How to Knit the “Toby” Baby Blanket [Free Video Tutorial & Written Pattern!]

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

Clean modern lines, and bags of texture make Toby one of my favourite blankets I’ve knitted to date. I’ve combined Seed, Garter and Stockinette stitch in stripes of varying thickness to give a blanket that’s great for an adventurous beginner wanting to practice the skills they’ve learnt, or a more experienced knitter looking for a soothing easy knit.

For me, texture is really important in a baby blanket, it’s easy to forget that this is a tactile item that a small human gets to feel as they’re snuggled in it. I like to think that the differing textured in a knitted blanket are interesting to a baby just discovering the world around them. Seed stitch has a particularly fun bumpy texture that hopefully little fingers will enjoy exploring, and the dense texture means they can do so safely.

Unusually for me, I’ve gone for a pastel shade of blue, I’m normally drawn to bright, bold colours for my knits, but I cast this on just as 1989 Taylors Version was released, and as a long time fan, I’d be lying if I said the pale blue of the album colour didn’t influence my colour choice for this blanket (!)

yarn and sizing tips & tricks

The Toby 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 by casting on an ODD number of stitches for the middle textured panel, and then adding an additional 18 stitches (9 for each side) for the garter stitch edging.

The super simple pattern repeat makes the Louis baby blanket knitting pattern ideal for when you really don’t want to have to sit and work out how many stitches you need to achieve the perfect size.

pin for later

Not ready to knit the Toby baby 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 Circular Needs (to recreate this blanket 100cm is a perfect length)
• 400g of DK Yarn – I used King Cole Cherished in Baby Blue
• Scissors & Tapestry Needle for sewing in ends
• 2 Stitch Markers

written pattern

Stitches Used

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

Bottom Edge

Foundation Row: Cast on 133 stitches.

Knit 15 rows as follows: K until final stitch, sl1pwyf

Main Pattern Repeat

Row 1 (Setup Row): k9, pm, k until 9 stitches remain, pm, k8, sl1pwyf. 

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

Row 3: k9, sm, k until next marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 4: k9, sm, p until next marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 5: k9, sm, p1, *k1,p1* repeat from *to* until next marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 6: k9, sm, p1, *k1,p1* repeat from *to* until next marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 7: k9, sm, p1, *k1,p1* repeat from *to* until next marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 8: k9, sm, p1, *k1,p1* repeat from *to* until next marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 9: k9, sm, p1, *k1,p1* repeat from *to* until next marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 10: k9, sm, p1, *k1,p1* repeat from *to* until next marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 11: k9, sm, k until next marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Row 12: k9, sm, p until next marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Rows 13-16: k9, sm, k until next marker, sm, k8, sl1pwyf

Repeat Rows 1 – 16 15 times in total (slipping markers on row 1 instead of placing them), and then work rows 1-12 once more before moving on to top border.

Top Edge

Knit 16 rows as follows: K until final stitch, sl1pwyf.

Final row (Row 17): Cast off knit wise with right side facing.

I hope you love Toby 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!