Free Blanket Knitting Pattern: Rainbow Mandala Entrelac Blanket
There is something deeply satisfying about a project that looks far more complicated than it actually is. The Rainbow Mandala Entrelac Blanket is exactly that kind of project. At first glance, it appears to be a work of intricate geometric artistry, a swirling pattern of interlocked squares radiating outward in rings of color like a fabric mandala. But once you understand the entrelac method, you will find that this blanket comes together one small square at a time, each one building naturally on the last, until you have a finished piece that genuinely looks like you spent months studying at a textile school in the Swiss Alps.
This free pattern is suitable for knitters who have a comfortable grasp of the knit and purl stitches, can pick up stitches along an edge, and are not afraid of turning their work frequently. If you have never tried entrelac before, this blanket is a wonderful introduction. If you are a seasoned entrelac knitter, the mandala color layout will give you something fresh and exciting to sink your needles into.
Pull up a chair, brew yourself something warm, and let’s talk about everything you need to make this blanket from start to finish.
What Is Entrelac Knitting?
Before diving into yarn and needles, it helps to understand what entrelac actually is. The word comes from the French “entrelacer,” meaning to interweave or interlace. Entrelac knitting creates a woven, basketweave-like fabric made entirely of small knitted squares or rectangles that are connected as you work. Unlike traditional intarsia or colorwork, you are not carrying multiple yarns across a row at the same time. Instead, you knit each small square individually, picking up stitches from the edge of a neighboring square to join them together as you go.
The result is a textile that looks woven, almost like a quilt stitched together from tiny fabric patches, but the whole thing is knitted continuously without any seaming. It is one of those techniques that feels like a magic trick once you understand how it works.
The mandala layout in this pattern arranges the squares in concentric rings, rotating 90 degrees with each ring so the visual effect is of spiraling geometry — exactly like a mandala. The color progression moves through the rainbow, starting with a warm center and expanding outward through the full spectrum.
Yarn and Materials
Yarn: This pattern is written for a worsted weight yarn. You will need approximately 1,600 to 1,800 yards total, depending on your finished blanket size. A smooth, round yarn with a bit of plied structure works best for entrelac because it allows you to pick up stitches cleanly along the edges. Wool or a wool blend is ideal for the stitch definition and slight elasticity, but a good quality acrylic works beautifully too, especially if the blanket is intended for a child or someone with wool sensitivity.
For the rainbow colorway, you will need approximately 200 to 250 yards each of seven colors. A classic rainbow progression works wonderfully: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo or violet, and a final white or cream for the outermost border ring. You can also choose a nontraditional rainbow — pastels, earth tones, jewel tones, or a gradient from dark to light. The structure of the blanket carries the visual interest regardless of your specific palette, so have fun with the color choices.
Needles: US size 7 (4.5 mm) circular needles, at least 32 inches long. Circular needles make entrelac much more comfortable to work because you can slide stitches back and forth easily. You will not knit in the round for most of this pattern, but the long cord gives you flexibility.
Notions: A tapestry needle for weaving in ends, stitch markers, and scissors. A row counter is helpful but optional.
Gauge: Approximately 18 stitches and 24 rows over 4 inches in stockinette stitch. For entrelac, your individual squares will be 10 stitches wide and 20 rows tall (or 10 stitches and 10 ridges if worked in garter). Gauge affects your final size more than it affects the success of the pattern, so a precise gauge swatch is helpful but not critical for a blanket.
Finished Size: Approximately 44 inches by 44 inches with the stitch count given. You can easily adjust the size by adding or removing rings of squares.
Understanding the Pattern Structure
This blanket is built in a series of concentric rings, each ring made up of individual squares. Here is how the architecture breaks down:
The center is a single square or a small cluster of four squares arranged in a pinwheel. From there, each subsequent ring wraps around the previous one. Because entrelac squares are oriented in alternating diagonal directions as you work outward, the visual effect is of rotation and movement — exactly what gives the mandala its characteristic swirling quality.
Each ring corresponds to one color of the rainbow. Ring 1 (center): red. Ring 2: orange. Ring 3: yellow. Ring 4: green. Ring 5: blue. Ring 6: indigo or violet. Ring 7 (outermost): white or cream for a clean border that frames the design.
Within each ring, the squares alternate between two orientations. We call these “right-leaning squares” and “left-leaning squares” (or sometimes “base squares” and “pickup squares,” depending on which knitting reference you consult). The method for creating each is slightly different, but once you have made a few of each type, the rhythm becomes intuitive.
Pattern Instructions
Foundation: The Center Square
Using your red yarn, cast on 10 stitches using a long-tail cast on or your preferred method.
Work in garter stitch (knit every row) for 20 rows, or until the piece is roughly square. This forms your first and centermost square.
Do not bind off. Leave the 10 live stitches on your needle.
Building the First Ring (Red)
The first ring surrounds the center square. You will add three more red squares around it to complete the ring before moving to orange.
Square 2 (right side of center): With the right side of the center square facing you, pick up and knit 10 stitches along the right edge of the center square. Work 20 rows in garter stitch. Do not bind off.
Square 3 (top of center): Pick up and knit 10 stitches along the top edge of the center square. Work 20 rows in garter stitch.
Square 4 (left side of center): Pick up and knit 10 stitches along the left edge of the center square. Work 20 rows in garter stitch.
At this point you have a plus-sign shape — the center square surrounded on three sides. The fourth side (the bottom) will be closed by a joining square that also begins the work of the next ring.
Corner and closing squares: In a mandala entrelac arrangement, each corner between adjacent squares in a ring is filled with a corner square that picks up stitches from two adjacent squares simultaneously. To work a corner square, pick up 5 stitches along the edge of one square and 5 stitches along the neighboring square for a total of 10. Work 20 rows in garter stitch.
Continue working corner squares and side squares until the entire first ring is complete. The first ring will have 8 squares total surrounding the center: 4 side squares and 4 corner squares.
Ring 2: Orange
Join your orange yarn. You will now work an entire ring in orange. Each square in ring 2 picks up stitches from the edges of squares in ring 1. The process is identical to how you built ring 1, but now you are working around a larger perimeter.
Ring 2 will have 12 squares. Pick up 10 stitches along the exposed edge of each ring 1 square, work 20 rows, and join at the corners just as before.
As you work around the ring, you will notice that each new square automatically connects to its neighbors. This is the magic of entrelac — there is virtually no finishing required.
Ring 3: Yellow
Join yellow yarn and work ring 3 exactly as you worked ring 2, picking up stitches from the outer edges of the orange ring. Ring 3 will have 16 squares.
Ring 4: Green
Join green yarn. Ring 4 has 20 squares.
Ring 5: Blue
Join blue yarn. Ring 5 has 24 squares.
Ring 6: Indigo or Violet
Join your indigo or violet yarn. Ring 6 has 28 squares.
Ring 7: White or Cream Border
Join your border color. Ring 7 has 32 squares. After completing all the squares in ring 7, you will work a final bind-off edge around the perimeter of the blanket.
Perimeter bind-off: To give the blanket a neat, finished edge, pick up stitches along the entire outer perimeter of ring 7 — approximately 3 stitches for every 4 rows along each edge, and 1 stitch for each corner. Work 4 rows of garter stitch in your border color, then bind off loosely. This creates a tidy garter border that frames the mandala design cleanly.
Tips for Entrelac Success
Entrelac has a reputation for being intimidating, but most knitters who try it find the technique clicks quickly. Here are a few things that will make your experience much smoother.
Pick up stitches consistently. The neatness of entrelac depends on clean, even pickup along the edges of neighboring squares. Insert your needle under both legs of the edge stitch, wrap the yarn, and pull through. Aim for one picked-up stitch per garter ridge (two rows), which gives you the correct stitch count along the side of each square.
Keep your tension relaxed. Because you are constantly turning your work and knitting in short back-and-forth rows, there is a tendency to knit more tightly than usual. Make a conscious effort to keep your tension consistent and slightly looser than you might for a flat project.
Don’t cut yarn between squares within the same ring. Carry your yarn loosely up the side of each square as you move to the next. You can weave the carried strand into the edge as you pick up stitches, which reduces the number of ends you need to weave in at the end. In a project with this many color changes between rings, minimizing ends is a worthwhile investment.
Mark your rings as you go. Place a locking stitch marker at the first square of each new ring. This makes it easy to count your squares and verify you are on the correct ring if you need to put the project down and come back to it.
Work a practice square first. If you have never done entrelac before, cast on 10 stitches and knit a few practice squares, picking up stitches and joining them together, before you start the actual blanket. Ten minutes of practice will save you significant frustration later.
Finishing
Once all seven rings are complete and your border is bound off, it is time to finish the blanket.
Weave in all ends securely using a tapestry needle, working the yarn tail through the backs of several stitches and then back in the opposite direction to lock it in place. In a garter stitch fabric, ends can be woven through the bumps along the back of the work invisibly.
Block the blanket for best results. For wool or wool blends, wet blocking is ideal: soak the blanket in cool water for 20 minutes, gently press out excess water without wringing, then lay it flat on a blocking mat and pin it to your desired dimensions. Allow it to dry completely before moving it. Wet blocking evens out your tension, opens up the fabric slightly, and gives the squares a crisp, defined look that really makes the mandala geometry pop.
For acrylic yarn, steam blocking works well. Hold a steam iron a few inches above the surface of the blanket and allow the steam to penetrate the fabric, then gently press and shape with your hands. Do not press the iron directly onto acrylic, as heat can permanently damage the fibers.
Customizing the Pattern
One of the great joys of this blanket is how easily it adapts to different sizes, yarn weights, and color palettes.
To make a baby blanket: Use a fingering or DK weight yarn with correspondingly smaller needles (US 3 to 5), and work only 5 rings instead of 7. Your finished blanket will be approximately 28 to 30 inches square, perfect for a crib or stroller.
To make a larger throw: Add one or two additional rings in complementary colors. Each additional ring adds approximately 6 inches to the overall width. You can repeat colors from the inner rings for a deeper palette or introduce new shades to extend the gradient.
To change the square size: If you prefer larger squares, increase your stitch count to 12 or 14 stitches per square and adjust your row count accordingly. Larger squares mean fewer squares per ring and a slightly different visual texture, but the mandala structure remains the same.
For a monochromatic look: Work all rings in shades of a single color — from deep burgundy through rose pink to pale blush, for example. The entrelac geometry reads beautifully in tone-on-tone colorways, with the alternating stitch directions creating subtle texture rather than color contrast.
For a scrappy version: Use your yarn stash and assign a different color to each individual square rather than each ring. The result is a maximalist, joyful blanket that uses up leftovers while still maintaining the mandala structure through its geometric form.
Why You Will Love This Project
Beyond the finished object, there is something genuinely meditative about knitting entrelac. Each square is short enough to feel like quick progress — 20 rows goes fast — and yet the cumulative effect builds and builds until you are suddenly looking at something that takes your breath away. The color shifts from ring to ring give you a built-in sense of milestone and achievement: finishing the red ring, finishing the orange, watching the green give way to blue.
If you tend to get bored with large flat projects or lose your place in complex colorwork, entrelac solves both problems at once. The structure keeps you engaged, the short squares keep you moving, and the color changes keep the palette exciting from cast-on to bind-off.
This blanket makes a stunning gift. It reads as heirloom quality, the kind of thing people keep for decades and pull out on special occasions. But because it is built from simple stitches and a clear geometric system, it is genuinely achievable for any knitter willing to invest a little time in learning the entrelac technique.
Make it for a new baby, a college student leaving home, a friend who needs color in their life, or simply for yourself. Spread it across a couch or fold it at the foot of a bed and watch how it transforms the room. This is the kind of blanket that draws people across the room to look more closely and ask, with genuine wonder, how on earth you made that.
The answer, of course, is one small square at a time.
Quick Reference: Yarn Quantities by Ring
Red (center + ring 1): approximately 200 yards. Orange (ring 2): approximately 220 yards. Yellow (ring 3): approximately 240 yards. Green (ring 4): approximately 250 yards. Blue (ring 5): approximately 260 yards. Indigo or violet (ring 6): approximately 280 yards. White or cream border (ring 7): approximately 300 yards.
These are estimates. Your actual usage will vary based on your gauge, tension, and how you manage yarn tails between squares.
Happy knitting. May every square be a small joy, and may the finished blanket be exactly as beautiful as you imagined it would be when you first started winding your yarn into little rainbow balls and dreaming about how it would all come together.
