Blocks and Stripes Blanket Knitting Pattern

Blocks and Stripes Blanket Knitting Pattern

Project Overview

The Blocks and Stripes Blanket is an advanced beginner knitting project designed by Linda Medina and published by Cascade Yarns. This finished blanket measures 43 inches wide by 60 inches long, making it an ideal size for a cozy throw or lap blanket. The design combines solid color blocks with striped sections to create visual interest and a modern aesthetic suitable for various home décor styles.

Materials and Yarn Requirements

This pattern uses Cascade Yarns Pacific Chunky, a blend of 60% acrylic and 40% superwash merino wool. The yarn comes in 100-gram skeins (3.5 ounces each). The color palette includes five distinct shades:

• 5 skeins of Color #70 Blue (main color)
• 3 skeins of Color #02 White
• 3 skeins of Color #48 Black
• 2 skeins of Color #25 Orange
• 2 skeins of Color #33 Green

The yarn's superwash merino content provides durability and easy care, while the acrylic blend offers affordability and accessibility for knitters of all experience levels.

Needles and Gauge

The pattern requires Size 10 straight needles and a Size 10 circular needle measuring 29 inches. The circular needle is used for picking up stitches along the blanket edges for the border sections. The recommended gauge is 15 stitches and 18 rows per 4 inches. Each individual block measures 13 inches wide by 14 inches long, constructed from 50 stitches and 64 rows.

Construction Technique and Structure

This blanket is constructed using a strip-based assembly method rather than knitting as a single piece. The blanket is divided into three vertical strips, each containing four distinct blocks. This modular approach makes the project more manageable and reduces the number of stitches on the needle at any given time, which is particularly helpful for advanced beginners.

Once all three strips are completed, they are sewn together to form the finished blanket. The pattern includes a selvedge stitch on each side of the strips, which serves a practical purpose: these edge stitches create clean, finished edges that are easy to sew together and provide anchor points for picking up stitches when adding borders.

Stitch Pattern

The blanket employs a simple two-row repeating stitch pattern that alternates between knit and purl rows:

• Row 1 (Right Side): Slip the first stitch knitwise, then knit across the entire row
• Row 2: Slip the first stitch knitwise, purl to the last stitch, then knit the final stitch

This pattern is repeated 32 times (64 rows total) for solid color blocks. The slipped stitch at the beginning of each row creates a neat, chain-like edge that contributes to the professional appearance of the finished blanket. The combination of knit and purl rows creates a subtle texture that adds visual depth to solid color sections.

Block Variations and Color Blocking

The blanket features two distinct block types: solid color blocks and striped blocks. The solid color blocks are worked entirely in one color using the stitch pattern repeated 32 times. The striped blocks alternate between two colors every 8 rows, creating a pattern of thin horizontal stripes. Each stripe block consists of four color changes, resulting in eight total stripes per block.

Strip 1 progresses through Green, White and Black stripes, Orange, and White and Black stripes again. Strip 2 begins with White and Black stripes, followed by a large Blue block, another striped section, and concludes with a final Blue block. Strip 3 starts with Orange, transitions to stripes, features a Green block, and ends with another striped section. This arrangement creates a balanced, visually interesting composition when the strips are sewn together.

Finishing and Borders

After all three strips are completed and sewn together, the blanket receives border sections. The pattern instructions note that stitches