How to Make a Blanket Out of Yarn: A Crochet and Knitting Guide

When you make a blanket, you get something that you’ll use every day for years, or a gift that somebody else will. The construction is as simple as it can get. It’s just a rectangle, so you don’t need to make any fancy shapes or fit anything like you would with clothing.

It’s a commitment, though. Unlike a small hat or a pair of gloves, a blanket can take weeks or more. But we promise it pays off. So let’s get you started on learning how to make a blanket out of yarn, whether you’re crocheting or knitting.

What this article covers:

• Everything You Need to Make a Blanket Out of Yarn
• Make a Gauge Swatch and Work Out Your Yardage
• How to Crochet a Simple Blanket
• How to Knit a Simple Blanket
• Finish Your Blanket

Everything You Need to Make a Blanket Out of Yarn

All you really need is yarn, a crochet hook or knitting needles, and a blunt needle to tidy up at the end.

Yarn

Pick worsted (medium thickness) yarn for your first blanket, since most patterns use it. If you pick thicker chunky yarn, you’ll make bigger stitches and finish sooner, and your blanket will be heavier. If you choose thinner yarn like DK yarn (Double-Knitting yarn), your project will take longer, and you'll get a lighter, drapier end result. If you’d rather use natural yarn for a blanket instead of acrylic, wool and alpaca are warm and springy, while cotton's breathability suits a summer throw.

A Hook or Needles

Match your hook or needles to your yarn. For worsted, use a 5.5 to 6.5 mm crochet hook or 4.5 to 5.5 mm knitting needles. For chunky, go up to 6.5 to 9 mm for crochet and 5.5 to 8 mm for knitting. Your yarn label suggests a size too, which is the easiest place to start if you're feeling lost.

A Tapestry Needle and Scissors

A tapestry needle is a blunt sewing needle with a large eye, and you’ll use it to weave your loose ends into the fabric at the end.

The scissors are for cutting the yarn when you’ve reached the end of your project or if you want to change skeins (yarn balls) partway through. They’re also handy for trimming the ends once you’ve woven them in.

Stitch Markers (Optional)

These are small rings or clasps that clip onto your work to mark a spot. They’re optional, but handy for keeping track of your work.

Make a Gauge Swatch and Work Out Your Yardage

Buy one skein of your chosen yarn to start with. You’ll use it for a gauge swatch (a small test square), which tells you your gauge (how many stitches and rows you get in four inches of fabric). If your tension (how tightly you hold your yarn) throws off your gauge, your blanket will come out a different size from the one you planned.

Check the steps below to find out how to make your simple crochet or knit stitch (and how to bind off for knitting, which is how you finish the edge so the stitches can’t unravel). Then crochet or knit a square about six inches across with the same yarn and hook or needles you’ll be using for your blanket.

If you’re knitting, bind off before continuing. Crocheters can leave the loop on the hook, since crochet won’t unravel on its own that way.

Wash the square the same way you plan to wash the blanket before you measure it. Untreated wool can shrink, superwash (treated so it can be machine washed) often relaxes and grows, and cotton can do either. Once it’s dry, count the stitches and rows across four inches in the middle.

Your swatch tells you how many stitches you get per inch, which is the number you need to start the blanket. Divide the stitches you counted by four, then multiply by the width you want. Crocheters then chain one extra, because your first single crochet goes into the second chain from the hook.

16 stitches ÷ 4 inches = 4 stitches per inch
4 stitches per inch × 40 inches = 160 stitches (for knitting)
160 stitches + 1 = 161 chains to start a 40-inch crochet blanket

If you’re following a pattern instead, compare your count to the gauge it states near the top. More stitches than the pattern means your work is tighter, so go up a hook or needle size and swatch again. Fewer means going down a size.

Use Your Swatch to Work Out Yardage

Once your gauge matches, you can work out your yardage from the swatch or start from a size-by-size yardage range, using more yarn for larger blankets and less yarn for baby blankets.

How to Crochet a Simple Blanket

Single crochet is one of the most basic, beginner-friendly crochet stitches to learn, even if this is your first project. Making a blanket with it is about as simple as it gets.

1. Make a slip knot (starting loop): Loop the yarn around two fingers, pull a loop of the working yarn through that loop, and tighten it onto the hook. This is your first loop.
2. Chain: Loop the yarn over the hook from back to front (called "yarn over"), then pull it through the loop already on your hook. That’s one chain. Keep the chains loose enough to get your hook back into them, and repeat until you have the number of chains you worked out from your swatch.
3. Mark every tenth stitch (optional for very wide blankets): Clip a stitch marker onto every tenth chain as you go. It can be easy to lose track of rows larger than 40 or 50, and counting that many chains and stitches gets tedious. By marking every tenth chain, you just need to count in multiples of ten plus the few chains at the end. Repeat this for every row to make counting stitches easier.
4. Start your first row of stitches: Start with the second chain from the hook. Count back two chains, push the hook through that chain, loop the yarn over the hook, and pull it through. You’ll have two loops on the hook. Loop the yarn over again and pull it through both loops. That’s one single crochet done.
5. Single crochet into every chain across the row: Use the same technique each time. When you reach the end, count your stitches against your starting chain to check you haven’t dropped any. If the numbers don’t match, look along the row for a spot where the fabric looks uneven, then frog it (pull the yarn so the stitches come undone) back to that point and work forward again. If you can’t spot it, undo the whole row and start it over. Don't be discouraged! Undoing and redoing crochet doesn't take long.
6. Chain once and turn your work: That single chain creates the necessary height for your next row. For single crochet, it doesn’t count as a stitch, so don’t crochet into it. Instead, start with the first real stitch from the previous row.
7. Keep going: On every row after the first, you’ll work into the stitches rather than the starting chain. Each single crochet has two loops sitting across its top like a little V. Your hook goes under both of them. Single crochet across the row, chain one, turn, and repeat until the blanket is as long as you want it.
8. Fasten off: Cut the yarn about six inches from your work, pull that tail all the way through the last loop, and tug it tight. Leave the tail for weaving in later.

How to Knit a Simple Blanket

For a simple blanket, we’d go with garter stitch (a fabric made by knitting every single row). Knitting has two basic stitches, knit and purl, and garter uses only the first. With a garter stitch, the process is straightforward and you can make a squishy fabric that lies flat.

These steps work best for a throw or anything smaller because they use straight needles, which have limited space for yarn loops. If you want to make something larger or bed-sized, we suggest a cable cast-on (worked straight from the ball) and a long circular needle (two needle tips joined by a flexible cable), which are a bit more advanced.

1. Measure out a long tail and make a slip knot (starting loop): You’ll cast on from this tail, which means making your first row of loops on the needle, so allow about three times your blanket’s width plus a few inches. Loop the yarn around two fingers, pull a loop of the working yarn through that loop, and slide it onto one needle.
2. Cast on your stitches with the long-tail method: Cast on the number you worked out from your swatch. These loops are the foundation your blanket is knitted into, so you’re not knitting yet. Hold the tail over your thumb and the working yarn over your index finger, both strands running down into your palm. Bring the needle up through the loop on your thumb, over and under the strand on your finger, then back down through the thumb loop. Let the thumb loop drop and tighten gently. That’s one stitch cast on. Repeat until you have your full width.
3. Knit your first stitch: All your loops sit on one needle, so hold that one in your left hand and the empty one in your right. Push the right needle through the front of the first loop, from left to right, so it sits behind the left needle. Loop the yarn around the right needle from back to front, then draw that loop back through. Slide the old loop off the left needle. You’ve turned a cast-on loop into a knitted stitch, and it’s now on the right needle.
4. Stitch the full row: Use the same technique until every stitch has moved across to the right needle and the left one is empty. Count them against what you cast on. If you’re short, look for a loose loop hanging below your row and slip it back onto the needle using the tip of the other one.
5. Swap hands and knit the next row: The full needle goes back in your left hand, the empty one in your right, and you work across again.
6. Keep going until the blanket is as long as you want it: Measure with the work laid flat on a table or your lap rather than hanging from the needle, since the weight pulls it longer than it really is.
7. Bind off: Knit two stitches, then lift the first one over the second and off the right needle. Knit one more, lift the previous one over, and repeat along the row, keeping it loose. When one stitch is left, cut the yarn about six inches from your work, pull the tail through that last loop, and tug it tight.

Finish Your Blanket

There are two jobs left.

First, weave in your ends. Find any loose tails on your work, and thread one onto your tapestry needle. Run it through the back of several stitches, about an inch, following the line of the fabric so it disappears. Then turn and go back the other way for an inch, which stops it from coming loose. Trim any excess close to the fabric.

Chunky tails need longer than an inch, since thick strands slip out more easily. Do this for every tail, including the one from your starting slip knot.

Finally, block it. Blocking means wetting your blanket and laying it out flat to dry in the shape you want, which evens out your stitches and relaxes the fabric into its final size.

Soak it in cool water with a little wool wash (a gentle no-rinse detergent made for wool and other animal fibers), press the water out without wringing, then lay it flat on towels and pat it into shape. Leave it to dry fully, which can take a day or two for a larger blanket.

Always dry your blanket flat rather than hanging it, since the weight of the water can stretch out the yarn and stitches.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to make a blanket?

It depends on your skill level and speed, but expect weeks to months. Blanket size, technique, and yarn weight all have an impact.

My edges are going wonky. What happened?

You’ve probably added or lost a stitch at the end of a row, which is the most common beginner mistake. For crochet, frog until you find your last correct row. For knitting, pull back one row at a time and slip each stitch onto the needle as you go, since loose stitches drop easily. Then count your stitches at the end of every row for a while until you get the hang of it.

Can I put my blanket down halfway through and come back to it?

Yes, and most people do over a project this long. Push your stitches toward the middle of the needle or leave the loop on your hook, and keep the work somewhere it won’t get tugged. If you’re leaving it for months, slide knitting onto a spare circular needle or a length of scrap yarn so the stitches don’t stretch on one spot.

Do I have to use a pattern?

No. A blanket is a rectangle, so you can work to whatever width and length you like once your gauge tells you how many stitches that takes. A pattern is optional. You only need it if you want to replicate a specific design.