Covid-19 has kept us home for most of the past year. If you are like me, there has been a boom of babies in the family. One of my favorite gifts for a newborn is a hand knitted blanket. These will wrap the baby in both warmth and love.
The typical baby blanket is between 30” and 40” inches square. The larger sizes can be used not only as a receiving blanket but also a crib blanket. All baby blankets are useful, so feel free to knit the size of your choice.
There is a wide array of yarns that will make your blanket special simply through the texture of patterning. Consider the content of the yarn – remember babies can be messy and you will want a blanket that goes through the washer and dryer multiple times. Be sure and read the content label to make sure the yarn is machine washable. There are self striping yarns that do a lot of the creative work for you. There are yarns with textures or boobles that can make an interesting surface pattern just from stockinette. Knit up a swatch, and rub it against your face to make sure it is soft and comfy to the skin.
The last part is the most fun – the pattern! I think baby blankets are a wonderful beginners project, because they can be made simply with mostly stockinette. Just remember to make a border around the blanket of garter stitch or ribbing or some other pattern to keep the edges from rolling. If you want to be a little more creative try a checkerboard pattern that has equal size squares of knit and purl. The blanket edges won’t roll and the entire blanket is reversible. Cables are always in good taste and consider using a bulky yarn to give you blanket that chunky look. Go wild with color, go wild with texture, but remember being cuddly is the key!
Here are a few blanket patterns that I feel work for any knitting level. Knit on!
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