Window Seat Blanket: Simple, modern and easy to knit!
The Window Seat blanket is very easy to knit with worsted weight yarn. Modern…with clean lines…it’s a great choice for baby blanket projects, throw blankets and large afghans. The knitting pattern includes instructions for six blanket sizes. Read all the details below!
This blanket design features lots of garter stitch and some simple pattern changes that create little ‘windows’ throughout the center of the blanket.
INSPIRATION FOR THE PATTERN NAME:
The window seat at my grandmother's house stretched across the entire width of the living room. The built in bench...with well loved, upholstered cushions...was the perfect spot for reading a book or playing cards. In my memories, my sweet grandmother is there sitting next to me and we're each sketching the view of the lake. In the evening, we watched the sunset and the view evolved from a bright glow of orange to a varying rainbow of colors. It was always a different scene from one evening to the next...the colors changing with the clouds. Each night, as the sky grew darker, the old windows over the window seat were transformed to a wall of glistening, inky dark blue...and we played cards late into the night.
Window Seat blanket is very easy to knit. The pattern includes instructions for 6 blanket sizes. Click here to purchase the pattern on Ravelry.
SIX BLANKET SIZES:
Approximate sizes after blocking:
Baby: 28” wide x 32.25” long
Small (Crib/Lap): 31.25” wide x 36” long
Medium: 34.5” wide x 37.25” long
Large: 37.75” wide x 41” long
XL: 41” wide x 43.5” long
XXL: 44.25” wide x 48.5” long
Finished size may vary depending on yarn weight and gauge used.
Any of the blanket sizes may be made longer by adding pattern repeats. Each pattern repeat adds about 1.25” to the length of the blanket. The pattern includes estimates for additional yardage needed to make blankets longer.
WORSTED WEIGHT YARN:
Baby: 750 - 770 yards
Small (Crib/Lap): 920 - 950 yards
Medium: 1020 - 1060 yards
Large: 1250 - 1300 yards
XL: 1420 - 1470 yards
XXL: 1750 - 1850 yards
Be sure to buy additional yarn if you plan to add length to your blanket.
I used Malabrigo Rios pure merino superwash in the 'Azul Profundo' colorway. This yarn is gorgeous! It's very soft and machine washable...and the selection of beautiful colorways is outstanding.
The pattern may also be used with DK or Aran weight yarns. Select the needle size that gives the best appearance for your yarn. Finished size and amount of yarn needed may vary depending on yarn choice and gauge….so buy extra yarn just in case!
The stitch pattern will show up best with a solid color yarn or a yarn with subtle color variations.
See more yarn options in my blog post about 25+ Worsted Weight Yarns for Blanket Knitting.
NEEDLES AND GAUGE:
The project is worked flat, back and forth on circular knitting needles. Circular knitting needles are necessary in order to accommodate the large number of stitches for a blanket. Read my blog post on knitting flat, back and forth with circular needles.
I used US size 9 knitting needles and had a gauge of about 15 stitches & 25-26 rows = 4”. US 8 needles would also be an option with worsted weight yarn.
This pattern will work well with many worsted, Aran or DK weight yarns. Do some test knitting and pick the needle size that gives the best appearance for your choice of yarn and your knitting tension.
My favorite metal tipped circular knitting needles that I've purchase recently for other projects are Knitter's Pride Nova Platina circular needles.
Pick the needle size that works best for your yarn and knitting tension. The only way to confirm which needle size will be the best for your project is to do a little test knitting.
Test knit by casting on about 25 stitches and working in garter stitch for a couple inches. The yarn label should have a suggested needle size...that's always a good place to start. If you think your stitches are too loose, change to one needle size smaller. If you think your stitches are too tight, move to one needle size larger.
For this blanket pattern, exact gauge is not essential. Focus on the appearance of your knitting with your yarn. Pick the needle size that works best for you.
If your gauge is 17 or more stitches per inch you may want to follow the directions for one or two sizes larger than your desired finished size.
If your gauge is 13 or fewer stitches per inch you could follow the directions for one or two sizes smaller than your desired finished size.
In either case, if your gauge is significantly different than 15 stitches to 4 inches...you many end up needing more...or less...yarn.
Window Seat blanket knitting pattern for worsted weight yarn. Click to purchase the pattern.
BLOCKING SUGGESTED:
Blocking of the finished blanket is suggested but not essential with this pattern.
Click here to see all of my blocking tips including step-by-step photos.
CUSTOMER PROJECTS!
As of April 2020, the Window Seat pattern has a 5 out of 5 overall and clarity rating on Ravelry.
One Ravelry knitter is working on a Window Seat blanket using a lovely shade of light yellow. The light color yarn allows the stitch pattern to show up beautifully.
Deanna shared this beautiful Window Seat blanket project (below) on her @knittingsurprise Instagram account. Her blanket looks lovely in Lion Brand Wool-Ease worsted in the ‘Succulent’ colorway.
This blanket was made by Deanna of @knittingsuprise. It looks fabulous in Lion Brand’s Wool-Ease worsted in the ‘Succulent’ colorway!
“Wonderful pattern. Easy to follow, easy to do, but enough interest not to be boring for a large project.”
“Great fun knit! Easy to whip up and turned out really great.”
I would love to see your Window Seat blanket knitting project! Share your project on Ravelry and on Instagram with tags: #windowseatblanket #fiftyfourtenstudio and @fiftyfourtenstudio.
Window Seat blanket knitting pattern - click here to purchase the pattern on Ravelry.
SKILLS NEEDED:
Window Seat blanket pattern is very easy to knit! This is a great pattern for beginners who know how to knit and purl confidently.
You will need to know how to cast on stitches (I use long tail cast-on method but another method can work also), knit and purl confidently, change back and forth from knit to purl in the middle of a row, read a row by row knitting pattern, transition to a new ball of yarn, cast off stitches and weave in ends.
STITCH MARKERS RECOMMENDED:
Even though it is an easy pattern, some ring style stitch markers are very helpful to keep track of the pattern! You will save a lot of time counting stitches if you place some ring style markers where the pattern indicates to change from knit to purl.
I used a lot of stitch markers to keep track of the stitch pattern. Stitch markers eliminate the need to count and reduce the chance of making a mistake!
If you have not used stitch markers before, this is a great project to give them a try! It’s a very easy stitch pattern to remember but stitch markers eliminate the need to count stitches all the time. Stitch markers reduce the chance for errors! Think of stitch markers as little Post-it notes to remind you where to make changes in the pattern.
WHERE TO PURCHASE THE PATTERN:
FiftyFourTenStudio.com: Click here to purchase.
Ravelry: Click here to purchase on Ravelry.
Etsy: Click here to purchase on Etsy.
Thank you so much for reading!
Happy knitting!
