Color Wash Blanket
The spectrum of a landscape seen through the frame of a window, our Color Wash Blanket is our kind of scene… Natural beauty, low-key flair, and stunning color!
Earth or sky, land or sea, it all depends on your palette. Our version is setting sun, with striations of pink and orange cloud layers, surrounded by the coming night, and we call it Sundown!
No matter what your combo, the Color Wash Blanket is simple garter stitch, knit holding two different-color strands of our gorgeous Linen Quill. You work the whole center panel first, from bottom to top, then pick up each side to work the left and right frames. A surprisingly simple and truly beautiful view of the world!
Yarn lovers, if you adore the yarn used in this project, you’ll love exploring all of our other yarn collections! Discover over 45 thoughtfully designed yarns in nearly every natural fiber and in every spectacular color you can imagine. Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn store, where every skein is created with care and your creativity in mind!
UPDATE: NOW IN (LOTS OF) NEW COLORS
JANUARY 2024
You can now choose from a whopping 20 super-inspiring Color Wash Blanket Bundles in Linen Quill. Each bundle has its own color story, evoking moments in nature like an evening sky, a tidal cove, or a morning fog rolling in… And each is available in small and large throw sizes. Pick your favorite and enjoy the dimension Linen Quill’s depth of color and complexity bring to your Color Wash Blanket. It shimmers and glows, it vibrates and breathes… It sparks your imagination and takes you places!
Designed by Purl Soho founder and co-owner, Joelle Hoverson.
Share your progress + connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoColorwashBlanket, and #PurlSohoLinenQuill. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
Our Color Wash Blanket is made from a combination of colors, and is written for two sizes: Small Throw (shown above and the size of our sample) and Large Throw. The Small Throw (Large Throw) Blanket requires…
- 8 (16) skeins of Purl Soho’s Linen Quill, 50% fine highland wool, 35% alpaca and 15% linen. Each skein of this fingering weight yarn is 439 yards/ 100 grams.
- Color A: 2 (4) skeins, approximately 765 (1725) yards required
- Color B: 2 (4) skeins, approximately 760 (1725) yards required
- Color C: 1 (1) skein, approximately 175 (390) yards required
- Color D: 1 (3) skein(s), approximately 439 (1150) yards required
- Color E: 1 (3) skein(s), approximately 439 (1040) yards required
- Color F: 1 (1) skein, approximately 225 (439) yards required
You will also need…
• US 7 (4.5 mm), 32- or 40- inch circular needles
We’ve created five color palettes for inspiration…
Sundown
Shown above and the palette we used to knit up our sample…
- Color A: Dark Denim
- Color B: Stillwater Blue
- Color C: Lychee Pink
- Color D: Super Orange
- Color E: Peachy Pink
- Color F: Oatmeal Gray
Radish
- Color A: Wheat Flour
- Color B: Pale Mushroom
- Color C: Rhubarb Pink
- Color D: Pink Pop
- Color E: Bright Flamingo
- Color F: Kiln Red
Chamomile
- Color A: Rosewood Pink
- Color B: Lychee Pink
- Color C: Calendula Orange
- Color D: Turmeric Yellow
- Color E: Mustard Seed
- Color F: Dandelion Yellow
Reef
- Color A: Chestnut Red
- Color B: Fresh Nutmeg
- Color C: High Tide
- Color D: True Turquoise
- Color E: Green Turquoise
- Color F: Eggshell Blue
Summit
- Color A: Juniper Green
- Color B: Fresh Pickle
- Color C: Stonewall Gray
- Color D: Oatmeal Gray
- Color E: Pale Oats
- Color F: Heirloom White
Gauge
19 stitches and 38 rows = 4 inches in garter stitch, with yarn doubled
NOTE: The Small Throw uses just about the entire skeins of Colors D and E, and the Large Throw uses almost the entire skein of Color F. To be sure you have enough, we recommend swatching in other colors and checking your gauge, or consider ordering an extra skein. If you don’t end up needing it, you can return unwound yarn for a refund within 30 days of purchase, or within 6 months for store credit. Our Return Policy has all the details!
Sizes
Small Throw (Large Throw)
Finished Dimensions: 32 inches wide x 39 inches long (48 inches wide x 58½ inches long)
Notes
Double The Yarn
Throughout this pattern, you will pull two different-color strands together.
Turn + Slide
When you work the Two-Color Garter Stitch Pattern, you either “slide” or “turn” the work at the end of each row.
“Turn work” means to do what you would normally do when knitting rows with circular needles: Transfer the needle from your left hand into your right hand and the needle from your right hand into your left, flipping the work around so the opposite side is facing you.
“Slide work” means to keep the same side of the work facing you and to push all the stitches to the right end of the circular needles. Without turning the work, start the new row as you normally would.
You will know that you’re doing this right if the yarn you need to complete the next row is right there waiting for you!
Old Colors + New Colors
In this pattern, “Old Colors” are the two different-color strands of yarn you have been knitting with, and “New Colors” are the two different-color strands you’re going to knit with.
Two-Color Garter Stitch Pattern
Set-Up Row (right side): With Old Colors, knit to end of row. Measure off 15 (25) yards of Old Colors, cut yarns and wind into a ball. Slide work (see Turn + Slide, above).
NOTE: The reason you make a ball of Old Colors is because a skein of one of the colors needs to be available to use for the New Colors.
Row 1 (right side): With New Colors, purl to end of row. Turn work (see Turn + Slide, above).
Row 2 (wrong side): With little ball of Old Colors, purl to end of row. Slide work.
Row 3 (wrong side): With New Colors, knit to end of row. Turn work.
Row 4: (right side): With little ball of Old Colors, knit to end of row. Slide work.
Repeat Rows 1–4.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2.
Cut Old Colors.
Pattern
Center Panel
Bottom Border
With one strand of Color A and one strand of Color B (see Double The Yarn in NOTES), cast on 114 (172) stitches.
With Colors A and B, knit every row until piece measures 9 (13½) inches from cast-on edge, ending with a wrong-side row.
Cut Colors A and B.
Inset Color Section
With Colors C and D and starting with a right-side row, knit every row for 5 (7½) inches, ending with a wrong-side row.
Using Colors C and D as Old Colors and Colors D and E as New Colors, work Two-Color Garter Stitch Pattern (see Notes).
Continuing with Colors D and E, knit every row for 9 (13½) inches, ending with a wrong-side row.
Using Colors D and E as Old Colors and Colors D and F as New Colors, work Two-Color Garter Stitch Pattern.
Continuing with Colors D and F, knit every row for 1¼ (1¾) inches, ending with a wrong-side row.
Using Colors D and F as Old Colors and Colors E and F as New Colors, work Two-Color Garter Stitch Pattern.
Continuing with Colors E and F, knit every row until Inset Color Section measures 24 (36) inches, ending with a wrong-side row.
Cut Colors E and F.
Top Border
With Colors A and B and starting with a right-side row, knit every row for 6 (9) inches, ending with a wrong-side row.
With right side facing you, bind off knitwise to finish Center Panel. Do not cut yarns.
Left-Hand Side Panel
With right side facing you and bind-off edge at top, rotate blanket 90 degrees clockwise. With Colors A and B, pick up and knit one stitch between each garter ridge along selvage now at top. Be sure to pick up and knit first stitch between Center Panel bind off and first garter ridge and also last stitch between last garter ridge and Center Panel cast on.
NOTE: For assistance, please see our tutorial for picking up stitches along a vertical garter stitch edge within our Picking Up Stitches Tutorial.
Continuing with Colors A and B, knit every row for 4 (6) inches, ending with a wrong-side row.
With right side facing you, bind off knitwise. Cut Colors A and B.
Right-Hand Side Panel
With right side facing you and Center Panel bind off-edge at top, rotate blanket 90 degrees counter-clockwise. Joining Colors A and B, pick up and knit one stitch between each garter ridge along selvage now at top, starting at Center Panel cast-on edge corner. Be sure to pick up and knit first stitch between Center Panel cast on and first garter ridge and also last stitch between last garter ridge and Center Panel bind off.
Continuing with Colors A and B, knit every row for 4 (6) inches, ending with a wrong-side row.
With right side facing you, bind off knitwise.
Weave in ends and block as desired!
Learn About Linen Quill + All Our Beautiful Yarns
We designed this project to highlight the uniquely beautiful qualities of our Linen Quill, a wonderful fingering-weight yarn that is a blend of 50% wool, 35% alpaca, and 15% linen. It feels amazing in your hands, and in 70 jaw-droppingly gorgeous colors, Linen Quill is the candy store of yarn! Want to play with lots of those amazing colors? Check out our Linen Quill Minis, available in 40- and 20- color bundles!
More Free Knitting Patterns
- Be sure to explore our vast collection of (mostly free!) Linen Quill knitting patterns and cast on!
More Fingering-Weight Yarns
- Shop our entire collection of fingering-weight yarns
- If you want to use a different yarn, be sure to take the time to get the correct gauge. Need help? Check our All About Gauge Tutorial!
More Yarns With Similar Fibers
- Shop wool yarn
- Shop alpaca yarn
- Shop linen yarn
Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our free knitting patterns and knitting tutorials, buy one of our many knitting kits and yarn bundles, and shop for beautiful yarn. We have over 35 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 100’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!
Hello Knitting Gurus,
Firstly, is there any reason not to mitre the corners of the border and, secondly do you have corresponding colours in just a fine quality merino to substitute for the Linen Quill?
Regards,
Kay
Hi Kay,
Great questions! You could certainly work the border all in one piece if you wish by picking up stitches all the way around the center panel, and then working two increases per corner on every other row. You will need quite a long circular needle to fit all of the stitches, but otherwise there is no reason not to knit the border this way! If you prefer 100% merino, I would suggest using our Line Weight. It doesn’t come in all the same colors as Linen Quill, but we recently added quite a few new colors so I think you could come up with a very similar palette!
I hope that helps!
Julianna
Hello Purl Soho
I am working on this lovely blanket with the sunset color combo. I am working the first color switch section of the inset and I am noticing that the rows seem to spread a bit further apart than they do in theall-knit sections of the blanket. Is this to be expected or is there a way to fix this? Blocking maybe? I have never blocked anything this large… Or should I maybe try to knit/purl tighter in the color change sections? TIA
Hi Deborah,
Thank you for reaching out! It sounds like you are getting a larger gauge (your tension is slightly more loose) in the color switch section. This is probably because you are having to do extra steps so you are not in your normal knitting groove, especially doing it for the first time. I suspect that your tension/gauge will return as you go. If it is drastic you could even go down a size for this part, but if it is more subtle I wouldn’t worry about it to much and yes you can block it out at the end.
I hope this helps and let us know if you have any further questions!
Happy knitting!
-Marilla
I don’t see how the slide works at all. Is there a video?
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for reaching out! Unfortunately we do not have a video to show this technique – however, I think if you try it , it will make sense. You will need to use a circular needle for this technique, but basically, if the color you need to use is not at the edge of the blanket where you just ended, it’s time to slide to the other tip of the needle where the color is waiting for you!
I hope that clears things up!
Julianna
I just purchased the color wash blanket kit in large. I have a couple of questions. Would I be able to make this in seed stitch as I did for the Nature’s Palette blanket? Would I have enough yarn in the kit to do this? Will a copy of the pattern come with the kit?
Thanks for your help.
Laura
Hi Laura,
Thanks for reaching out! Yes, I think it would be just lovely to knit this blanket in seed stitch! I would recommend knitting a gauge swatch in seed stitch and multiplying your stitches per inch by 24 inches for the small throw or 36 inches for the large throw to determine how many stitches to cast on, but since seed stitch does not contract lengthwise the way garter stitch does, you should have more than enough yarn to change to seed stitch. We do not usually include printed copies of patterns that are available for free on our website, but you can print it using the print button at the top of this page. For future orders, if you leave us a note in the comment box of your order, we will be more than happy to print you a copy!
Happy knitting!
Julianna
Hello, I would like to knit the Colour Wash Blanket. My question is, as I live in Melbourne, Australia, could you tell me if the Linen Quill is a warm wool, or is it more like a cotton? If I was wanting a warm blanket would I be better using Line Weight? If so, I would need you to pick the colours for me which are closest to the Dark Denim, etc., would that be possible if the Linen Quill wasn’t warm. Thank you, look forward to hearing from you. Kia
Hi Kia,
Thanks for reaching out! Linen Quill is actually a warm yarn, especially when held double! Although linen is in the name, it only makes up 15% of the yarn, and the rest is alpaca and highland wool, both of which are cozy warm fibers with a delicate fluffy halo. I think you will be quite happy with it, as it works well for many different climates and seasons!
Best,
Julianna
I’m getting ready to make my 2nd “Circle of Friends” blanket. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/circle-of-friends-garter-stitch-blanket I want to skip the seaming and was wondering how I could knit the entire blanket at once. Is that something you can offer advise about? Thanks so much.
Hello Laura,
Thank you for reaching out! For a blanket like this you would have to use Intarsia for it to knit the entire blanket at once.
I hope this is helpful and let us know if you have any further questions!
Best,
Marilla
I am making the small blanket
How many stitches do I have to cast on to begin knitting.
Hi Michelle,
Thanks for reaching out! For the small throw, you will cast on 114 stitches. You can find this information in the pattern above under the heading “Bottom Border.”
Happy knitting!
Julianna
Hello,
I want to make this blanket in the smaller size, but I am worried about the yarn for the baby. It looks like it needs to be hand-washed, and with 50% highland wool, I’m worried it might be a bit scratchy. I love the reef color-way, but I’m wondering what you would suggest to translate this to a baby blanket . …line weight?
Thanks!
Hi Susan,
Thanks for reaching out! If you prefer an easier care yarn, although Line Weight is supremely soft, it still requires very gentle hand washing and laying flat to dry. I would suggest using Posy instead as it is machine washable and super soft for babies’ delicate skin!
Best,
Julianna
Hi there,
If I wanted to do this using intarsia rather than joining two separately knitted pieces, how many additional cast on stitches would the team recommend I add on?
Thanks so much in advance!
Hi James,
Great question! To include the side borders, you will need to cast on an additional 38 (58) stitches, 19 (29) for each side.
Happy knitting!
Julianna
Amazing, thanks so much Juliana!
When making the gauge Swatch, should I be using one strand of two? I’ve been assuming two, but the instructions seem ambiguous to me. Thanks, Jim.
Hi Jim,
Thanks for reaching out! Yes, you should knit your gauge swatch with your yarn doubled, as that is how you will be knitting the blanket.
Happy knitting!
Julianna
I love this pattern and i’m ready to give it a try. I have 4 skeins of Woolfolk SNO in black/white. It’s merino, fingering weight so I was thinking it would be a great substitute for the dark navy colorway used in the Sundown, to use as the border. It would give a marled effect and I like that. So, if I have 4 skeins equalling 892 yards, so held together 446 yards.
My question is, what would I need to supplement with for the colors, just get the same listed in the pattern list – excluding the navy color?
Also would I want to stick with linen quill or do you suggest a different yarn weight and material? Help! And thank you 😉
Sally
Hi Sally,
Thanks for writing in! For the small throw size of this blanket, we used 715 yards of each strand in the border, so you will need to get one of the border colors, either the Dark Denim or Stillwater Blue, to hold along with your Sno. Otherwise, yes, you will simply need to get the same amount of Colors C through F that we used, and I think Linen Quill is the way to go if you want to replicate the exact colors! Especially since you will be using one strand of Sno and one strand of Linen Quill in the border, the texture and gauge of the center panel and border should match nicely.
I hope that helps, and happy knitting!
Julianna
Hi there –
Love the pattern. I know I’m overthinking this but I need to make just ONE ball of “old colors” correct? So basically when I’m down to my last 15 yards of the one color I’m phasing out, I should create a ball of the phase-out color and the color I’m continuing with? Then using the main ball of the color I’m continuing with + new color to keep knitting?
Thank you!
Hi KT,
Thank you for writing in! This can get a little confusing, so I made a small list below of all of the 15 yard “Old Color” balls you should have:
– Colors C and D
– Colors D and E
– Colors D and F
Some customers have found it easier to make these balls these ahead of time, winding off 15-yards of each color combination before they start knitting the Inset Color Section. I hope this makes sense and is helpful!
Happy knitting!
Gaby
I am a beginner. I have only knit one sweater long long ago. Would this be a good project to revive my knitting skills and learn to read a pattern? Or should I start with a scarf (which I won’t use much in Houston TX!)? Thank you.
Hi Anna,
Thanks for writing in, and welcome back to the wonderful world of knitting! I think this blanket would be a fantastic project to get you going again! The main body of the blanket is a simple garter stitch rectangle with some color changes thrown in to keep it interesting – just as easy as a scarf, but much more useful in your climate! You will have to learn to pick up stitches to work the side panels, but our handy tutorial should do the trick, and once the stitches are on your needles, you can go right back to easy garter stitch. I hope you feel encouraged to give it a try!
Best,
Julianna
I’m nearly ready to cast on for the larger size blanket but I have a question about the 15 yard color balls. Does the ball length need to be 30 yards for the larger size?
Hi Tricia,
Thanks for reaching out! That is an excellent question, 15 yards should be adequate for both sizes of the blanket but I do recommend adding a few yards to the balls to be safe. 25 yards should be plenty to insure you have enough to work with!
I hope this helps!
Warmly,
Gianna
May I have the measurements of the small Sundown, and the large Sundown? I can’t seem to find them, and am not quite blind, don’t think. Thank you.
Hi Cynthia,
Thanks for writing in! You can find this information under the SIZE section of the pattern, the Small Throw finished Dimensions are 32 inches wide x 39 inches long and the Large Throw finished dimensions are 48 inches wide x 56½ inches long!
Warmly,
Gianna
I want to make the Sundown color version but Oatmeal Gray is OOS at the moment, can you suggest a good color to substitute? I see a few other similar shades but I don’t know which one to pick. I would like to buy all the yarns together for the project in order to hit the free shipping amount. Thank you!
Hi Serlin,
Thanks for writing in! Since Oatmeal Gray is a combination of white and gray together you could go two different ways, I would recommend either using Heirloom White, this will be the most comparable to the shade since it leans more light. Or you could use Stonewall Gray, this will be a bit darker but will be more similar to the gray hues in Oatmeal Gray! I think either option will be lovely with the Sundown color palette!
I hope this helps and please let me know if you have any more questions!
Gianna
Hello,
I would like to cut back the amount of pink in the Sundown version, particularly Peachy Pink. Can you please suggest a replacement color for Peachy Pink, and possibly Lychee Pink as well? Thank you for your help.
Sue
Hi Sue,
Thanks for reaching out. I would recommend using Kiln Red in place of Lychee Pink and Turmeric Yellow in place of Peachy Pink! This will shift the color palette more towards orange instead of pink. I hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
Thank you!
I was interested in knitting this blanket in Santolina instead of Linen quill–it looks like they should be interchangeable given the gauges listed. Could you suggest some colors that might be similar to the sundown palette?
Hi Sophie,
Thanks for writing in, and yes, Santolina will work perfectly for this blanket! I’d recommend the following colors for something similar to the Sundown color palette:
Color A: Stormy Sea
Color B: Well Water
Color C: Red Smoke
Color D: Robin Redbreast
Color E: Blossom Pink
Color F: Gray Owl
I hope this helps you plan your project!
All the best,
Lili
I’d like to make this blanket for my nephew who’s about to go away to college. He’s pretty tall and I wanted to lengthen the blanket to about 72 inches. Is that possible without making it look odd?
Hi Tiffany,
Thanks for reaching out! You can definitely lengthen the blanket to 72 inches. It will change the proportions, so if you want to keep the same proportions, then I’d also recommend increasing the width of the blanket as well as the length. That way, it’ll be larger overall, but still be the same shape as the original!
All the best,
Lili
I am “studying” the pattern before I get started and I have a question right out of the gate. Bottom Border: end with a wrong side row. Is the cast on row the right or wrong side? Asked another way, is the first knit row, the right or wrong side?
Thank you}
Hi Renee,
That is a great question! Row 1 and all odd-numbered rows will make up your right side!
All the best,
Gavriella
Thank you!
I am knitting this blanket and getting close to the two color Garter Stitch section for the first time. So it says to end the previous section with a wrong side row. Then the start of the two color garter stitch, the set up row, is right side. All good. Then it says Row 1 is right side. How can that be if the set up row was right side? What am I missing? Thank you. Maybe this has to do with the Turn vs Slide concept now that I am thinking about it?
Hi Renee,
That is exactly correct, after working the set up row, you will slide your work instead of turning. This means you should still have the right side facing you. I hope this helps clarify!
Happy making,
Gavriella
Sometimes it helps to write it out. As I was typing the question, it started to click! Thank you!
I’m loving the “Summit” color grouping, but don’t see the Heirloom White available in the current lineup of Linen Quill. Can you suggest a few alternate colors that would go nicely with the Stonewall/Oatmeal/Pale Oats for the center section? I wouldn’t mind if the center section had a little more variation than what is pictured. Linen Quill is my favorite yarn at the moment so I’m very excited for this project. Thank you!
Hi Anna,
I’m afraid that Heirloom White has been discontinued in this yarn line! I would recommend using the color Reed Gray instead as it will pair fantastically with the other neutrals!
All the best,
Lili