FREE Knitting Patterns, Yarn Reviews, Tutorials, Magazines

Home » Knitting Patterns and Tutorials » Knit this adorable baby blanket, striped with greatest ease

Knit this adorable baby blanket, striped with greatest ease

by Michelle Nussey

In yesterday’s post, we talked about wearing stripes and I really must say when it comes to knitting stripes, I’m very impressed with the VERY NEW Red Heart’s striped pattern repertoire. On With Love Stripes page, there are already several striped patterns linked directly to the yarn, but when you’re first working with self-striping yarns, it can be confusing and you’re really not sure where to start. Score one for Red Heart because they’ve already got so many patterns ready to go for you. The first one I’m going to go over with you is the Self-Striping Baby Blanket.

A small girl with a blanket made from white, pink, blue, and green. She is in a crib with a rattle and a pink bow in her hair.

This little baby looks like she’s enjoying her blanket. It’s made from the colorway Candy Stripe.

When I first unboxed this yarn, I was thinking to myself that the color repeats couldn’t be that long, that they’d be best for socks. Really thick socks at that, but what else was I going to make with them.

With Love Stripes, the very NEW yarn from Red Heart - so much to explore with this self-striping yarn!

With Love Stripes, the very NEW yarn from Red Heart – so much to explore with this self-striping yarn!

I’m no longer skeptical about these striped skeins because when I actually did measure the length of the yarn in the repeat it was 27”, as I said in Tuesday’s post. Again, as I said in Tuesday’s post, you really don’t realize what kind of length that gives you until you’re knitting with it. This blanket calls for 118 stitches to be cast on and the final measurements are 36” x 38”. That’s a crib blanket, there’s no way around it. I can’t believe the stripe pattern is still happening at that length, but it makes complete sense to have the pattern repeats that long.

There are going to be many happy baby blanket knitters out there.

Here is a closeup of the pattern and boarder. It's not difficult to memorize.

Here is a closeup of the pattern and boarder. It’s not difficult to memorize.

The pattern itself is a simple one, easy to memorize. There are really only two rows of pattern and the other ten are variations on stockinette and garter stitch. It adds texture around the pattern rows and a garter stitch boarder. With this pattern you’ll be zipping away in no time. If you’re not one for patterns, you can simply use the shell of this pattern for your own baby blanket. Cast on 118 stitches and do five rows of a garter stitch boarder (to prevent curling) and head off into stockinette oblivion. You’ll get the same nice slim stripes as you see in the pattern, but with a stockinette finish. Don’t forget to do your garter stitch boarder as you go and at the very end of your blanket.

As mentioned in Wednesday's post, you'll notice how this baby is accessorizing her stripes and wardrobe. She takes a color from the blanket and uses that to accentuate the look the stripes already initiate.

As mentioned in Wednesday’s post, you’ll notice how this baby is accessorizing her stripes and wardrobe. She takes a color from the blanket and uses that to accentuate the look the stripes already initiate.

This is an excellent pattern to start sharpening your appetite for stripes. If you don’t currently have any babies to knit for, or any on the way, you can always knit this up and put it in the future gift pile. There’s no harm being prepared and you never know when you’ll need an unexpected baby shower gift.

This is part 3 of 4 in this series.
Go back to part 2:  4 free patterns to knit up using self-striping yarn

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE...

17 comments

Louise Schultz July 12, 2017 - 1:16 am

The picture shown here looks like pattern has more than just garter borders and stockinette. I see eyelets that implies yarn overs possibly? Is there a pattern available for the blanket as shown?

Reply
Carla A. Canonico July 12, 2017 - 10:10 am

Hi Louise!
The patterns calls for yarn overs, you can get the free pattern by clicking on the picture in the post or I copied the URL to the free pattern here: http://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/self-striping-baby-blanket#prettyPhoto

Reply
Sandy Couzens June 20, 2017 - 12:36 am

We have a new granddaughter that I LOVE to knit for. This blanket would be beautiful in her room. Thank you :)

Reply
Veronica June 14, 2017 - 1:16 pm

I love the colours of the blanket! The boarder is a nice touch as well.

Reply
L. LeBlanc June 14, 2017 - 9:22 am

I love this blanket!!

Reply
Kim Naumann June 13, 2017 - 5:21 pm

Some day I will be able to make this!

Reply
Kacey June 12, 2017 - 7:36 pm

This is so cute!

Reply
Catherine Lewis June 12, 2017 - 11:18 am

This is a beautiful blanket! I am entering this hoping to win so I can learn to knit things like this!

Reply
DebP June 11, 2017 - 6:40 pm

What a lovely baby blanket! I admire the skill that makes the colours work so well.

Reply
Jennifer Widdifield June 10, 2017 - 9:43 am

I love the colors…very neutral

Reply
Chantal June 8, 2017 - 2:34 pm

So bright and beautiful! Thanks for sharing :) Im gonna make one for my sister!

Reply
Linda West-Whythe June 8, 2017 - 7:02 am

What a beautiful blanket! I love the colour work.. so lovely!

Reply
SarahJ June 7, 2017 - 6:47 pm

I want to make a baby blanket for my first born. I don’t think I have the skills yet, but hopefully soon.

Reply
Stephanie LaPlante June 7, 2017 - 1:52 pm

That is such a beautiful baby blanket. It would definitely make a precious gift.

Reply
Wehaf June 7, 2017 - 11:38 am

This is such an adorable blanket! The stripes are lovely and I feel like the texture would be really fun for little baby hands to grab and play with.

Reply
Donna Mattison-Earls June 5, 2017 - 7:24 am

Just found this blog and know I will find patterns and projects to explore. This one caught my eye as I have plans to make a baby blanket for a friend. Thanks for showing me this new self striping yarn.

Reply
Carla A. Canonico June 5, 2017 - 11:50 am

Oh enjoy!!!! The baby blanket is a quick knit, but with enough interest so you don’t get bored!

Reply

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.