The Colour Block Knitted Baby Blanket for Beginners – Free Pattern

Last week I showed you the Colour Block Knitted Baby Blanket, and today I have the instruction for you.

Now, let me tell you, this is absolutely the simplest knitted design you’ve ever come across. It is the perfect beginner project, because let’s face it. That’s precisely what I am! So, if you’re looking for a simple project that looks fabulous and is not a scarf – I don’t know how many knit one purl one scarves I made as a kid – this one is perfect. And best of all, it’s not expensive because all you need to complete this is four skeins of Scheepjes Sunkissed, and you’re going to use every metre of those skeins.

What You’ll need
Four skeins of Scheepjes Sunkissed in 3, 7, 9, 10
3.5mm needles (I used 80cm circulars)
A tapestry needle to weave in your ends
Blocking boards and wires (or pins)
Eucalan (because it softens everything and smells amazing)

The final measurement of this blanket will be about 60 x 85 cm, so it’s a good buggy size, or snuggly swaddle size. It’s also lovely and stretchy, and the Sunkissed is soooooooft.

Let’s Go!

Cast on 150 stitches. I like to use the Slingshot Long Tail Cast on. When I was starting, I had no clue how to cast on, but my friend Tammy recommended this method and it’s very easy.

Once you’ve cast on your stitches, you need to start making the border. The design of this blanket is a stockingette stitch body with a garter border. Essentially a giant swatch!

Rows 1-5 knit in the garter stitch (knit), then we will start with the body of the blanket.

The first and last five stitches of every row will be in garter stitch and the body (middle 140 stitches) are in stockingette stitch.

Row 6: knit 5, purl 140, knit 5

Row 7: knit 150

Repeat rows 6 and 7 until you’ve finished your first skein of yarn (or until you know you cannot finish another row with the remaining yarn). Attach the second colour and continue the row 6 and 7 repeat through all four of the colours.

Each colour block will measure about 21 cm, so when you get to about 19 cm of the final colour, you will need to start working on the top border. The way I figured this out for myself was to fold the blanket with the join of the fourth colour matching up with the join of the first and second colour so I could see how far I had to go before I should start on the border. This is because I’m not yet a great judge on how much yarn a row will use.

Knit the final 5 rows of the border, then cast off. The feeling of accomplishment will be amazing, especially once you block it.