I know I’ve said this before, but baby blankets are my absolute favorite gifts to make for new little people.
They always fit, and they’re always useful. They’re great TV knitting because they often include allover patterns that repeat. And you can do any kind of stitch, pattern, technique you like on a baby blanket, so they’re great projects to use to learn new skills. (Maybe steer clear of a lot of lace just because little fingers and toes can get caught in the holes.)
If you’re looking for some new baby blanket options, check out this collection of easy baby blanket knitting patterns.
When I came back to knitting after a break in college, one of the first things I knit was a super stripey garter stitch baby blanket for a friend. It used four or five different kinds of yarn in coordinating colors and lots of little stripes and I didn’t know about carrying yarn up the sides of a project then and it was a LOT of ends but this garter stitch blanket from Lion Brand would be a lot easier. It’s knit on the bias with yarn over eyelet edging, which makes it a little more complicated than just knitting a square but it’s more fun, too.
Ellen Kapusniakhas a free baby blanket pattern on Ravelry that uses lots of fun stripes. It’s worked in garter stitch with a garter stitch border with mitered corners added after the body is done, but you could leave it off if you don’t want to mess with it. This one calls for DK weight yarn and would be a great stash buster, using as many or as few colors as you like.
Try stockinette stitch instead of garter for this easy striped baby blanket from Dabbles and Babbles. It also uses DK weight yarn and you can keep the stripes, make it a solid color or add more colors as you like. This one has a seed stitch edging.
A step up from stockinette is to add a textured stitch pattern to the base of your blanket. This blue bells pattern on my blog is one I learned from my grandmother and it seems complicated until you’ve done a repeat or two, then it’s smooth stitching. I worked this version in two colors but you could do it in a single color as well.
Or add a bunch of texture with simple stitches with the Seaside Blanket from Little Totz Designs on Etsy. This one uses worsted weight yarn in a single color and has a wide garter stitch edging that looks like it’s worked at the same time as the rest of the blanket.
If you want to get a little more adventurous, use purl stitches to make graphic images on your blanket, like the bunnies on this blanket from By Meny Designs. This one increases the skill level by not being an allover pattern, though the same bunny shapes repeat (and are inverted) across the blanket. The pattern includes line by line written instructions and a chart if you want to practice chart reading with this adorable pattern.
