Free Blanket Knitting Pattern: Benjamim Baby Blanket — A Garter Stitch Stashbuster You’ll Love
If you’ve been knitting for any length of time, you know the feeling. Your yarn stash has grown to the point where you need a dedicated shelf, maybe two, and yet you still can’t resist picking up a new skein when something beautiful catches your eye. The Benjamim Baby Blanket is here to help. This free baby blanket knitting pattern is built entirely in garter stitch, making it the perfect stashbuster for all those worsted and aran weight yarns you’ve been saving for just the right project. It’s beginner-friendly, endlessly customizable, and results in a thick, squishy blanket that any new baby — or their parents — will absolutely treasure.
In this post, you’ll find everything you need to knit the Benjamim Baby Blanket from start to finish: materials, gauge, cast-on numbers, tips for working with multiple colors, and finishing advice. Whether you’re knitting this as a baby shower gift, a charity donation, or just because you need to clear out your stash before you buy more yarn (we’ve all been there), this pattern has you covered.
Why Garter Stitch Is Perfect for Baby Blankets
Before we dive into the pattern itself, let’s talk about why garter stitch is such a brilliant choice for baby blankets in general, and for stashbusting projects in particular.
Garter stitch is created by knitting every single row. There’s no purling, no complicated stitch counts to track, no reading charts, and no cable needle required. The resulting fabric is wonderfully stretchy in both directions, lies perfectly flat without curling at the edges, and creates a beautifully textured, ridged surface that babies love to touch. Because it doesn’t curl, you don’t need to add a border — the garter fabric behaves itself right from the beginning.
From a stashbusting perspective, garter stitch is also wonderfully forgiving when you’re mixing yarns. The dense, textured ridges blend different yarn weights and fiber contents together in a way that stockinette simply doesn’t. A slightly thicker yarn will create a slightly thicker ridge, which only adds to the handmade charm of the finished blanket. As long as you’re working within a similar weight range — say, worsted to bulky — the Benjamim blanket will look intentional and beautiful even if every stripe comes from a completely different yarn.
About the Benjamim Baby Blanket Pattern
The Benjamim Baby Blanket is a striped garter stitch blanket worked flat on straight or circular needles. The name is a nod to the old Portuguese and Spanish spelling of Benjamin, giving this classic, simple blanket a little bit of charm and personality. It’s designed to be a generous crib or pram blanket — large enough to actually be useful, but not so enormous that it becomes a burden to finish.
The striping sequence is completely flexible. You can use two colors for a classic two-tone look, work through a whole rainbow of scraps for a true stashbuster effect, or pick up a gradient yarn set and let the color transitions do all the work for you. The pattern is the same either way: knit every row, change colors whenever you feel like it, and keep going until your blanket is the size you want.
One of the most appealing things about this pattern is how meditative it is. Once you’ve cast on and worked the first few rows, your hands will settle into the rhythm completely on their own. It’s ideal for evenings in front of the television, long car journeys as a passenger, or any time you want to knit without thinking too hard. That said, the end result looks anything but mindless — the garter ridges and color stripes combine to create a blanket that looks considered and lovely.
Materials You’ll Need
Yarn: Approximately 600–900 yards of worsted or aran weight yarn total, depending on your desired finished size. This is a perfect pattern for scraps and partial skeins. Any fiber works beautifully here — wool, cotton, acrylic, or blends. If you’re knitting for a newborn or planning to give the blanket as a gift, a machine-washable yarn is a wonderfully practical choice. Popular options include Lion Brand Pound of Love, Paintbox Simply DK (held double), Cascade 220 Superwash, or whatever worsted weight has been living in your stash longest.
Needles: US size 7 (4.5 mm) to US size 9 (5.5 mm) straight or circular needles, depending on your yarn and preferred gauge. Circular needles are recommended even when working flat, simply because the blanket gets heavy as it grows and it’s much easier to manage on a long cord than on short straight needles.
Notions: Tapestry needle for weaving in ends, scissors, and optionally a few locking stitch markers if you want to track your row count or mark your center stitch.
Gauge: Roughly 16–18 stitches and 28–32 rows per 4 inches in garter stitch. Because this is a baby blanket and not a fitted garment, gauge is flexible. Just be sure to swatch before you start so you can predict your finished size with reasonable accuracy.
Finished Size
The Benjamim Baby Blanket, as written, finishes at approximately 30 inches wide by 36 inches long — a generous size that works as a crib blanket, a pram or stroller blanket, or a tummy time mat. You can easily adjust the size by casting on more or fewer stitches, and by working more or fewer rows. If you want a larger blanket — for a toddler bed, for example — simply scale up your cast-on and keep knitting until you reach your desired length.
The Pattern
Abbreviations
CO — cast on
K — knit
RS — right side
WS — wrong side
BO — bind off
Cast On
Using your preferred cast-on method, CO 120 stitches. The long-tail cast-on is highly recommended here because it creates a neat, firm edge that matches the density of garter stitch beautifully. If you’re new to the long-tail cast-on, it’s worth taking ten minutes to learn — you’ll use it for the rest of your knitting life.
If you want to adjust your blanket width, simply add or subtract stitches in multiples of 2 for a tidier stitch count. More stitches mean a wider blanket; fewer stitches mean a narrower one.
Body
Row 1 (RS): Knit all stitches.
Row 2 (WS): Knit all stitches.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 continuously until your blanket measures approximately 36 inches from the cast-on edge, or until you’ve reached your desired length.
That’s genuinely it. Knit every row. Keep going. Change colors whenever you like.
Changing Colors
To add a new color, simply drop your current yarn at the end of a right-side row and pick up your new color to begin the next row. Leave a tail of approximately 6 inches on both the yarn you’re dropping and the yarn you’re picking up — you’ll weave these in later. There’s no need to cut the yarn if you’re planning to return to a color within a few rows; you can simply carry it up the side of the blanket, catching it every two or three rows to keep it tidy.
For a classic look, work each color in stripes of 10 rows (5 garter ridges). For a more spontaneous stashbuster effect, change colors whenever you run out of a skein or whenever the mood strikes. Some knitters love working 2-row stripes for a fine, tweedy effect. Others prefer bold 20-row stripes for a graphic, modern look. There are no rules here — only yarn.
Bind Off
When your blanket has reached your desired length, bind off all stitches loosely on a right-side row. A stretchy bind-off such as the Russian bind-off or the Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off will give you an edge that matches the elasticity of your cast-on. If you used a long-tail cast-on and want a simpler matching bind-off, try working the standard bind-off with a needle one or two sizes larger than you’ve been using for the body of the blanket.
Finishing
Weave in all ends securely using a tapestry needle, threading each tail through the backs of several garter ridges in different directions so it won’t work its way loose over time. Because this is a baby blanket that will need frequent washing, it’s worth spending extra time on your ends — weave them in more thoroughly than you think necessary, and consider adding a small half-hitch knot before trimming for extra security.
Block your finished blanket by soaking it in cool water with a small amount of wool wash or gentle detergent, then pressing out the excess water (never wring — roll the blanket in a clean towel instead) and laying it flat on a blocking mat or clean surface. Gently pat and stretch it to your desired dimensions and let it dry completely before moving it. Blocking does remarkable things for even simple garter stitch, opening up the fabric and evening out any inconsistencies from the color changes.
Tips for Making the Most of Your Stash
The Benjamim Baby Blanket is designed from the ground up to use up yarn you already have, so here are a few practical tips to help you make the most of your stash stash while knitting it.
Weigh your yarn rather than guessing. A small kitchen scale is invaluable when working with partial skeins. Before you start a new stripe, weigh your remaining yarn so you know how many rows you can comfortably knit before switching to something else. This prevents the heartbreak of running out mid-stripe.
Wind all your colors into separate balls before you begin. If you’re working with multiple skeins and partial balls, winding everything into neat center-pull balls before you start means you won’t be wrestling with a tangled mess every time you change colors.
Embrace the imperfect. Not every yarn in your stash will be the same weight, the same fiber, or even particularly harmonious in color with its neighbors. That’s the beauty of a stashbuster. The texture and character that comes from mixing yarns is part of what makes these blankets so special and so deeply handmade. Some of the most beloved stashbuster blankets look like a knitted memory — every stripe holds the story of where that yarn came from.
Think about color order before you cast on. Even if you’re committed to using up scraps randomly, spending five minutes laying your yarn balls out in a rough sequence and checking that the transitions feel pleasing can make a big difference to the final look. You don’t need to plan every stripe — just avoid putting two very similar colors right next to each other unless you intend a subtle gradient effect.
Save your smallest scraps for the shortest stripes. If you have tiny remnants — just 5 or 10 yards of something — work them in as 2-row stripes between larger color blocks. Those small flashes of color add incredible visual interest and use up every last bit of yarn.
Customizing the Benjamim Baby Blanket
One of the greatest pleasures of a simple garter stitch pattern is how infinitely customizable it is. Here are a few ways to make the Benjamim Baby Blanket entirely your own.
Color-block version: Instead of narrow stripes, work the blanket in three or four large color blocks — each color gets roughly a third or a quarter of the total rows. This creates a bold, modern look that photographs beautifully.
Tonal version: Choose three or four shades of the same color — light blue, medium blue, navy, for example — and work through them in rotating stripes. The result is subtle, sophisticated, and endlessly giftable.
Gradient version: If you have a gradient or fade yarn, this pattern is the perfect vehicle for it. Just cast on and knit — the yarn does all the color work for you.
Monochrome version: A single color, worked entirely in garter stitch, creates a blanket of genuine quiet beauty. The texture of the ridges is all you need. Cream, oatmeal, or a soft warm white are particularly lovely for this approach.
Personalizing the size: A 90-stitch cast-on gives you a narrower pram blanket, while a 150-stitch cast-on gives you something large enough for a toddler bed. Work the same stitch pattern regardless — just adjust your expectations for yarn usage accordingly.
Why Knitters Love Stashbuster Baby Blanket Patterns
There’s something deeply satisfying about a project that solves two problems at once: it uses up yarn that might otherwise sit untouched for years, and it produces something genuinely useful and beautiful at the end. Baby blankets in particular occupy a special place in the stashbuster canon because they’re the right size — big enough to use up a meaningful amount of yarn, small enough to actually finish.
The Benjamim Baby Blanket has become a favorite in knitting communities because it’s accessible to every skill level. A beginner who learned to knit last week can cast this on and produce something they’re genuinely proud of. An experienced knitter who needs a TV project can work through the whole thing in the background of a busy season without losing their place. And for anyone who loves the process of knitting as much as the product — the rhythm of it, the feel of the yarn, the meditative quality of working the same stitch over and over — garter stitch is one of the most pleasurable of all knitting experiences.
A Few Final Notes Before You Cast On
Check your needle size against your yarn label and do a quick gauge swatch — even just a 4-inch square — before you begin. Garter stitch uses more yarn per inch than stockinette, so if your gauge is significantly off from the pattern’s recommendation, your yarn usage will shift accordingly.
If you’re knitting this as a gift, consider the recipient when choosing your fiber. A pure wool blanket is warm and breathable and blocks beautifully, but it requires hand washing. A superwash wool or acrylic blend is far more practical for a new parent who is already sleep-deprived and doing more laundry than they ever imagined possible. A soft acrylic like Paintbox Simply DK or Lion Brand Pound of Love is an excellent choice for gifting — it’s machine washable, comes in beautiful colors, and is gentle against a baby’s sensitive skin.
Finally, enjoy the process. The Benjamim Baby Blanket is not a pattern that demands your full attention. It’s a pattern that rewards you for showing up, picking up your needles, and knitting even when you only have fifteen minutes. Those fifteen-minute sessions add up. Before you know it, you’ll have a beautiful, squishy, colorful blanket to show for it, your stash will be a little more manageable, and you’ll be ready to cast on all over again.
Happy knitting.
Have you knitted the Benjamim Baby Blanket? Share your finished blanket in the comments below or tag your project on Instagram — there’s nothing more inspiring than seeing this pattern worked up in all the different yarns and color combinations that knitters bring to it.
