How to Knit the “Ellis” Baby Blanket – Free Knitting PAttern and Video tutorial!

***You can purchase an INEXPENSIVE AD-FREE PDF of this pattern on Ravelry HERE or Etsy HERE***

I absolutely love combining variations of traditional knit stitch patterns together to create baby blankets. There’s a wealth of traditional stitches out there to choose from, and combining two together to create something different is always incredibly satisfying.

For a while now I’ve been wanting to incorporate sections of purl ridge stitch into a blanket, and when I created my tutorial for Garter Block Stitch I knew that it would complement the simplicity of Purl Ridge Stitch perfectly. Just like that Ellis was born.

Ellis is a 26 row repeat, so this definitely isn’t a pattern that I’d recommend tackling as your first big project. It requires being able to follow along row by row, and also an understanding of working out where in the repeat you are.

Even though I wouldn’t class this as a beginner blanket, it still consists of just knit and purl stitches. This simplicity makes it the perfect blanket pattern to knit once you’re confident with following along with a knitting pattern, and have maybe tackled a couple of slightly more simple designs (Willow, Taylor and Stanley are great to tackle before Ellis)

IS THIS PATTERN REVERSIBLE?

I get a lot of people asking if my blankets are reversible, so I thought it might be useful to include a little snapshot of what the back looks like.

As with a lot of my blankets, Ellis is not a reversible design, the back is a lot plainer than the front. That being said, the reverse isn’t ugly or messy in any way, it just doesn’t match the texture of the front.

Right Side

Wrong Side

Yarn and Sizing Tips & Tricks

The Ellis baby blanket pattern is knitted all in one piece, from bottom to top. In order to accommodate all your stitches, I recommend using a set of circular needles (at least 100cm long) as straight needles just won’t be long enough to fit your stitches on comfortably.

I’ve chosen DK (aka Double Knitting, Light Worsted, 3 Weight) yarn for this project, but don’t let that stop you from knitting it in your own preferred weight of yarn.

My instructions produce a baby blanket approximately 60cm x 80cm, perfect for using as a cot, pram or travel blanket. But don’t let that stop you from knitting this blanket in any size you want! I think it would look great scaled up as a Sofa Throw, Quilt or Bedspread!

I’ve deliberately designed this knitting pattern to be super easy for you to adjust the size of your blanket to whatever size you want/need.

To make the blanket longer, you’ll need to work more repeats of the Middle Section (the top and bottom border are worked the same regardless of the size of blanket you knit).

To adjust the width of your blanket you’ll need to cast on more (or indeed less) stitches, it can easily be done using the pattern multiple of 6+3 for the middle textured panel, and an additional 18 stitches (9 for each side) for the garter stitch edging.

Pin for Later

Not ready to knit this blanket just yet? Why not pin this image to your Pinterest so you can find it easily when you’re ready to sit down and cast on!

MATERIALS NEEDED:

• 4mm (US Size 6) Circular Needles (to recreate this blanket 80-100cm is a perfect length)
• 400g of DK Yarn (800-1000m approx) – I used King Cole Cherished in Grey.
• 2 Stitch Markers
• Scissors & Tapestry Needle for sewing in ends

Written Pattern

STITCHES USED

• k – knit
• p – purl
• sl1pwyf – slip one purlwise with yarn in front.
• Pm – place marker
• Sm – slip marker

Bottom Garter Stitch Border:

Foundation Row: Cast on 135 stitches (I like to use the Long Tail cast-on method)

Knit 15 rows as follows: k until final stitch, sl1pwyf.

Main Pattern Repeat:

Row 1 (RS): k9, sm, k until 2nd marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 2 (WS): k9, sm, p until 2nd marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 3-5: k9, sm, k until 2nd marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 6: k9, sm, p until 2nd marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 7-9: k9, sm, k until 2nd marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 10: k9, sm, p until 2nd marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 11-13: k9, sm, k until 2nd marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 14: k9, sm, k3, *p3, k3* repeat from *to* until 2nd marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 15: k9, sm, k until 2nd marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 16: k9, sm, k3, *p3, k3* repeat from *to* until 2nd marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 17: k9, sm, k until 2nd marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 18: k9, sm, p3, *k3, p3* repeat from *to* until 2nd marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 19: k9, sm, k until 2nd marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 20: k9, sm, p3, *k3, p3* repeat from *to* until 2nd marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf.

Row 21: k9, sm, k until 2nd marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 22: k9, sm, k3, *p3, k3* repeat from *to* until 2nd marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 23: k9, sm, k until 2nd marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 24: k9, sm, k3, *p3, k3* repeat from *to* until 2nd marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 25-26: k9, sm, k until 2nd marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Repeat Rows 1-26 a total of 9 times, and then work Rows 1-11 once more before moving onto the top border.

Top Garter Stitch Border:

Knit 15 rows as follows: K until final stitch, sl1pwyf. (Remove stitch markers when knitting first row).

Final row (Row 16) Cast off knit wise with right side facing.

I hope you love Riley just as much as I do! If you’re looking for more knitted baby blanket inspiration then why not take a look at Harvey, Taylor or Noah.

video tutorial

Want to browse all of my free knitted baby blanket patterns and more? See them HERE!