Knitting Prairie Stripes Throw Pattern

Knitting Prairie Stripes Throw Pattern by Lion Brand

Project Overview

The Lion Brand Homespun Prairie Stripes Knit Afghan is a downloadable knitting pattern (Item #1114A) designed to create a finished throw blanket measuring 39 inches by 58 inches. This project combines classic stripe work with decorative borders, making it an ideal intermediate-level knitting project for crafters seeking a substantial finished piece with visual interest through color blocking.

Materials Required

This pattern uses Lion Brand Homespun yarn (Art. No. 790), a bulky-weight yarn supplied in 6-ounce skeins. The color palette consists of four coordinating shades:

• Prairie (Color A, #335) — 3 skeins
• Gothic (Color B, #334) — 2 skeins
• Plantation (Color C, #327) — 2 skeins
• Antique (Color D, #307) — 3 skeins

Knitters will need size 10 U.S. (size 4 U.K.) knitting needles measuring 6.00 mm, or the size required to achieve proper gauge. The pattern emphasizes checking gauge before beginning, as proper tension is essential for the finished dimensions.

Gauge and Tension

The pattern specifies a gauge of 10.8 stitches and 17.6 rows per 4 inches in stockinette stitch when worked on size 10 needles. Achieving this gauge is critical to ensure the afghan reaches its intended finished size of 39 by 58 inches.

Knitting Techniques and Stitches

This afghan employs fundamental knitting techniques suitable for intermediate crafters. The main body is worked in stockinette stitch (knit on right-side rows, purl on wrong-side rows), which creates the smooth, classic fabric that serves as the foundation for the striped color work. The borders utilize garter stitch (knitting every row), producing a textured, ridged edge that frames the piece.

The pattern incorporates color striping, where the knitter changes yarn colors at specified intervals to create horizontal bands of Prairie, Gothic, Plantation, and Antique throughout the afghan body. This technique requires careful attention to row counts and color sequence to maintain the intended design.

Additional techniques include picking up stitches along the edges of the completed afghan body to create the four borders, and increasing stitches (one stitch at each end of alternating rows) within the border sections to add subtle shaping. The pattern concludes with binding off and seaming the corner edges of the borders together for a finished appearance.

Afghan Body Construction

The afghan body begins with casting on 105 stitches in color A (Prairie) and working in stockinette stitch. The color sequence is repeated twice through the piece, creating a symmetrical design. The stripe pattern includes multiple repeats of two-color combinations (Prairie and Gothic), followed by three-color sections (Plantation and Antique with Prairie), and concludes with a complex multi-row sequence alternating between Antique, Plantation, and Prairie before the final Prairie and Gothic repeats.

Border Construction

Once the main afghan body is complete, four separate borders are added. The upper and lower borders are created by picking up 105 stitches along the top and bottom edges, then working in garter stitch with a coordinated color sequence (4 rows Prairie, 6 rows Gothic, 6 rows Antique). The side borders pick up 193 stitches along each long edge and follow the same color and stitch pattern. Stitches are increased one at each end every other row to create a subtle flare. All borders are bound off, and the short edges of the borders are sewn together at the corners for a polished finish.

Finished Design

The completed Prairie Stripes afghan showcases horizontal color bands in warm, earthy tones that evoke prairie landscapes. The garter stitch borders in coordinating colors frame the stockinette body, adding textural contrast and a professional finishing touch to this substantial throw blanket.