I love to knit baby blankets. There is nothing quite so special as handing a blanket over to new parents, knowing that what you’ve knitted will go everywhere with that child, sharing love with them even when you cannot be near. My children still use their baby blankets, even now they are much bigger: they snuggle with them, make tents out of them, and trail them round the house.

Gráinne’s (Grawn-ya) Blanket is simple to knit, featuring an easy textured pattern that uses only knit and purl stitches and is quite intuitive once you get going. I took the blanket project everywhere with me for a couple of weeks, and, as if by magic, a whole blanket had emerged.

The blanket is knitted from the bottom up with an integrated moss stitch border, so the only finishing this blanket needs is to have the ends woven in and a quick block!

The pattern is written for two sizes. Instructions are also included on how to make a custom-size blanket.

Sizes

• Small: 58.5 x 56 cm (23.25 x 22.25 in)
• Large: 78.5 x 72.5 cm (31.25 x 29 in)

Instructions are also included for you to make a custom-size blanket.

Tension

• 18 sts and 24 rows = 10 cm (4 in) in stocking stitch
• 18 sts and 27 rows = 10 cm (4 in) in Gráinne’s pattern worked flat on 5 mm (US 8) needles after wet blocking, or size needed to obtain correct tension.

One pattern repeat (18 sts x 22 rows) measures 10 x 8 cm (4 x 3.25 in)

Yarn
440 (760) m 485 (835) yds of aran-weight yarn

This blanket is knitted using a wool-acrylic blend with the following characteristics:

• Smooth for good pattern definition
• Machine washable for easy care
• Not too loosely spun to ensure it wears well You can use any aran-weight yarn for this pattern.

Needles
5 mm (US 8) circular needle at least 40 (60) cm 16 (24) in in length

Notions
7 (9) stitch markers (2 markers are for the border, so you may wish to use markers that are a different colour to the other markers)

Pattern notes
The instructions are for the smallest size, with larger sizes in parentheses Small (Large).

The blanket is knitted flat, but a circular needle is used to accommodate the large number of sts.

The sample is knitted in Paintbox Yarns Wool Mix Aran (50% wool, 50% acrylic; 180 m per 100 g ball) in shade 821 Daffodil Yellow.

Instructions are also included for making a custom size blanket.