Noro Garter & Rib Blanket Knitting Pattern

Noro Garter & Rib Blanket

Project Overview

The Noro Garter & Rib Blanket is an easy-level knitting project designed as a seamless, flat-worked blanket constructed from the bottom up. This throw-sized blanket measures approximately 36 x 48 inches (91 x 122 centimeters), making it an ideal size for draping over furniture or providing warmth during relaxation.

What Is Being Made

This project creates a rectangular blanket featuring a combination of garter stitch and ribbed stitch patterns. The blanket is worked flat on a circular needle, eliminating the need for seaming while allowing crafters to work with a large number of stitches comfortably. The finished piece showcases the beautiful color variations characteristic of Noro yarn, with the stitch pattern creating visual texture and interest throughout.

Techniques Used

• Bottom-up construction: The blanket is begun at one edge and worked toward the opposite edge, allowing you to try on or measure progress as you knit.
• Seamless, flat-worked design: Rather than knitting separate pieces and seaming them together, this blanket is created as one continuous piece, eliminating finishing steps and ensuring a polished appearance.
• Circular needle accommodation: A circular needle is used not for working in the round, but to accommodate the large number of stitches required for the blanket's width, making the project more manageable than working with straight needles.
• Slip stitch edge technique: Selvage stitches are incorporated along the edges, which are slipped purlwise with yarn held in front. This edge treatment helps create neat, finished-looking sides and makes any future seaming easier if desired.

Stitches Used

• Garter stitch: Created by knitting every row, garter stitch produces a textured, bumpy fabric with excellent drape and elasticity. This stitch is beginner-friendly and works beautifully with variegated yarns.
• Ribbed stitch: Ribs are formed by alternating knit and purl stitches in vertical columns, creating a stretchy, textured fabric that adds visual interest and dimension to the blanket.
• Slip stitches: Stitches are slipped purlwise (inserted as if to purl without working them) to create clean, finished edges.
• Yarn overs and decreases: The pattern may incorporate yarn overs (creating new stitches by placing yarn over the needle) and decreases such as slip, slip, knit (ssk) to shape or add textural elements to the design.

Materials

Yarn: The blanket requires 6 skeins of Noro Kureyon Air in colorway #40, with each skein weighing 100 grams. Noro Kureyon Air is known for its beautiful hand-dyed color variations that shift throughout the yarn, creating a naturally striped or variegated effect in the finished blanket without any additional color work required from the knitter.

Needles: One US size 15 (10mm) circular needle measuring 40 inches (100 centimeters) in length is required. The circular needle's length accommodates the blanket's width while the needle size works with the yarn to achieve the correct gauge.

Gauge: The pattern is worked at a gauge of 8 stitches and 12 rows over 4 inches (10 centimeters) in stockinette stitch using a US 15/10mm needle. Checking gauge before beginning is essential to ensure the finished blanket reaches the intended dimensions.

Difficulty Level

This project is marked as EASY, making it suitable for knitters with basic stitch knowledge. The straightforward combination of garter and rib stitches, along with the seamless construction that eliminates finishing complexity, makes this an accessible project for intermediate beginners and beyond.