String Slipped Stitch Baby Blanket Knitting Pattern

String Slipped Stitch Baby Blanket

Project Overview

The String Slipped Stitch Baby Blanket is a seamless, bottom-up knitted throw designed by Lidia Karabinech. This 32" × 32" square blanket showcases elegant striped colorwork using the slipped stitch technique, creating a refined texture perfect for a nursery or as a gift. The design is worked flat on circular needles and features a straightforward construction that builds from the cast-on edge to completion.

What Is Being Made

This project creates a finished baby blanket measuring 32 inches by 32 centimeters in both width and length. The blanket is a flat, square textile suitable for swaddling, crib use, or decorative display. The finished piece combines two complementary colors—pale pink and smoke heather—to create a sophisticated striped pattern with visual depth.

Techniques Used

• Bottom-up construction: The blanket is built from the cast-on edge upward, allowing knitters to easily adjust length before binding off
• Seamless, flat knitting: Worked entirely on a single piece without seaming, using circular needles in the flat method
• Striped colorwork: Two colors are alternated in repeating pattern rows, with contrasting yarn carried along the side edge rather than cut between color changes
• Slipped stitch patterning: Stitches are slipped purlwise with yarn in back to create a textured, refined appearance that adds visual interest without complex color techniques
• Yarn carrying: The non-working color is twisted every two rows along the edge, maintaining neat selvage edges and reducing bulk

Stitches Used

• Knit stitch (k): The foundation stitch used throughout the blanket, including the garter stitch borders
• Purl stitch (p): Creates the reverse texture in the pattern rows and contributes to the slipped stitch pattern definition
• Slipped stitch (slip 1 st purlwise wyib): Stitches are slipped purlwise with yarn held in back, creating elongated stitches that form the distinctive textured stripe pattern
• Garter stitch: Used for the top and bottom borders (10 rows each) and the side borders, providing a stable, reversible edge

Pattern Structure

The blanket begins with a cast-on of 135 stitches in Color A (pale pink), followed by 10 rows of garter stitch to establish the bottom border. The main pattern then repeats an 8-row sequence: two rows in Color B (smoke heather) featuring the slipped stitch pattern, followed by six rows in Color A repeating the same stitch pattern. This creates balanced, alternating color blocks. The core pattern repeats until the blanket approaches the desired finished length, ending after a Color B pattern row. The blanket concludes with 10 rows of garter stitch in Color A for the top border, then side borders are picked up and worked perpendicular to the main body.

Materials

The String Slipped Stitch Baby Blanket is crafted from STRING CLASSICA, a luxurious 100% cashmere yarn. The project requires 6 balls of Color A (pale pink, 201167) and 2 balls of Color B (smoke heather, 200072). Each ball contains 1.75 ounces (50 grams) and yields 125 yards (115 meters), providing a total of approximately 875 yards of cashmere for the complete blanket. The yarn is worked on one 7 (4.5 mm) 32-inch circular needle, or a size adjusted to match the required gauge of 18 stitches and 24 rows per 4 inches (10 centimeters) in pattern stitch. A yarn needle is needed for weaving in ends, and light steam finishing is recommended to enhance the final appearance.

Finishing

After binding off, all loose ends are woven in securely using a yarn needle. The completed blanket receives a light steam blocking to even out the texture and set the stitches, enhancing the refined appearance of the slipped stitch pattern and ensuring a polished, professional finish.