We love receiving your questions and comments, and for this project, took special notice of your requests for a knit version of our Crochet Four Points Baby Blanket.
The conversion was as smooth as can be. Borrowing a neat trick from Joelle’s book, More Last Minute Knitted Gifts (specifically the smart no-sewing way she connects the triangles in her Entrelac Baby Blanket), our Knit Four Points Baby Blanket is even more straightforward than the original!
Still in Linen Quill, our soft, lightweight blend of fine highland wool, alpaca, and linen, we’ve added Wild Radish to the choice of palettes. It’s crisp and fresh, soothing and happy, just right for babies and adults.
Whether you’re a knitter, crocheter, or both, our Four Points Baby Blankets are a fun and interesting way to get off the x and y axis, plus they’re really satisfying and beautiful!– Kristy
Materials
Our Four Points Baby Blanket Bundle includes…
- 4 skeins of Purl Soho’s Linen Quill, 50% fine highland wool, 35% alpaca, and 15% linen. We used the palette Wild Radish, which includes one skein of each of the following…
- Color A: Pale Oats
- Color B: Lavender Opal
- Color C: Heirloom White
- Color D: Oatmeal Gray
You’ll also need…
- US 3, 32-inch circular knitting needles
Our Knit Four Points Baby Blanket Bundle is also available in these gorgeous palettes. Pick your favorite!
- Top Row: Hearth and Thistle
- Bottom Row: Desert Marigold and Speckled Feather
Gauge
26 stitches = 4 inches in garter stitch
Size
Finished Dimensions: Approximately 36 x 36 inches
Notes
For instructions and a video tutorial on how to pick up stitches along a vertical edge in garter stitch, please visit our Picking Up Stitches Tutorial.
Pattern
Triangle 1
With Color A, cast on 156 stitches.
Row 1 (wrong side): Knit.
Row 2 (right side): Knit to last 2 stitches, k2tog. [1 stitch decreased]
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until 1 stitch remains. Cut yarn and pull through remaining stitch.
Triangle 2
With the right side of Triangle 1 facing you and its cast-on edge oriented vertically, use Color B to pick up 156 stitches [see Notes, above] along the top edge of Triangle 1.
Row 1 (wrong side): Knit.
Row 2 (right side): Knit to last 2 stitches, k2tog. [1 stitch decreased]
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until 1 stitch remains. Cut yarn and pull through remaining stitch.
Triangle 3
With the right side of Triangle 2 facing you and its picked-up edge oriented vertically, use Color C to pick up 156 stitches along the top edge of Triangle 2.
Row 1 (wrong side): Knit
Row 2 (right side): Knit. to last 2 stitches, k2tog. [1 stitch decreased]
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until 1 stitch remains. Cut yarn and pull through remaining stitch.
Triangle 4
With the right side of Triangle 3 facing you and its picked-up edge oriented vertically, use Color D to pick up 156 stitches along the top edge of Triangle 3.
Row 1 (wrong side): Knit to last stitch, slip last stitch knitwise to right-hand needle, pick up 1 stitch from the adjacent cast-on edge of Triangle 1, pass slipped stitch over.
Row 2 (right side): Knit to last 2 stitches, k2tog. [1 stitch decreased.]
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until 1 stitch remains. Cut yarn and pull through remaining stitch.
Finish
Weave in ends and block as desired.
PRINT
Do you have other yarn recommendation that does not have any wool in it?
Hi Gemma,
The blanket would also be beautiful in our Cotton Pure yarn (100% pima cotton) and a similar colorway (to the Wild Radish in Linen Quill) would be Pale Lilac, Silver Fern, Birch Bark and Egret White. You should be able to get close to gauge (working up a small swatch in garter stitch just to check your numbers and make sure would be the most helpful) and you’ll need about 2 skeins of each color. I hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any further questions and thanks a lot for writing in!
Kristy
So pretty! Luckily, so many people I know are having babies that I get to keep knitting baby blankets! 🙂 If I wanted to make this with some Worsted Twist (might be my favorite yarn of all time), how many stitches would you recommend I cast on? I should be able to figure this out as I know it’s 36 inches that I must multiply by the stitches per inch, but this one is stumping me, as I would think the Worsted Twist would require LESS stitches than the Linen Quill to achieve 36 inches. Keep up the beautiful, creative work!
Hi Catherine,
Thanks for writing! The easiest thing to do would be to work up a small swatch in Worsted Twist and see how many stitches you are getting per inch in garter stitch. Your starting cast on will actually measure 26 inches (the outer edges of the blanket are the triangle’s hypotenuses and are a bit longer than the cast on edges!). So after you see how many stitches you are getting per inch, you’ll simply start by multiplying that number by 26 and casting on that amount of stitches to start. You can then just follow the rest of the pattern as written. I hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any further questions and best of luck with the blanket!
Kristy
Thank you so much for the helpful and quick reply! Can’t wait to start!
This is lovely except that the pattern isn’t yours. I’ve been making this for 20+years…it’s an Elizabeth Zimmerman originsl.
Dear Martha,
Thank you so much for your comment.
This blanket is not a version of any Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern we are aware of. Our blanket is a knit version of our Crocheted Four Points Baby Blanket published this spring. While Elizabeth Zimmerman does have blankets involving triangular elements, hers appear to be achieved by the techniques of mitering and/or short rows. The construction of our Knit Four Points Baby Blanket is based on the technique known as Entrelac and this pattern is specifically taken from the half-triangle sections of a blanket pattern written by me many years ago called the “Entrelac Baby Blanket” in my book More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts.
Elizabeth Zimmerman is one of our favorite knitters and her way of thinking about knitting is truly brilliant. Our love of garter stitch, for instance, is a direct result of her influence. I would not be surprised at all to find somewhere that EZ invented the technique of Entrelac, although in my brief search online I found no evidence of that.
Best wishes,
Joelle
Thanks for creating your lovely design into a knitting pattern. Really love the design and the yarn.
Oh , my…I have been waiting for this pattern in knit!! Thank you!! See you in a few days to pick out the colors!!
Julie
A propos Elizabeth Zimmermann: I am knitting up a small sample of this blanket in order to try out different selvedges. On my first triangle, I worked every stitch (knitted), as per pattern. On the second triangle, I slipped all first stitches purlwise, as per EZ. Both of these selvedges give me trouble at the final points, where I have k2tog down to only 2 stitches, then one, then pulled the thread through last stitch. Kinda wonky, and I still have a challenge to pick up 24 stitches on next triangle. Do you have any detailed tips about these issues?
Thanks a heap, Pat M. in Takilma, Oregon
Hi Pat!
Thanks for writing! Could you please describe the trouble you’ve been having at the final point or the nature of the wonkiness? When picking up the stitches, the best tip is to just to strive for consistency. If you pick up in the same spot for each stitch, everything should remain even and tidy. Here is a useful video to show you how! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=30&v=N7HuRXWsnfU) Please let us know if this helps, and best of luck with the blanket!
Kristy
I was not sure how washable this yarn is. Also,could you comment on softness.
Hi Susan,
We recommend hand washing the blanket in cold water. The yarn itself is hearty and durable (due to the 50% fine highland wool and 15% linen) but with 35% alpaca, it is also soft to the touch. I hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any further questions!
Kristy
How soft is the yarn? I ask because of the linen. Other linen yarns I have used are too harsh for baby items. Thanks.
Hi Barclay,
Thanks for writing! The alpaca content (35%) in Linen Quill provides softness and we found it to be a great choice for our Four Points blankets, not in any way harsh. I hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any further questions!
Kristy
This linen quill is so dreamy to work with – incredibly soft and I would imagine it will continue to soften with washing through the years! Time consuming but a beautiful gift to give one of your special babies!
Hi Jean,
We’re so glad to hear that you’re enjoying the yarn! Thanks for writing!
Kristy
Help! My first triangle is gigantic! I checked my gauge, etc. Is this pattern for a larger blanket?
Hi Kelly,
Thanks for writing in! Are you using the Linen Quill or another kind of lace weight? How big is the triangle? Let me know!
-Adam
I’m about 6 rows in and second guessing my reading of the pattern. The decrease only happens on one side, correct? Then, the fact that there are fewer stitches leads to a triangle shape? The non-decrease looks so “straight” thus far & it’s worrying me.
Hi Kristin,
Thanks for writing in! Don’t worry, you are correct! There is only one decrease on one side. One side of the triangle is your cast on, the other is your rows without decreases and the third side is your side with decreases. Hope this helps!
-Adam
Hi Adam,
Thanks for this reply to Kristin! I am noticing the same thing with the decrease on only one side. I am down to about 100 stitches left and it does look strange. I am trusting that it comes out right and I can figure which side be begin the second triangle. This blanket is very time consuming and I have to have it finished by February! Anxious to see how it comes together.
The seam where I am joining triangle 4 to the cast-on edge of triangle 1 looks awful. I am following the instructions but have had to frog the triangle several times already and the results continue to be spectacularly messy and uneven. Can you offer some advice or should I just skip this approach and join the final two sides with mattress stitch? This is a gift so it needs to look good…..
Hi Lauren,
Thanks for writing in and I’m sorry this isn’t turning out as expected! I suggest passing the cast on stitch over the live stitch knitwise so as to twist the cast on. This will tighten up the stitch and hold it closer to the work. It might add a little flare too! If this still looks messy, then I would just do mattress stitch at the very end. Hope this helps!
-Adam
I was wondering if this pattern could be used with a slightly larger needle size? I have a size 5 needle that’s 26 inches long – could I use that with the Linen Quill yarn and have any success? My local stores are out of the size 3, 32 inch circular needles and I’d like to get started on this blanket!
Hi Mary,
Thanks for writing in! A US 5 is a little large for this yarn. A US 4 might work, but a US 5 will definitely give you more of a net-like fabric unless you are a very tight knitter. I’d do a little garter swatch to see if you like the definition. It could be great or maybe not! If anything, I’d try to find a US 4 at your local yarn shop. Best of luck and happy knitting!
-Adam
Hi Adam! I just wanted to let you know that I went forward with the 5 needle and have loved how it’s turning out! I need to just finish the last triangle – my project for this week! Thanks again for your help!
Mary
Hi Mary,
So glad it worked out! Best of luck on the finishing!
-Adam
Hello…I’m picking up stitches from my first triangle and it turns out that I can only pick up about 47?? What happened?!
Scared to knit this triangle now as they will all be out of sync.
Please help!
Thank you
Hi Charlotte,
Thanks for writing in. Hopefully we can figure this out! It’s possible that you are picking up stitches incorrectly. Please refer to our tutorial for reference. Since you cast on 156 and knit 156 rows, you should be able to pick up 156 stitches again (one stitch for every row knit). Be sure to also take a look at the schematic at the top of the pattern to see if you are picking up along the correct edge. Hope this helps and let me know if you still have questions!
-Adam
Hi. Would it be possible to post a picture or short video of the pick up from triangle 4? I am having the same issues with the pick up of the cast on edge of triangle 4 looking like a hot mess.
Thank you.
Hi Grace,
Thanks for writing in. Unfortunately we don’t have the resources at the moment to do a video tutorial of this. We will keep your request in mind though for the future! Thanks!
-Adam
I would love a video tutorial on joining triangles 3 and 4. I gave up and knit my fourth triangle like the others and mattress stitched them together.
Hi Jill,
Thanks for the suggestion! At the moment we don’t have the capacity to do a video tutorial on this, but will keep it in mind for the future!
-Adam
what other yarns would you recommend for this pattern? i’m looking for a slightly heavier weight, maybe using a size 7 needle?
Hi Francine,
Thanks for reaching out! I recommend Anzula – For Better or Worsted or Worsted Twist. They are both lovely and would work well for this pattern. You’d probably need two of each color.
Best of luck,
Adam
And if I use this heavier weight yarn, would I change the number of cast on stitches?
Hi Francine,
You wouldn’t change it if you wanted a larger blanket, but to get roughly the same size you’d probably have to cast on 60% of the stitches. Hope this helps!
-Adam
What is the row gauge supposed to be for this? I tend to get stitch gauge right but my row gauge ends up less than what’s needed for a 4″ swatch. With all of the decreases I’m concerned that I’m not going to end up with triangles that make up a square. Any advice on how to fix this problem? Knowing what the row gauge should be would certainly help.
Hi Susan,
Thanks for the question. The row gauge is 14 rows/inch (7 garter ridges). Row gauge is tricky — sometimes you have it and sometimes it’s impossible to get. I always block my swatches and this is a good time to see if you can manipulate the gauge while the yarn is wet. For this project, since you are casting on 156 stitches and decreasing every other row, you are knitting twice as many rows as you have cast on stitches. This means that your stitch gauge should equal half of your row gauge. In this case, our stitch gauge is 6.5 stitches/inch and our row gauge is 14 rows per inch, which is close enough. Hope this helps!
-Adam
-Adam
-Adam
Hi,
I will be started this project. My question is, how is Triangle 4 connected to Triangle 1 i.e. right side edge of Triangle 4 and cast on edge of Triangle 1?
I’m envisioning how the piece comes together and cannot figure out how this part works. Or will I need to stitch the last two edges together? Many thanks.
Hi Grace,
Thanks for writing in! Triangle 4 is attached to triangle 1 as you knit. You will slip the last stitch of the row knitwise to right-hand needle, pick up 1 stitch from the adjacent cast-on edge of Triangle 1 and then pass slipped stitch over. You will be doing this on every wrong side row and it will create an attached triangle as you complete it!
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
Hi,
I plan on making this blanket with the yarn i already have laying around, which is unfortunately not in equal amounts. I’m just wondering whats the minimum amount of each color i’d need to complete each triangle.
Thanks!
Hi Hannah,
Thanks for writing in! We used just a little less than all of each of the 4 balls. I would recommend having the full yardage for each section as your personal gauge may eat up slightly more or less yarn. Our Linen Quill comes in 439 yard balls and we used 4 here, 1 of each color.
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
hey – please post a video on how to join 3 and 4. I understand you say you don’t have resources, but there is obviously the demand. I was loving this pattern until now and I’m stopped in my tracks – I’m not even a new knitter!
Hi Jannah,
Thanks for the request, but as this is a free pattern we can’t always provide videos for all directions. If you are having a specific problem I’d be glad to help you solve it. Thank you again for the suggestion.
Best,
Adam
In regards to joining Triangle 4 to Triangle 1, I was having the same issue as everyone else but I seem to have noticed what was causing it.
If you are holding the work with the wrong side facing you, the issue happens when you pick up on Triangle 1 without twisting the work (if that is any help). Because you are facing the wrong side, you are technically picking up the stitch from back to front when you don’t twist.
If you twist (or fold) the triangle, you will need to pick up the stitch on the first triangle from front to back (right side to wrong side). This stops it from looking so messy and you get a clean seam.
Hope that helps everyone!
Hello Sarah,
Thank you so much for writing in with this! We are sure that this will be helpful to others in our crafting community!
Best wishes,
Kumeko
I’m about to start Triangle 2 and want to make sure I pick up the stitches from the correct edge — do I pick up FROM the cast-on edge? In the schematic it looks like the cast-on edge is situated horizontally and that you pick up the 156 stitches from the vertical edge on the right. Thanks!
Hi Romy,
Thanks for writing in! You do not pick up from the cast on edge for triangle B. The schematic is helpful for this. You will be picking up from the edge perpendicular to the cast on edge for triangle B.
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
Hello!
The video says to only pick up 3 of every 4 stitches (for vague reasons), but the pattern (if I’m reading it right) says to pick up every stitch. Could you explain the contradiction? Thanks in advance!
Hi Kate,
Thanks for writing in! The video we provide is more of a general tutorial for picking up stitches than specifically for this pattern. As knit stitches are wider than they are tall, you pick up stitches at a different rate along side edges in order to achieve a flat fabric. Here, you will be picking up a prescribed number of stitches along the side edge of the first and subsequent triangles. TO make this process easier, I like to place removable markers at the quarter way mark, half way mark and three quarters mark. I then pick up a quarter of the stitches between each set up markers. This helps make the pick up even and easier to achieve.
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
Well, I was not a close reader of the instructions as they related to joining triangle 4 to triangle 1. I am nearly finished with triangle 4, and wonder if you have another way to join them now that they are completed. If you don’t I will probably just weave them together.
Thanks,
Diana
Hi Diana,
Thanks for writing in! I suggest using mattress stitch to seam the two ends together.
All the best,
Adam
Should I wash & block this blanket when I’m finished? I’m using the Linen Quill recommended in the pattern. I’m worried if I block it that the amazing loft will flatten. Thank you in advance for your reply!
Hi Kristin!
Thank you for writing in! We recommend hand blocking this blanket rather than fully submerging it in water to block. We’ve got a great tutorial here. Please let us know if you have anymore questions!
Best wishes,
Kumeko
Hi,
Great pattern and design. My question is: what is the magic of 156 stitches? Does the pattern follow a certain multiple, or can I choose a smaller even number. I want to make a dishcloth, or kitchen towel, and want to make sure I pick the right number for the pattern to work on a smaller scale.
Hi Wren,
Thanks for the question. A cast on of 156 is just to get the blanket to a certain width. You can actually cast on any number of stitches you want to personalize this pattern. The only thing I suggest is that you choose a yarn whose row gauge is similar to its stitch gauge. This will make your dishcloth more square-shaped. Best of luck and happy knitting!
-Adam
I’m interested in making this blanket a little larger and with a size 7ish needle. Also, I love worsted twist. I know, I’m difficult! The colors I like are lavender moon, ballet pink and heirloom white. Could you help with converting the pattern ? Love Purl Soho!
Hi Jane,
Thanks for writing! The easiest thing to do would be to work up a small swatch in Worsted Twist and see how many stitches you are getting per inch in garter stitch. Your starting cast on will actually measure 26 inches (the outer edges of the blanket are the triangle’s hypotenuses and are a bit longer than the cast on edges!). So after you see how many stitches you are getting per inch, you’ll simply start by multiplying that number by 26 and casting on that amount of stitches to start. You can then just follow the rest of the pattern as written.
I hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any further questions and best of luck with the blanket!
Cassy
“Knit to last stitch, slip last stitch knitwise to right-hand needle, pick up 1 stitch from the adjacent cast-on edge of Triangle 1, pass slipped stitch over.” I don’t understand how to connect triangle 4 to 1. Every time I follow these instructions I get a whip stitch effect joining the two triangles. How can I remedy this? Is there another way to explain how to connect the two triangles?
Hi Francine,
Thanks for writing us. The whip stitch effect is actually quite normal as long as you aren’t getting long floats or the seam itself isn’t distorted. Please refer to our tutorial on Picking Up Stitches just to make sure you are doing this part correctly. Let me know how it goes!
-Adam
Hi – thanks for the gorgeous pattern. If I wanted to make this blanket bigger and use two skeins of each color (still in the Linen Quill), how many stitches would I need to cast on in order to use all the yarn? Thank you for the help!
Hi Katy,
Thanks for writing in! I did a little math and if you would like to use 2 skeins of each color, you should cast on 206 stitches and knit the pattern as written. THe only difference will be that you will pick up 206 stitches along the edges when you get to triangles 2-4.
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
Hi, I’m using one skein per color. I cast on 156 and cam decreasing on only one side, per the directions. I am almost finished with the one skein and having nothing that looks like a triangle. Please advise.
Hello Mary,
Thanks for writing in! This sounds very frustrating. Are you using Linen Quill to knit this blanket? What shape has it knit into and what are the dimensions of that shape? I hope I can help!
-Marilla
Do I decrease on both sides (as in the crochet directions)? Or just on one side as stated here? When I just decrease on one side, it doesn’t look like a triangle and I only have decreased to about 100 stitches when the yarn is almost all gone. I am using Purl Soho Cotton Pure. I just unraveled it so I don’t have measurements. I just had nowhere near the yarn needed so there was no point continuing.
Hello Mary,
I’m sorry your blanket is not going as planned. I hope I can help. The pattern is correct, you only decrease on one side for the knitted version of this blanket. Since you are using Cotton Pure, which has a deferent gauge and yardage amount than Linen Quill, you will need to adjust the pattern accordingly. Since Cotton Pure is a sport weight yarn instead of a fingering weight yarn, if you cast on the same number of stitches the blanket will come out larger. Cotton Pure also has less yards in a skein than Linen quill, 262 yards verses 439 yards, so you may need two skeins instead of one per triangle. Good luck with your project and please let us know if you have any further questions.
Warmly,
Marilla
Good morning,
Just starting the final triangle, and for some reason I only picked up 152 stitches. All the others have been 156. Not sure what has happened. If I leave it will it finish short on triangle 1? Should I add four stitches into my first row?
Other than this issue the pattern has been very easy to follow, and is so lovely. Making it as a gift for a friend, but would love to keep it! Very cozy.
Cheers,
Jess
Hello Jess,
Thank you for writing in and apologies for such a late response! Unfortunately if you don’t start with 156 stitches the triangles will not line up correctly. I would attempt to re-pick up your stitches to see if you missed any. Since you had the correct number of stitches on all the other triangles I believe you will be able to pick up 156 stitches.
Please let me know if you have any further questions and I will get back to you promptly!
Warmly,
Marilla
My yarn has arrived and I can’t wait to get started! Is there a specific type of cast on you recommend?
Hi Ellen,
Thanks for writing in! In general, when not noted, we use the long tail cast on and it would work well here!
Best,
Cassy
Thank you for such a nice pattern!
I am a beginner knitter and I have a couple questions about the gauge. I purchased the line weight heather yarn (for size 1-4 needles) rather than the linen quill that’s suggested in the pattern. My first question is– the pattern calls for size 3 needles. My test swatch with 26 stitches is 3.5 in. wide, rather than 4 in. wide. Is that because I used a different yarn, or because I’m knitting too tightly? And, I don’t mind if the overall size of the blanket is a little smaller but I’m wondering if the proportions will be affected, and not result in a square shaped blanket, if go ahead with the needles I’m using and continue knitting with the same tension.
My second question is about the numbers listed on the website for all of the different types of yarn. For example, both the line weight and the linen quill say 6.75-8 online, but on the tag that comes with linen weight yarn, it says it’s for U.S. size 1-4 needles. What does the 6.75-8 mean?
Thanks so much for your help!
-Maggie
Hello Maggie,
Thanks for writing in! I believe this is a combination of gauge and tension. If you go up to a US 4 I believe you would be back on track. If you don’t mind making a smaller blanket sticking with size 3 should also be fine.
You are right! The label on the yarn and the Information on the site are deferent. The label has more needle options and therefore a wider gauge range. The 6.75- 8 listed on our website refers to the stitches per inch you get with US 1 – 4 (2.5 – 3.5 mm) needles. Thanks for looking out! I will pass this along.
I hope you find this all helpful. Let me know if you have any further questions!
-Marilla
So I am having the same attachment issues from 3 to 4. If anyone has done this elegantly, would you consider posting a video how-to? I know that may be asking a lot, since it could require someone holding your iPhone (sideways please!) to shoot over your shoulder. If i could figure it out I’d so it, since I work in television and film and it would be easy – but alas – my seam looks hideous. Thanks!
I’ve made this several times with beautiful results each time. Lots of compliments too!
Would this pattern work using regular knitting needles or do they have to be circular?
Thanks!
Hello Kim,
Thanks for writing in! Because you are casting on 156 stitches, straight needles will be to short to fit all those stitches. I hope this helps!
-Marilla