Free Knitting Pattern: The Lagos Blanket
There is something deeply satisfying about a blanket that looks far more complicated than it actually is. The Lagos Blanket is exactly that kind of project — a richly textured throw that draws the eye with its bold geometric panels and deep, cozy weight, but works up stitch by stitch in a rhythm that even intermediate knitters will find meditative rather than stressful. Whether you are knitting for your own living room, making a heartfelt gift, or simply looking for your next long-term project to carry you through the colder months, this blanket has everything you need: a satisfying pattern repeat, beautiful drape, and the kind of finished result that makes people ask where you bought it.
The name Lagos is a nod to the vibrant, layered energy of the Nigerian city — a place where bold colors, intricate textiles, and a sense of warmth and abundance all come together. When designing this blanket, that spirit felt like the right inspiration: something that feels generous in size, rich in texture, and alive with movement even when worked in a single, stunning color. Of course, it works beautifully in two or three colors as well, and below you will find some notes on color options and yarn suggestions.
Let’s get into everything you need to make this blanket your own.
About This Pattern
The Lagos Blanket is a panel-based throw worked flat, from one short end to the other. It combines a central textured panel of traveling cables with flanking panels of seed stitch and simple rib, creating a structured but soft fabric with excellent visual depth. The finished blanket measures approximately 50 inches wide by 60 inches long, making it a generous lap blanket or a cozy throw for a full-sized sofa. You can easily adjust the length by working more or fewer repeats of the main pattern sequence before binding off.
This is an intermediate-level pattern. You should be comfortable with knitting and purling, working basic cables without a cable needle (or with one, if you prefer), and reading a straightforward chart or written pattern. No advanced techniques are required beyond those, though the stitch count requires some attention at the beginning until the repeat becomes second nature.
Materials
Yarn: Approximately 1,400 yards of a worsted-weight yarn (US 4 / Category 4). A yarn with some wool content will give the best stitch definition and warmth, but a wool-acrylic blend or a 100% acrylic option will work beautifully if you need a machine-washable finish, which is always a practical consideration for a blanket that will see regular use.
Some yarn suggestions to consider:
Lion Brand Wool-Ease in any of its classic colorways gives a soft, slightly rustic finish with excellent stitch definition for cables. Cascade 220 is a perennial favorite for its smooth texture and the way it makes cable patterns pop. For a more luxurious option, Malabrigo Rios adds a gorgeous halo and incredible color depth, especially if you choose one of its hand-dyed semi-solid colorways. If you want the ease of machine washing and a budget-friendly price point, Caron Simply Soft and Red Heart Soft both knit up beautifully at this gauge.
Needles: US 7 (4.5 mm) circular needles, at least 32 inches long. Circular needles are recommended even though this blanket is worked flat, simply because the stitch count is high and a straight needle would quickly become uncomfortable and unwieldy.
Notions: Stitch markers (at least 6), a cable needle if you prefer to work cables with one, a tapestry needle for weaving in ends, and scissors.
Gauge: 18 stitches and 24 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch, blocked. As always with a blanket, gauge is more forgiving than it would be for a garment, but checking your gauge before casting on will help ensure your finished blanket lands near the intended measurements.
Abbreviations
Throughout this pattern, the following abbreviations are used:
k — knit
p — purl
k2tog — knit two stitches together (a right-leaning decrease)
ssk — slip, slip, knit (a left-leaning decrease)
C4F — cable 4 front: slip 2 stitches to cable needle and hold in front, knit 2, then knit the 2 stitches from the cable needle
C4B — cable 4 back: slip 2 stitches to cable needle and hold in back, knit 2, then knit the 2 stitches from the cable needle
RS — right side
WS — wrong side
PM — place marker
SM — slip marker
rep — repeat
st(s) — stitch(es)
Cast On and Setup
Cast on 225 stitches using a long-tail cast on or your preferred stretchy method. A stretchy cast on is especially important for a blanket, since the edge will be handled frequently and needs to maintain its elasticity over time.
Before you begin Row 1, take a moment to place your stitch markers to divide the blanket into its working panels. The blanket is structured as follows from left to right:
Seed stitch border (10 sts) | Rib panel (20 sts) | Seed stitch divider (5 sts) | Central cable panel (155 sts) | Seed stitch divider (5 sts) | Rib panel (20 sts) | Seed stitch border (10 sts)
Place a marker after the 10th stitch, after the 30th, after the 35th, after the 190th, after the 195th, after the 215th. Your last 10 stitches form the final border.
The Stitch Patterns
Seed Stitch (worked over any number of stitches):
Row 1 (RS): k1, p1; rep from to end of section.
Row 2 (WS): Knit the purl stitches and purl the knit stitches as they present themselves.
Repeat these two rows. Seed stitch creates a beautifully textured, non-curling fabric and provides the perfect visual anchor for the more structured panels at the center.
2×2 Rib (worked over a multiple of 4 stitches):
Row 1 (RS): k2, p2; rep from to end of section.
Row 2 (WS): k2, p2; rep from to end of section (knit the knits, purl the purls).
Repeat these two rows.
Central Cable Panel (worked over 155 stitches):
The central cable panel is the heart of the Lagos Blanket. It is built from a repeating unit of 31 stitches, worked five times across the width of the central section. Each 31-stitch repeat contains a central traveling cable flanked by reverse stockinette to set the cables off and make them stand proud of the fabric.
31-stitch cable repeat:
Row 1 (RS): p3, k4, p4, C4F, p4, k4, p3, k9.
Row 2 and all WS rows: Work all stitches as they present (knit the knits, purl the purls).
Row 3 (RS): p3, C4B, p4, k4, p4, C4F, p3, k9.
Row 5 (RS): p3, k4, p4, C4F, p4, k4, p3, k9.
Row 7 (RS): p3, C4B, p4, k4, p4, C4F, p3, k9.
Row 8 (WS): Work as they present.
This 8-row sequence forms the full repeat. Work the 31-stitch repeat across all five positions in the central panel on every right-side row, and work wrong-side rows as the stitches present. The result is a rhythmic, interlocking pattern of cables that crosses and recrosses across the blanket, creating the sense of movement and energy that defines the Lagos Blanket’s character.
Working the Blanket
With all of your markers in place, begin working the blanket as follows.
Rows 1–8: Establish all stitch patterns. Work the seed stitch border, slip marker, work the 2×2 rib, slip marker, work the seed stitch divider, slip marker, work Row 1 of the central cable panel across all five repeats, slip marker, work the seed stitch divider, slip marker, work the 2×2 rib, slip marker, work the seed stitch border.
On wrong-side rows, work each section as the stitches present themselves, maintaining seed stitch in the border and divider sections by working into the offset of the previous row, and working the cable panel stitches as they appear.
After completing Rows 1 through 8, you have completed one full repeat of the cable pattern. Continue working the 8-row repeat throughout the body of the blanket, maintaining the seed stitch and rib panels without interruption (these panels do not have their own separate repeats — they simply continue as established).
Work until your blanket measures approximately 59 inches from the cast-on edge, ending on Row 8 of the cable repeat (a wrong-side row). This will leave you ready to work one final right-side row as a visual close before binding off.
Work Row 1 of the cable repeat once more as a final right-side row, then proceed to binding off on the following wrong-side row.
Binding Off
Bind off loosely across all 225 stitches on a wrong-side row, working each stitch as it presents. A stretchy bind-off method is strongly recommended here — the classic knitted bind-off can be worked loosely, or you can use the suspended bind-off or a simple yarn-over bind-off to ensure the edge has plenty of give and matches the flexibility of the cast-on edge.
Finishing
Weave in all ends carefully using your tapestry needle, taking care to anchor the yarn within the fabric in a way that will not pull or distort the stitches. Because this blanket will be washed and used frequently, a thorough, secure weave-in is worth the extra few minutes it takes.
Block your blanket by soaking it in cool water with a small amount of wool wash or gentle detergent, then gently pressing out the excess water without wringing. Lay the blanket flat on a blocking mat or a clean towel-covered surface, and ease it gently into shape, making sure the edges are straight and the cable panels are evenly distributed across the width. Pin the edges if you like, especially along the cast-on and bind-off edges, to keep them from curling inward while the blanket dries.
Allow the blanket to dry completely before moving it. This step is not strictly mandatory, but blocking makes an enormous difference to the finished appearance, opening up the cables, softening the fabric, and giving the blanket the kind of polished, professional look that elevates handknits into heirlooms.
Color and Yarn Notes
The Lagos Blanket was designed with a single rich color in mind, but it is endlessly adaptable. Here are a few approaches worth considering:
Classic single color: An deep, saturated tone — forest green, navy, charcoal, a warm burgundy — allows the cable texture to take center stage. The shifting angles of the cables catch the light differently at different times of day, so a single color is never boring.
Two-color version: Cast on in one color and work the borders and rib panels throughout in that color while working the central cable panel in a contrasting or complementary shade. This requires some additional planning around managing separate yarn supplies, but the effect is striking.
Gradient or striped version: If you love the look of a color-gradient blanket, you can work this pattern in a series of tonal shades, changing colors every 8 rows (at the end of each cable repeat) for a subtle ombre effect. Using a hand-dyed self-striping yarn is another beautiful option, letting the yarn do the color work while you focus on the pattern.
Tips for Success
Cables can feel intimidating if you are new to them, but the cables in this pattern are straightforward four-stitch crosses that follow a predictable, logical rhythm. After the first two or three repeats, most knitters find that they can work the cable rows without consulting the pattern at all, which makes the Lagos Blanket a wonderful project to bring along on long trips or evenings in front of a film.
If you lose your place in the pattern, count the rows from your most recent cable cross: cables cross on Rows 1 and 3, then again on Rows 5 and 7, with plain rows in between. Looking at your fabric will quickly tell you where you are.
Use your stitch markers faithfully, especially in the early rows. The central cable section contains a lot of stitches, and it is easy to drift slightly if you are not anchoring your count within each repeat. After the first full 8-row repeat is complete and the cable structure is visible in the fabric, the pattern becomes self-correcting in a wonderful way — the knitted fabric will show you where each cross should fall.
If you prefer not to use a cable needle, both C4F and C4B can be worked by slipping the relevant stitches to the right needle, rearranging them on the left needle in the new order, and then knitting across. Many knitters find this faster once they are comfortable with it, but both methods produce identical results.
Sizing Adjustments
The finished blanket as written measures approximately 50 by 60 inches. To make a smaller lap blanket or a baby blanket, you can remove one full 31-stitch repeat from the central cable section and adjust your stitch count accordingly, reducing the cast-on to 194 stitches and working four cable repeats across the center instead of five. For a larger throw or a bed blanket, add one or more repeats in the same way.
To adjust the length, simply work more or fewer full 8-row repeats before binding off. Each complete repeat of the cable pattern adds approximately 1.3 inches to the length at the stated gauge.
A Final Note
Knitting a blanket is a long journey, and the Lagos Blanket is no exception. It is also one of those projects that grows more beautiful with every row, where the satisfaction of seeing the cable panels develop across the width of the fabric makes the time genuinely enjoyable rather than merely productive. Take your time with it. Let it become a companion through a season. And when it is finished and blocked and draped over a chair or wrapped around a person you love, you will understand why hand-knitted blankets get kept for generations.
If you make the Lagos Blanket, please share it — tag your project, post a photo, or leave a note in the comments below. Seeing these patterns come to life in the hands of knitters around the world is one of the great joys of sharing designs freely, and every finished blanket is a small, warm reminder of what patient, careful making can produce.
Happy knitting.
