Waffle Stitch Blanket Knitting Pattern

I recently did some playing around with crochet waffle stitch, and I was reminded that there’s a waffle stitch in knitting, too. It’s not quite the same bold texture (that looks decidedly waffley) that the crochet stitch has, but it’s still a fun knitting stitch pattern that even beginners can do.

Waffle stitch is a knit purl pattern built on multiples of 3 plus 1 stitches and it involves a four-row repeat. The first row is knit 1, purl 1 across, ending with a knit 1. Row two is the opposite: purl 1, knit 1 across and end with a purl 1.

Then you just knit the third row and purl the fourth and you’re all set to repeat the pattern! This design has a lot of texture and is super easy to memorize.

Ready to try waffle stitch on a project? Lion Brand Yarn has a fun and free knitting pattern for a waffle stitch blanket. This one uses a super bulky yarn, so you can stitch it up in no time.

The pattern as written makes a throw that is about 42 by 60 inches, or 106.5 by 152.5 cm, but now that you know that waffle stitch is a multiple of 3 stitches plus 1, you can make a blanket any size you want, though you may need to adjust the amount of yarn you buy depending on the size of blanket you want to make.

As it is, this blanket looks super cozy to throw on the back of the couch and just the thing to knit in the warm days (if you have air conditioning, anyway) as you look forward to cooler days to come. And of course if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere as I write this, now is the perfect time to make a cozy throw, enjoy working on it as you snuggle under it, and have it ready to use on your couch right away.

You can grab the free pattern, as well as yarn to make your own cozy waffle stitch blanket, on the Lion Brand website.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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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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