The Knitter’s Choice Striped Blanket, designed by Ksenia Naidyon, invites you to put your heart into your knitting! The project starts with our new Yonder. A real knitter’s yarn (our design team is bananas for it!), it is 50% highland wool and 50% alpaca, with all the qualities that touch a knitter’s heart: beauty in the spin, depth in the color, and resilience in the hand.

Knitter’s Choice Striped Blanket | Purl Soho

First choice: Pick your palette! Yonder’s beautiful colors start with four undyed neutrals straight from the naturally occurring shades of alpaca and wool fibers. The rest of the colors are dyed over these natural hues, creating a beautifully heathered and earthy palette.

Knitter’s Choice Striped Blanket | Purl Soho

You’ll be knitting stripes, so for color, the sky’s the limit, but if you prefer options, we put together nine Knitter’s Choice Striped Blanket Bundles in two sizes, including the warm pinks and brown of Velveteen Rabbit and the crisp maritime vibe of First Mate.

Knitter’s Choice Striped Blanket | Purl Soho

Raring to go by now? Great, you get to cast on four times for four identical squares! In garter stitch, the knitting is simple. For each square, you cast on at one corner, then use basic increases to knit the first half and basic decreases for the second half, striping in three colors as you go. And if you’re worried that all those stripes mean lots of ends to weave in, don’t be! Ksenia walks you through a technique for knitting in the ends as you work, so once you’re done with the knitting you get to move on to the (even more) fun part!

Knitter’s Choice Striped Blanket | Purl Soho
Knitter’s Choice Striped Blanket | Purl Soho

Four squares under your belt and time to pick your layout! By rotating the squares, you get to choose how to sew them together into your own composition. Our Mattress Stitch tutorial covers the technical aspect (a breeze!), and we suggest four layouts, but there are even more possibilities… Let your yarn guide you and follow your heart!

Knitter’s Choice Striped Blanket | Purl Soho

Chevrons, diagonals, diamonds, whatever you compose, the joy all along is Yonder in your hands.  A worsted weight spun up with three even plies, it is plump and springy, with a very satisfying, toothy feel!

Knitter’s Choice Striped Blanket | Purl Soho
Knitter’s Choice Striped Blanket | Purl Soho

And it knits up into the ideal fireside blanket, robust and warm. The highland wool is in for the long haul, while the alpaca adds a downy softness that will go straight to your heart!

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!

Knitter’s Choice Striped Blanket | Purl Soho
Knitter’s Choice Striped Blanket | Purl Soho

Designed for Purl Soho by Ksenia Naidyon, the talented designer behind Life Is Cozy, where she shares patterns for her beautiful hand knits, instructions for must-know stitch patterns, and reviews on needles, books, and notions… Everything we knitters love!

Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoKnittersChoiceStripedBlanket, and #PurlSohoYonder. We can’t wait to see what you make!

Materials

Knitter’s Choice Striped Blanket | Purl Soho

Our Knitter’s Choice Striped Blanket Bundle includes all the yarn you’ll need to make a Crib (Throw) blanket of your own…

  • Purl Soho’s Yonder, 50% alpaca and 50% highland wool. Each skein worsted/aran weight yarn is approximately 140 yards/ 100 grams.
    • Main Color (MC): 3 (9) skeins; approximately 390 (1260) total yards required.
    • Contrast Color 1 (CC1): 2 (5) skeins; approximately 195 (630) total yards required.
    • Contrast Color 2 (CC2): 2 (5) skeins; approximately 195 (630) total yards required.

You will also need…

NOTE: If you’re making the Throw size, be sure to check your gauge and consider leaving the last skein of each CC unwound until you are sure you need it. 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!

PALETTES

We came up with 9 gorgeous palettes, available in Crib and Throw size, each one shown above (in the Throw size). For our samples, we used Hearthstone, Velveteen Rabbit, First Mate, and Climbing Rose.

TOP ROW

PEPPERMINT STICK: MC in Heirloom White; CC1 in Pink Quartz; CC2 in Pink Earth

FLOUR SACK: MC in Heirloom White; CC1 in Winter Sage; CC2 in Pink Earth

FIRST MATE: MC in Heirloom White; CC1in Winter Sage; CC2 in Blue Brook

SECOND ROW

SEAHORSE: MC in Smoky Mauve; CC1 in Pink Quartz; CC2 in Mountain Rose

HEARTHSTONE: MC in Horse Trail; CC1 in Pink Earth; CC2 in Red Oak

VELVETEEN RABBIT: MC in Ginger Brown; CC1 in Mountain Rose; CC2 in Smoky Mauve

BOTTOM ROW

TABBY CAT: MC in Heirloom White; CC1 in Horse Trail; CC2 in Clove Brown

CLIMBING ROSE: MC in Pink Quartz; CC1 in Yellow Dune; CC2 in Kelp Forest

CHAMOMILE: MC in Kelp Forest; CC1 in Heirloom White; CC2 in Yellow Dune

OR INDIVIDUAL SKEINS

Knitter’s Choice Striped Blanket | Purl Soho

Another option is to pick up a Yonder palette of your own devising! Pick up 3 (9) skeins of the Main Color, then pick two Contrast Colors and get 2 (5) skeins of each.

GAUGE

16 stitches and 32 rows (16 ridges) = 4 inches in garter stitch, blocked

SIZES

Crib (Throw)

Finished Dimensions of Basic Square, blocked: 14 x 14 inches (25½ x 25½ inches)

Finished Dimensions of Blanket, blocked: 28¼ x 28¼ inches (51 x 51 inches)

Samples: We knit the Throw size for all of our blankets.

NOTES

CRIB VS THROW

If you decide to knit the Crib size, it will have the same number of stripes as our samples (which are all the Throw size), but the stripes will be thinner.

GARTER RIDGE

A “garter ridge” equals two rows of garter stitch. It looks like a prominent horizontal ridge and is an easy way to count rows!

KNITTING IN ENDS

To spare yourself weaving in ends later, we recommend knitting them in every time you join a new color, starting with the second stitch on your row. To knit in ends as you go, work the first stitch of the row as normal, then bring the non-working yarn over the working yarn at the wrong side of the work, so that when you knit the next stitch, the non-working yarn gets trapped behind the working yarn. Repeat for about 2 inches of knitting.

LAYOUT TEMPLATES

You will make four identical striped squares and then arrange them according to the Layout you like best!

KEY

Knitter’s Choice Striped Blanket | Purl Soho

LAYOUTS

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NOTE: For our Velveteen Rabbit blanket we used the top right Layout, but we accidentally mixed up our CC’s for the top right and bottom left squares. We still think it looks beautiful, but feel free to play around with what you prefer!

PATTERN

BASIC SQUARE

NOTE: For Stripes 1-8, you will be increasing, and for Stripes 9-16, you will be decreasing.

STRIPE 1: Contrast Color 1

With Contrast Color 1 (CC1), cast on 3 stitches. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.

Set-Up Row (wrong side): P3.

Row 1 (right side): K2, make 1 left (m1L), k1. [4 stitches]

Row 2 (wrong side): P2, m1L, p2. [5 stitches]

Row 3: K2, m1L, knit to last two stitches, make 1 right (m1R), k2. [2 stitches increased]

Row 4: P2, knit to last two stitches, p2.

Repeat Rows 3 and 4 two (6) more times, ending with Row 4. [11 (19) stitches]

Cut CC1, leaving a 2-inch tail.

STRIPE 2: Main Color

Join Main Color (MC), leaving a 2-inch tail.

Row 1 (right side): With MC and knitting in CC tail as you go (see Notes), k2, m1L, knit to last two stitches, m1R, k2. [13 (21) stitches]

Row 2 (wrong side): P2, knit to last two stitches, p2.

Row 3: Knitting in MC tail as you go, k2, m1L, knit to last two stitches, m1R, k2. [15 (23) stitches]

Row 4: P2, knit to last two stitches, p2.

Row 5: K2, m1L, knit to last two stitches, m1R, k2. [2 stitches increased]

Row 6: P2, knit to last two stitches, p2.

Repeat Rows 5 and 6 two (6) more times, ending with Row 6. [21 (37) stitches]

Cut MC, leaving a 2-inch tail.

STRIPE 3: Contrast Color 2

Join Contrast Color 2 (CC2), leaving a 2-inch tail.

Row 1 (right side): With CC2 and knitting in MC tail as you go, k2, m1L, knit to last two stitches, m1R, k2. [23 (39) stitches]

Row 2 (wrong side): P2, knit to last two stitches, p2.

Row 3: Knitting in CC2 tail as you go, k2, m1L, knit to last two stitches, m1R, k2. [25 (41) stitches]

Row 4: P2, knit to last two stitches, p2.

Row 5: K2, m1L, knit to last two stitches, m1R, k2. [2 stitches increased]

Row 6: P2, knit to last two stitches, p2.

Repeat Rows 5 and 6 two (6) more times, ending with Row 6. [31 (55) stitches]

Cut CC2, leaving a 2-inch tail.

STRIPE 4: Main Color

With MC, work as Stripe 2. [41 (73) stitches]

STRIPE 5: Contrast Color 1

With CC1, work as for Stripe 3 (substituting CC1 for CC2). [51 (91) stitches]

STRIPE 6: Main Color

With MC, work as for Stripe 2. [61 (109) stitches]

STRIPE 7: Contrast Color 2

With CC2, work as for Stripe 3. [71 (127) stitches]

STRIPE 8: Main Color

With MC, work as for Stripe 2. [81 (145) stitches]

STRIPE 9: Contrast Color 1

Join CC1, leaving a 2-inch tail.

Row 1 (right side): With CC1 and in MC tail as you go, knit to end of row.

Row 2 (wrong side): P2, knit to last two stitches, p2.

Row 3: Knitting in CC1 tail as you go, k1, slip slip knit (ssk), knit to last three stitches, knit 2 together (k2tog), k1. [143 stitches remain]

Row 4: P2, knit to last two stitches, p2.

Row 5: K1, ssk, knit to last three stitches, k2tog, k1. [2 stitches decreased]

Row 6: P2, knit to last two stitches, p2.

Repeat Rows 5 and 6 two (6) more times, ending with Row 6. [73 (129) stitches remain]

Cut CC1, leaving a 2-inch tail.

STRIPE 10: Main Color

Join MC, leaving a 2-inch tail.

Row 1 (right side): With MC and knitting in CC tail as you go, k1, ssk, knit to last three stitches, k2tog, k1. [71 (127) stitches remain]

Row 2 (wrong side): P2, knit to last two stitches, p2.

Row 3: Knitting in MC tail as you go, k1, ssk, knit to last three stitches, k2tog, k1. [69 (125) stitches remain]

Row 4: P2, knit to last two stitches, p2.

Row 5: K1, ssk, knit to last three stitches, k2tog, k1. [2 stitches decreased]

Row 6: P2, knit to last two stitches, p2.

Repeat Rows 5 and 6 two (6) more times, ending with Row 6. [63 (111) stitches remain]

Cut MC, leaving a 2-inch tail.

STRIPE 11: Contrast Color 2

Join CC2, leaving a 2-inch tail.

Row 1 (right side): With CC2 and knitting in MC tail as you go, k1, ssk, knit to last three stitches, k2tog, k1. [61 (109) stitches remain]

Row 2 (wrong side): P2, knit to last two stitches, p2.

Row 3: Knitting in CC2 tail as you go, k1, ssk, knit to last three stitches, k2tog, k1. [59 (107) stitches remain]

Row 4: P2, knit to last two stitches, p2.

Row 5: K1, ssk, knit to last three stitches, k2tog, k1. [2 stitches decreased]

Row 6: P2, knit to last two stitches, p2.

Repeat Rows 5 and 6 two (6) more times, ending with Row 6. [53 (93) stitches remain]

Cut CC, leaving a 2-inch tail.

STRIPE 12: Main Color

With MC, work as for Stripe 10. [43 (75) stitches remain]

STRIPE 13: Contrast Color 1

With CC1, work as for Stripe 11 (substituting CC1 for CC2). [33 (57) stitches remain]

STRIPE 14: Main Color

With MC, work as for Stripe 10. [23 (39) stitches remain]

STRIPE 15: Contrast Color 2

With CC2, work as for Stripe 11. [13 (21) stitches remain]

STRIPE 16: Main Color

Join MC, leaving a 2-inch tail.

Row 1 (right side): With MC and knitting in CC2 tail as you go, k1, ssk, knit to last three stitches, k2tog, k1. [11 (19) stitches remain]

Row 2 (wrong side): P2, knit to last two stitches, p2.

Row 3: Knitting in CC2 tail as you go, k1, ssk, knit to last three stitches, k2tog, k1. [9 (17) stitches remain]

Row 4: P2, knit to last two stitches, p2.

Row 5: K1, ssk, knit to last three stitches, k2tog, k1. [7 (15) stitches remain]

Row 6: P2, knit to last two stitches, p2.

THROW SIZE ONLY

Repeat Rows 5 and 6 four more times, ending with Row 6. [7 stitches remain]

ALL SIZES

Next Row (right side): K1, ssk, k1, k2tog, k1. [5 stitches remain]

Next Row: P1, purl 2 together, p2. [4 stitches remain]

Next Row: K1, k2tog, pass second stitch on right needle over first, pass the last stitch from left needle over stitch on right needle. [1 stitch remains]

Cut MC and pull through remaining stitch.

REPEAT

Repeat Basic Square 3 more times, for a total of 4 squares.

FINISHING

Weave in remaining ends and gently wet block squares to finished dimensions.

Arrange squares in your desired pattern using one of the Layout Templates (see Notes), and seam them together using a new length of MC yarn and Mattress Stitch.

Knitter’s Choice Striped Blanket | Purl Soho

LEARN ABOUT YONDER + ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL YARNS

Yonder has all the qualities that will touch your knitter’s heart! 50% highland wool and 50% alpaca, this worsted/aran-weight yarn has a robust and earthy feel that breathes and blooms while you knit… Very satisfying! Pick from 4 undyed tones straight from the animals who grew them, plus a palette of rich heathers dyed over those neutrals.

More Free Knitting Patterns

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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!