a few already knit projects. Many of their patterns are also available as printed patterns if that’s something you’re into.

[Photo: Doodle Pip Makes]

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.

Have you read?