You’d think with a nine-month warning that I really shouldn’t be stressing about a gift for baby on the baby’s due date and praying the baby’s overdue? I didn’t write that. But I’ve lamented over this before. I don’t blame the baby for not giving me enough time. Really! I blame myself and my time management skills (which are always overdue).
So what’s a procrastinator to do? Knit a seriously simple blanket that can be made the weekend before that baby makes its way out, that’s what.
I designed this blanket to be the perfect baby gift and it meets all my criteria for Awesome Baby Blanket:
1. super soft and snuggly
2. machine washable (Mom-Friendly)
3. simple, mindless knitting (I can finish these blankets in just a few days of intense knitting, but it’s going to be worked on everywhere: couch, car, standing in line at the post office.)
4. babies love it (Baby-Friendly)
5. wins “baby shower” every time.
The pattern is a simple stockinette square, trimmed with a nice garter-stitch border. It’s a classic that really will become a child’s favorite “blankie.” (This is why we knit.) The pattern is a mere 100 rows, so it’s easy to break up the knitting and conquer (10 rows a night, or 25 rows a night, you get the idea). I chose a chunky, super-soft acrylic yarn that knits up quickly and has a nice hand. Thanks to the the silky texture of the yarn, and the garter stitch border, this blanket has a really beautiful drape.
A last-minute project that makes procrastinators look good.
Simple Square Baby Blanket
Yarn: Lion Brand Hometown USA: (100% acrylic; 81 yds [74m]/142 g.): Monterey Lime, 4 skeins
Needles: size 13 circular needle
Gauge: 8 sts/4” in ss
Dimensions: 30″ square
Directions:
CO 64
Knit 7 rows in garter stitch.
Row 8: k 4, k 56, k4
Row 9: k4, p 56, k4
Rep. last two rows 42 more times (93 rows worked)
Knit 7 rows in garter stitch.
BO.
Finishing:
Weave in ends.
Handmade by Anne Potter 
Do you need to block this blanket?
I didn’t because I was lazy, and this particular yarn relaxed very well on its own. That said, blocking is ALWAYS a good idea. Thank you for the reminder!
I’ve always heard that you don’t need to block acrylics. I stand by that :v
I love a good acrylic yarn!
How much would the pattern be affected by using size 11 or 15 needles? I have those two sizes, but not 13.
Good question! I can’t tell you the exact difference in size because I don’t know what your gauge is. BUT I think either size would be a good substitute. Cast on a few less if you’re using the 15s – you’ll have a looser gauge. Cast on a few more if you’re using the 11s -you’ll have a tighter gauge. I would keep the border stitches the same either way. Then, just knit until you have a square (or close). Happy knitting!
I’m a naughty knitter, I never gauge swatch. I’m more of a jump in and hope for the best type 😉 Thanks 🙂
Why are cable needles used? I am a beginner and have never used them nor know what the difference is. Can I use regular knitting needles?
I’m so glad you wrote because you caught a mistake that I made – thank you! I should have written “circular” needle, not “cable” needle in the original pattern, and I’ve since corrected it. You are exactly right: this is not a pattern for cable needles! Thank you again for catching this – I appreciate it!
in row 8 are you just knitting all the way across?
Yes, you are. The reason I wrote Row 8 as “k4, k56, k4” is because you are done with the garter stitch border and are now commencing the pattern for the rest of the blanket (until the last garter stitch border). You will repeat Row 8 for every even row until Row 94.
I loved this pattern. Whipped up a blanket for my nephew in two days. I messed up a wool blanket and this pattern was perfect! I used Bernat Baby Blanket, it’s the fluffy one that feels like chenille. It came out perfect! I can’t even say how cute and soft. If you’re knitting for a newborn, I strongly suggest knitting in Bernat baby blanket yarn. I looked at the yarn suggested in the store and bernat, and I just went with Bernat because it was on sale. I’m so glad I did, it came out like a fluffy soft pillow! It has a nice give to it and it lays so nice. Thank you for this pattern! Simple, quick, cute, and warm! New parents are going to love it. This one will be my go-to pattern for baby showers!!
Hi, the size of the needles is that UK or US size? Thank you.
US! I’m sorry for the omissions and I’ll change that right away. Thank you for catching that!
Hi! I’m a beginner knitter, and was wondering if you can knit this pattern with straight needles or do you absolutely need circular needles? Thanks!
The reason I recommend circular needles is to hold this many stitches. 64 stitches in a bulky yarn just won’t comfortably fit on straight needles, so that’s why I go with circular needles.
I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but someone has taken your pattern and your project pictures and claimed them as their own.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/love-you-to-the-moon–back
If you report this to ravelry, they will remove the stolen photo, it’s against their rules, but the copyright holder has to make the claim.
Thank you so much for alerting me to this! I appreciate it 🙂
I thought the blanket would be round if knitted on a circular needle? Not square?
OK I found a tutorial on how to use a circular needle for “straight” knitting projects
like a blanket. Thanks. Never done that before.
This is a great question. I recommend using circular needles for this project JUST so all those stitches fit, and NOT so the blanket will actually be knit around. To knit a piece in the round you would need to “connect” the first stitch of the row to the last, forming a continuous circle, and knit as such. For this project we knit back and forth (without forming a circle) so it is knit “flat.”
Can you tell me how to make this bigger? I wanted something about 36×36.
Changing the size is quite easy on this blanket. For a 36″ square blanket, I would CO 78 and knit for 120 rows – that should do it. For simplicity sake, I would keep the garter stitch borders the same. So rows 1-7 are the same, and row 8 would knit as k4, k70, k4; and row 9 would knit as k4, p70, k4, etc.
I really want to use this pattern but I am using different yarn. I am a newbie so am having trouble figuring out how to convert teh directions and was hoping you could help. I am using Lion Brand Baby soft Boucle yarn. I did the stitch conversion chart and got this as a result, but am still not sure how to follow the directions.
Knitting Pattern Convertor
Stitches
Your stitch conversion factor is 1.5.
Cast on 96 stitches.
To create a piece 30 inches wide, you will need 360 stitches.
Rows
Your row conversion factor is 1.5.
For every 97 rows worked according to the pattern, you will need to work 145 rows.
To create a piece 30 inches long, you will need to work 240 rows.
Hi Kendra! Thank you for writing and this project is very good for a beginner.
I am not looking at a skein of Lion Baby Soft Boucle right now, so I can’t confirm that the calculator is correct, but those usually are very accurate. So . . . it’s probably right and you can certainly follow the pattern as the calculator suggests.
OR
You can double (or triple) your yarn. If you double your yarn, you would probably be able to knit a blanket in a similar gauge to the original, with a lot less stitches and rows.
To figure the new substitution out, knit a swatch with two strands of the baby boucle yarn held together, on size 13 needles (or a similarly large size needle). Knit, and convert. The original has a gauge of 2 stitches to the inch. You’re shooting for (about) a 30″ square, so determine your gauge (how many stitches you just knit per inch) and do the math from there. Three stitches per inch? CO about 90 stitches. Two and a half stitches per inch? CO about 75.
To determine how many stitches are in the garter stitch border, start by knitting as many rows as you like in garter stitch to make the horizontal border. Measure how tall the border is. 2″ maybe? Now convert that to stitches by looking at your gauge. How many stitches makes 2″? (Important note: rows and stitches work up differently – 8 rows will not equal 8 stitches.) That will be the garter stitch count on either side of your blanket to make the vertical border. So maybe you will establish the pattern for the body of the blanket as: k 6, p 53, k 6, or something like that.
Good luck and happy knitting! Blankets are forgiving, so even if it doesn’t work up as expected, a blanket has one job to do: just be cozy.
Hello,
I made this project and used five colors for stripes. I love it! Thank you so much for an easy to follow quick pattern. I posted it on Ravelry, but I did credit you with the pattern. Thank you!!
Hi Kimberlee!
Thank you for writing and I’m so happy you’ve adapted this for stripes! I bet it’s beautiful! Thank you, thank you, and please share pics if you like 🙂