Shifting Angles Blanket
Some knitters are all about the journey, some the destination, but both will enjoy the diverging paths of our Shifting Angles Blanket, knit with our wonderful Cotton Pure On A Cone.
For this blanket, simple knits and purls etch diagonal roads that switch directions in the center of the piece. A course change that is a walk in the park!
The beauty of Cotton Pure On A Cone is that you can knit an entire blanket without having to wind yarn, join new skeins, or weave in a bunch of ends. It’s also organically grown, machine wash- and dryable, and soft as can be! With heirlooms in mind, we used two of our six new colors: lovely Alabaster Cream and Lavender Rose. Explore the whole palette to choose the color you love!
If you love the yarn used in this project, you’ll love all of our other yarn, too! Explore our 35+ lovingly created yarn collections, in nearly every natural fiber and spectacular color you can imagine… Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn shop!
Blanket designed by Purl Soho designer, Gianna Mueller, based on the original Shifting Angles Scarf by Michele Wang. Click here to see even more of Gianna’s designs!
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoShiftingAnglesBlanket, and #PurlSohoCottonPure. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- 1 Purl Soho Cotton Pure On A Cone, 100% organically grown cotton yarn. Each cone of the sport weight yarn is approximately 2,789 yards/ 1 kg; approximately 1395 (2789) yards required. We used the colors Lavender Rose for the Crib size and Alabaster Cream for the Throw.
- US 4 (3.5 mm), 32- or 40-inch circular needles
PLEASE NOTE: If you want to make just one Crib Blanket, you’ll need 5 skeins of Purl Soho’s Cotton Pure. Or if you want to make the Throw but prefer skeins, you’ll need 10.
GAUGE
26 stitches and 37 rows = 4 inches in stitch pattern
SIZES
Crib (Throw)
Finished Dimensions: 29¼ inches wide x 34 inches long (43¼ inches wide x 54 inches long)
NOTES
STITCH MULTIPLE
This pattern works over a multiple of 4 + 2 stitches.
SLIPPED STITCHES
Slip all stitches purlwise with yarn in front.
PATTERN
FIRST HALF
Cast on 190 (282) stitches. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.
Row 1 (right side): K1, *k2, p2, repeat from * to last stitch, k1.
Row 2 (wrong side): Slip 1 (see Notes), k1, *p2, k2, repeat from * to last 4 stitches, p2, k1, slip 1.
Row 3: K1 *p2, k2, repeat from * to last stitch, k1.
Row 4: Slip 1, p1, *k2, p2, repeat from * to last 4 stitches, k2, p1, slip 1.
Repeat Rows 1–4 until piece measures 17 (27) inches from cast-on edge, ending with Row 4.
SECOND HALF
Row 1 (right side): K1, *p2, k2, repeat from * to last stitch, k1.
Row 2 (wrong side): Slip 1, k1, *p2, k2, repeat from * to last 4 stitches, p2, k1, slip 1.
Row 3: K1, *k2, p2, repeat from * last stitch, k1.
Row 4: Slip 1, p1, *k2, p2, repeat from * to last 4 stitches, k2, p1, slip 1.
Repeat Rows 1–4 until piece measures 34 (54) inches from cast-on edge, ending with Row 4.
Loosely bind off all stitches in pattern.
FINISH
Weave in the ends and block as desired.
Learn About Cotton Pure On A Cone + All Our Beautiful Yarns
Cotton Pure On A Cone is the ultimate yarn for amazing cotton blankets and garments! 2,789 whopping yards of 100% organically grown cotton yarn, you’ll have only two ends to weave in when you’re done… Music to every knitter’s ears! Cotton Pure is also a true natural beauty. This sport-weight yarn feels wonderfully soft and supple and comes in tons of gently heathered colors you won’t find anywhere else! Need some contrast colors or not quite so much yarn? Shop our collection of Cotton Pure 100-gram skeins, too!
More Free Knitting Patterns
- Be sure to explore our vast collection of (mostly free!) Cotton Pure knitting patterns and cast on!
More Sport-Weight Yarns
- Shop our entire collection of sport-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 Fiber
- Shop cotton yarn
- Shop machine-washable yarn
- Shop plant-based 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!
Do you cast on the same number of stitches for the throw and crib blanket?
Hi Jill,
Thanks so much for writing in with your question! You will be casting on 190 stitches for the crib size, or 282 stitches for the throw. When looking at the pattern, you see it written like this: Cast on 190 (282) stitches.
If you’re knitting the smaller size you will only need to focus on the first number included in the instructions, and if you’re making the Throw, you will be following the number in parentheses!
I hope this helps!
All the best,
Carly
If I want a blanket twice the size do I just double the stitches and yarn?
Hi Susan,
Thanks for your question, and yes, you can double the size of this blanket by doubling your cast-on stitches! You will want to calculate how long you want your banket to be first so that you can work the second half of the blanket exactly at the halfway point!
I hope this helps and please feel free to reach out with any questions!
All the best,
Carly
If I knit each section longer than 27” to lengthen the blanket, will the pattern at the center still work right?
Hi Melissa,
Thanks so much for reaching out! The pattern will still work out if repeat the First Half instructions for longer than the original pattern, as long as you are still ending on the row 4 repeat. Because the Second Half instructions are supposed to end right in the middle of the length, you will want to make sure you work the same amount of repeats as you did in the first half.
I hope this helps, and please let me know if you have any other questions!
All the best,
Carly
I may have missed it, but do I need more than.one cone to do the throw?
Hi Lila,
Thanks for writing in! You will only need one cone of Cotton Pure for the throw-size blanket, or approximately 2789 yards!
I hope this helps!
Carly
Hi, the knitted pattern appears different between the two blankets. Are you showing what the wrong side and the right side both look like on these respective blankets? Thanks for explaining the different appearances.
Hi Julie,
Thanks for reaching out. Both of our samples are indeed the same stitch, just shown from different angles! In this pattern, the stitch goes diagonally in one direction for the first half and then diagonally in the other direction for the second half. The blankets in this post are just pictured with different halves visible. I hope this helps clear things up!
All the best,
Lili
Just checking… why do we only slip the first stitch on wrong side rows? Won’t that make the edges different on each side?
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for reaching out! When you slip the first stitch of each row, you are elongating that stitch to be 2 rows tall, which creates a consistent and smooth edge stitch that doesn’t twist!
I hope this helps!
All the best,
Carly
I agree with Sarah. I was getting inconsistent edging (one side looked “neater” than the other) when slipping the stitches on both ends of the Wrong Side Rows (rows 2/4 of the pattern). To avoid this, I slipped the last stitch of each row and knitted the first stitch of each row. It seemed to do the trick.
How would a border look on the throw?
What stitch would you recommend for the border?
Hi Fran,
Thanks for writing in! I think that the blanket works very well without a border, so if you want to add one, then I’d suggest a really minimal border. A simple border of single crochet could work! Or, if you want to do a knit border, then I’d suggest an attached i-cord.
All the best,
Lili
Thank you for that information.
Is the blanket reversible?
Please recommend a moreno wool yarn to use with this pattern. It can be a blend, but nothing that sheds so no alpaca , mohair, etc
Hi Fran,
This blanket is not reversible in that both sides of the blanket are not identical, however both sides look nice so it can be used with either side facing!
For a merino wool yarn for this pattern, I can recommend Posy, which is a super-soft blend of merino wool, cashmere, and nylon, or Line Weight, which is a cozy fingering weight 100% merino wool yarn!
I hope this answers your questions!
All the best,
Margaret
Hello! I have started the throw twice and had to take apart as it does not look like my diagonal stitches are lining up (both times) and I’m not sure where my error is occurring?! Any advice on common errors or fixes that may help me!? I want to eventually finish this beautiful throw!
Hi Katie,
Thanks for reaching out to us with your question. I’d be happy to share some tips to help you with the Shifting Angles Blanket!
My first recommendation is to work on a small swatch in pattern so that you become familiar with how the stitches line up, and so you won’t have to worry about casting on hundreds of stitches and needing to rip back just to get comfortable with the stitch pattern. Once you have a swatch, you can compare this to your project while you’re knitting it to keep you on track.
Another tip is to place stitch markers throughout the row at the beginning of a few repeats. These markers can act as a check-in point to make sure that your repeats are lined up properly and you haven’t skipped any stitches.
I hope that these tips help! Please let us know if you have any other questions.
All the best,
Carly
Can I just make a crib blanket using garter stitches? If so how many stitches do I cast on to use up one cone? What would the estimated dimensions be?
Hi Katie,
Thank you so much for your questions! I’d be happy to help you with your garter stitch blanket!
First we will need to calculate how many stitches and rows per inch you are getting with your yarn. Our tutorial, All About Gauge, is a helpful guide in learning how to knit a swatch and calculate your gauge!
Once you have your stitches and rows per inch, you will want to multiply those measurements by the dimensions you want for the blanket. Our Super Easy Baby Blanket is a garter stitch blanket that can be a good guide for your own project! It’s dimensions are 30″ x 37″, so you can multiply stitches per inch x 30″ and rows per inch x 37″ to get your cast on number and row number.
I hope this helps, and please let me know if you have any other questions!
All the best,
Carly
Hi there:
I have a considerable amount of Sweetgrass. Would that be a reasonable substitute for the Cotton Pure?
Thanks as always!
Hi Chermia!
Thank you for writing in! While Sweetgrass is a thinner weight yarn than Cotton Pure, you could certainly still use it for this blanket! I would suggest working a gauge swatch in the shifting angles pattern in Sweetgrass, and then measure how many stitches per inch you are getting. Then, you can multiply that number by your desired blanket width and round to the nearest multiple of 4+2 to determine your cast on stitch amount!
I hope this helps!
All the best,
Margaret
Love the pattern! I’m thinking of knitting an icord edge (using 3 stitches) while knitting the pattern. I’ve tried swatching, but can’t seem to get it right. Help?
Thank you!
Hi Jeanette,
What a fun idea! I would recommend adding 6 stitches to your cast-on number (3 for the i-cord on each edge). On right side rows, you can slip 3 stitches wyib and continue in pattern to the last 3 stitches, and knit those normally. Then, on the wrong side, you can begin by slipping 3 stitches wyif, continue in pattern to the last 3 stitches, and purl those. This is just one way to add an i-cord edge, but it’s my favorite!
Another option would be to do an attached i-cord all the way around the blanket! You would do this only after the entire project is completed, and we have a tutorial right here. Hope this gives you some ideas!
All the best,
Lili
Hi if I want to knit the throw not the crib blanket do I still just need one cone? Many 🙏
Hi Fay,
Thanks for writing in! Yes, for the Throw size of this blanket, you’ll only need 1 cone of Cotton Pure!
All the best,
Lili
When i start working the second half, the stitch pattern of the WS and RS become reversed so the second half of the RS looks like the first half of the WS. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong, any ideas?
Hi Jilli,
Thanks for reaching out. It sounds like you’re doing everything correctly! The second half should look like the wrong side of the first half. If you’re still worried that something is going wrong, I’d recommend sending a photo of your work to [email protected]. That way, we can visualize exactly what’s happening!
All the best,
Lili
I’m making this blanket with the yarn in the cone and having a terrible time with it “kinking” up as I knit. Any suggestions for eliminating this?
Hi Maureen,
I’m so sorry to hear that Cotton Pure is giving you trouble! It sounds like the yarn is overtwisting, which, although frustrating, naturally happens to some yarns tightly spun with multiple plies going in the same direction. You may feel the urge to smooth out any irregularities in the texture before knitting each stitch, but this actually causes the twisting to build up further. I’d recommend letting the slight twists of the yarn go into your stitches as they appear. This will make a huge difference without altering the appearance of the knitted fabric! And even if you do notice some odd stitches, these will even out once you block your finished project.
I hope this helps make Cotton Pure more enjoyable to knit with, and please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.
All the best,
Lili
HI Can I use the daily wool to make this blanket. It is an I get 18 stitches to 4″ and if how much should I cast on for the blanket. Thanks!!
Hi Leslie,
Thank you for writing in! I’m afraid that Daily Wool is a bit too thick for this pattern. I’d recommend using a sport or light DK weight yarn for this project.
All the best,
Gavriella