One of our most popular projects over the years has been the Super Easy Baby Blanket. When I made it over four years ago, I was newly pregnant and full of dreams for the tiny baby who would be wrapped up inside. Now, that that baby is old enough to write his name, we thought it was time for an update to this wonderfully straightforward pattern!
Faye, whom you may know (and love!) from shopping at our store, suggested this time trying the Super Easy Baby Blanket with Koigu’s Kersti Merino Crepe. Since in the last few years Faye, too, has become a mother, she thought Kersti’s ultra springy loftiness would be perfect not just for a soft and cozy blanket, but also for a comfy play mat.
Plus, since Faye is one of Purl Soho’s very first employees, she has spent nearly a decade with Koigu, contemplating its vast array of colors, playing with combinations and developing favorites. So she already had up her sleeve a beautiful summertime palette that starts with the blues of the cool ocean, passes into the bright light of the horizon and then rises to the hot flames of the sun. Spectacular!
If you know how to cast on, knit and bind off, you’re ready to start your own Super Easy Baby Blanket! And if you’re curious about the original, you can check it out right here. Enjoy both!
Materials
- A Kersti Super Easy Baby Blanket Bundle. The bundle includes 7 skeins of Koigu’s Kersti Merino Crepe, 100% Merino Wool. These colors, from the top, are:
- 2200
- 1240
- 2180
- 2100
- 0000
- 2171.5
- 1043
- US 7, 24 or 32-inch circular needles
Gauge
5 stitches and 10 rows = 1 inch in garter stitch
Size
Finished Dimensions: 24 inches x 28 inches
Note
To get the same nice, neat edge as Faye, just slip the first stitch of every row knitwise with the yarn in back. When you’re changing colors, knit the first stitch instead of slipping it.
Pattern
With a US #7 needle (or size required by you to achieve the correct gauge) and the first color, loosely cast on 120 stitches.
Knit every row until you have knit the entire skein (which should be about 4 inches).
Switch to the second color at the beginning of the next row, and knit every row until you have knit the entire skein (or until this stripe measures the same as the first stripe).
Repeat with each color, making sure to always switch colors on the same side.
After knitting the seventh color, loosely bind off.
Weave in the ends and you’re done! Super easy!
NOTE: We slightly changed this pattern on October 28, 2014 to reflect the experience of our readers over the years.
PRINT
Just received my yarn and am very excited to start the project. The yarn instructions suggest prewashing the yarn. I have not seen this recommendation with other yarns that I have used. Do I wash before knitting? If so, any tips on preventing a massive yarn tangle?
Hello Jen,
Thank you for reaching out! We suggest this for the Koigu yarns because they are hand dyed. This will prevent any bleeding when blocking. We have more tips and tricks in our tutorial for re-fixing dyes.
I hope this clears things up for you and happy knitting!
-Marilla
I purchased a super easy baby blanket bundle and got some shout color catchers with it. When I called the store, someone said to go ahead and knit the blanket and then wash it using the color catcher.
Should I follow that directions, or prewash each skein of yarn before starting to knit.
Hello Beth,
Thank you for reaching out! I would reccomend giving each skein a wash before jumping into this project. Because Koigu is hand dyed I tend to lean on the side of caution, particularly when a blanket is at stake. 🙂 For full instructions on how to color set your skeins check out our Re-Fixing Dye tutorial!
Happy knitting,
Marilla
Thank you!!!
Hello,
I would love to knit this blanket. I am on a budget. My daughter is having Twin boys so I need to knit 2!
I wanted to knit this in blanket in Worsted weight yarn and a little bit larger. Can you suggest a Cast on amount> 120- 160? 7 skeins?
Thank you so much.
Brand Berroco
Blend 50% Nylon 50% Acrylic
Needles US 8 (5mm) – US 9 (5.5mm)
Ball Weight 3.5oz
Yarn Length 211yds (193m)
Gauge 18-20 stitches, 24-27 rows to 4″
Yarn Weight
Worsted
Hi Sandra,
Thanks for reaching out! I would suggest following the instructions for our Super Easy Baby Blanket in Worsted Twist, as it is already written for worsted weight yarn. We used 7 skeins of Worsted Twist which has 164 yards, or about 1,140 yards total. The blanket is sized quite generously, but if you would like to adjust it, you can multiply your stitches per inch by your desired width to determine your cast on.
Happy knitting!
Julianna
Has anyone tried a 2- or 3-stitch I-cord selvedge? What do you think? That would make a nice neat edge, no? I’m looking for a Looks-Finished-As-You-Go option.
Hello Elise,
Thank you for reaching out! I love this idea- I think it would look very cute. We did an Attached I-cord for our Flying Geese Baby Blanket, I would reccomend checking it out for an example of how your blanket might turn out.
Happy knitting!
-Marilla
I feel like there’s something missing in the instructions…how did you get that nice ridged edge? Certainly not by simply knitting every line to the very edge…
Hi Julia,
Great question! For most versions of this blanket, we did nothing more than knit every stitch but here we did slip the first stitch on each row. In the “Notes” section of the pattern, we note “To get the same nice, neat edge as Faye, just slip the first stitch of every row knitwise with the yarn in back. When you’re changing colors, knit the first stitch instead of slipping it.”
We apologize for any confusion!
Cassy
Ohhh, I must have missed it. Thanks for clarifying!
Hi I am really new to knitting. What do you mean by slip the first stitch?
Hi Liz,
Thanks for writing in! This means that you will insert your right hand needle into the first stitch as if you were going to knit it, but then move it over to the right hand needle without wrapping your yarn or actually knitting the stitch. You can then continue on knitting the rest of your row!
I hope that helps!
Julianna
Ohhhh. Ok I hope I get it right. I will let you know. Thank you!
Hello, I have this in the old kit that came with the Purl SOHO super soft merino. Yes, I am now getting around to completing this project 🙂 would you recommend blocking this blanket?
thanks in advance!
Mary.
Hello Mary,
Thank you for reaching out and congrats on jumping into your blanket! Super Soft does best with a light blocking or no blocking at all. If you do block it, I would reccomend steam blocking it.
Happy knitting!
-Marilla
I love this blanket and the yarn is the softest! Is there any way at all to avoid the dotted line on the wrong side when you change your colour? Tips, trick?
Thanks!
HI Natasha,
Thank you for your kind words! Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid the dotted line on the back! This is an unavoidable part of knitting stripes in garter stitch. We embrace this little dotted line on the back side as a natural part of garter stitch and when we don’t want to see it, treat it as the back side!
Best,
Cassy
I would love to make this blanket but I only crochet (is that a naughty word on this site?). Do you have a pattern for crocheting this?
Hello Callie,
Thank you for reaching out! You can find the Crocheted version of this blanket here!
-Marilla
Hello
I just received my yarn Kersti super easy baby blanket bundle and I am eager to start with the project.
I read the comments but I am stil not clear how to start.
Should I wash the yarn with cold water and soap or do the re-fix dye?
Do I need to use the shout color catches?
Thank you for your help
Maria
Hello Maria,
Thank you for reaching out! I would reccomend re-fxing the dye before beginning this lovely project! This tutorial goes in-depth on what to do!
Happy knitting,
Marilla
I have tried the dye refix proposed on this website for the koigu kersti 2200 – the red/ dark orange several times and I cannot get it to not bleed orange. Has anyone succeeded in using the dye refix for this yarn?
Hi Julia,
Thanks for reaching out, and I’m so sorry that you are having trouble with the dye re-fixing process! It can be normal to go through several dye fixing sessions before some yarns stop bleeding, but it can be frustrating! If you are up for one more try, I would suggest a more intense re-fixing process than our Re-Fixing Dye tutorial. You will need to fill a stainless steel pot (that you aren’t planning on using for food again) with cold water and about a half cup of vinegar or several tablespoons of citric acid. Add your yarn to the cold water and bring it up to a simmer, and hold at a simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes. Once you are done simmering, turn off the heat let the pot return to room temperature. You can then soak the yarn in tepid water with a bit of wool wash to finish the process.
If the yarn is still bleeding, please do contact us at customerservice@purlsoho.com and we will be happy to send a replacement from a different dye lot or come up with another solution. I’m so sorry you have run into so much trouble with this color, but we will do our best to make it right!
Best,
Julianna