Ever wondered what my first ever free blanket knitting pattern design was? Well, here it is! My famous block blanket knitting pattern. It’s actually my first design ever. Over the years, I must have made dozens of these knitted squares afghans. They’re the perfect gift for weddings, special birthdays, or other big events.
It takes a bit of time to knit because of the size, but you can go at it at your own pace and take it one square at a time. I always have an ongoing easy block blanket in my project stash for when I want to knit without needing to think after a long hard day at work.
The Block Blanket is a new free blanket knitting pattern here on the blog. Read about my inspiration and the simple construction, or scroll down for the free pattern.
No time right now? Pin this free blanket knitting pattern for later!
*This post contains affiliate links (only for products I love, use and spend my own money on obviously). This means I earn some yarn money if you make a purchase through one of these links (of course at no extra cost for you!), which I promise to use to create more awesome patterns like this one. All opinions are my own. See my full disclosure here.
Scroll down for the free version but I recommend you purchase the ad-free PDF Pattern to get all the instructions and pictures in a nice PDF you can print and take notes on without relying on your phone or an internet connection, I’ve got you covered!
The Block Blanket knitting pattern is now available on Ravelry and on Etsy. Add it to your favorites before you forget!
The Block Blanket knitting pattern is also available in French.
A Crochet Version
Looking for a crochet version? Here it is
An Excellent First Project
If you’re new to knitting, the Block Blanket knitting pattern is perfect for your first project! It uses only the knit stitch and is created one square at a time, which means you can work on it piece-by-piece as you have time. The seaming is simple and made to look perfectly imperfect, so you don’t have to worry if you’ve never sewn anything before.
Maybe you’re a more experienced knitter, and you’re looking for something easy to create while you catch up on your favorite show. This is the easiest blanket to make! I often find myself mindlessly creating squares while I binge Netflix.
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Before you Start your Free Blanket Knitting Pattern
Materials
- Yarn: you can use any type, fiber or size you want. The only important thing is to use the same type and material for all the colors. For this free blanket knitting pattern pictures, I used different colors of Royal yarn from Zeeman.
- Needles: Choose the needle size that corresponds to the yarn you are using. I like using needles that are a little bit bigger rather than smaller for this pattern as it gives you a more fluid blanket. For me, that is 4.5mm needles with this yarn. I use this stainless steel set. They are not the prettiest but they are very cheap and convenient. You get a whole range of sizes with whom you can make most projects.
- Tapestry needle. As there is quite a lot of sewing involved, I recommend this set of stainless steel needles. I have done it with cheap plastic ones in the past but they kept breaking and got stuck in the fabric more easily.
- Stainless steel T pins for blocking.
Because the yarn I used is not available everywhere, and I know how painful it is to try to find equivalent yarn which will give you the same effect I have selected a few equivalent yarns for you. I haven’t tried them out myself, but they look so pretty, check them out!
- Lion Brand Wool-Ease They have this yarn in about 20 colors, I’m sure you’ll fall in love with more than one.
- La Mia Just Wool
elann Wool Mate- RED HEART Super Saver Yarn. This yarn also exists in more than 60 colors.
Abbreviations
Nothing fancy here!
- K = knit
- St = stitch
- Garter stitch = Use the knit stitch on both sides of the project
Gauge is not important for this free blanket knitting pattern.
Tips and Tricks for a great free blanket knitting pattern
- Colors: I have made about 15 of these knit blankets already, using many different color combinations.
- I recommend picking at least 5 different colors. This way no 2 touching squares have the same color. Picking 9 or more colors prevents from having same color blocks touching even diagonally but it is not always practical to find so many matching colors of the same yarn.
- I recommend picking at least one or 2 light and neutral colors such as white, off white, light grey or beige. This helps lighten up the blanket and makes the other colors come out better.
- Seams: The color of the yarn used for the sewing makes a big difference! Choose something contrasting. Using a very bright fun color with more sober block colors or the other way around gives great results. This is a perfect solution to use up some of your leftover yarn as you only need about 30m. I have even done it with a different color for each seam which gave a very funky but nice result. Avoid using one of the colors of the blocks as it will not look very nice.
- Use thick yarn for the seams, the same size as the knitted yarn or bigger. You want the seams to stand out. But be careful it still fits in your tapestry needle.
- Shape: Here also you have a lot of flexibility and can let your creativity run loose. I have made some with 20cm, 25cm, or 30cm squares, and they all turned out beautifully. I find smaller squares are more playful and fun while bigger squares give a more elegant look. I have even tried one with stripes instead of squares and the result was great too. This is a good option if you don’t want to choose too many different colors as you only need a minimum of 2.
- Stitch: Most of the time I keep it very simple and use the garter stitch for all my squares but you can use different stitches, as long as they are reversible. When I want to try out a new stitch, instead of just making a swatch that I will rip after, I make a blanket square, this way my efforts are not wasted. You get the best results with one stitch per color but there are no rules here.
Size
I usually make 30 squares of 25cm by 25cm which gives me a blanket of 1m25 by 1m50. It is pretty big but that is what makes it so comfy.
When I make it as a wedding gift I even make it bigger 1m50 by 1m75 so the newly weds can share it comfortably.
The Actual Free Blanket Knitting Pattern
1. Knitting
Cast on 52 st (or however many stitches you need for a 25cm square or your chosen square size) on 4.5mm needles (or the size you selected for your yarn)
Knit in garter stitch until you reach 25cm (or your chosen square size).
Cast off.
Make 30 of these in different colors (or the quantity you need for your desired size).
2. Blocking
If your knitting is not too regular yet and you see your squares end up not all the same size and not very square you can block them to fix this.
I’m usually a bit lazy and skip blocking for this blanket and find it is not absolutely necessary here.
3. Sewing
Usually, the seams are the less fun part of a project and you try your very best to make them as discrete as possible. In this case, it is the opposite, they are what makes this blanket fun, different and stand out. Ok, I admit, they are still not my favorite part of the project to make but at least here you will see them.
The important thing here is to be as regular as you can manage!
First, weave in the ends of all your squares. Cut any remaining ends nicely.
Clear out a big area, somewhere in your home where you can fit the whole blanket flat and sit around it to sew. I usually move the living room table and put my blanket on the floor right in the middle of the way. It doesn’t make Mr. Artichoke very happy but I don’t have a better spot.
It might stay there for a few days as there are a lot of long seams and it is not the most comfortable position, so plan ahead, do your cleaning so you don’t need to move it. You want a clean surface anyway to assemble your hard work.
Arrange the squares the way you want alternating colors. This part takes some time and some trial and error can be necessary. You can either go at it randomly or decide on one row and then do the same but offset by 2 squares for each following row. This way, no squares of the same color touch.
Once you like what you see, start sewing. I usually do all seams in one direction then start on the other direction. This helps me stay consistent.
Try to cut one long enough thread of yarn so you can finish one whole seam with one piece. When you use more pieces it creates weak spots which can come loose (even if you are an expert at weaving in ends). And, you will see the different layers of yarn at the junction which will make your blanket a tiny bit less pretty. That would be a pity!
The most important thing here is to be as regular as you can manage! Did I say that already? Make the seam tight so there are no big holes to get your fingers or toes
After each stitch, pull lightly on the yarn to tighten up the stitch.
Be careful to sew through the entire thickness of the blanket so that the seam is nice and visible on both sides. I like my blankets to be perfectly reversible.
When you reach the junction of 4 squares try to tie them together with a nice cross. It’s what I found out gives the best results.
When starting a next row keep the same direction, if your seam is going from right to left do the same here so all seams are uniform.
Once you’ve done all seams, weave in all the ends. Double check the entire blanket for loose ends on both sides, I always end up with a few.
Now all is left to do is to clean it, fold it and gift it or start enjoying it!
Did you enjoy this pattern? Let me know how it went in the comments below and send me a picture, I’d love to see how your blanket turned out!
