Free Knitted Baby Blanket Pattern with Hearts — Cot, Pram and Travel Size
There is something quietly magical about a handknitted baby blanket. Long before a new baby arrives, hands are already busy creating something soft, warm, and full of intention. And when those blankets carry a heart motif — one of the oldest symbols of love in the craft world — the result feels even more meaningful. Whether you are making a gift for a shower, preparing for your own baby, or simply exploring a new pattern to add to your knitting repertoire, this free knitted baby blanket pattern with hearts is designed to be welcoming for intermediate knitters while still being approachable enough for a confident beginner who has moved beyond plain garter stitch.
This post walks you through three sizes — travel, pram, and cot — so you can choose exactly what suits the occasion. A travel blanket is compact and portable, ideal for clipping to a carrier or tucking into a changing bag. A pram blanket is the classic go-to gift size, large enough to tuck around a baby without overwhelming a small pushchair. And a cot blanket becomes a long-term keepsake, something that might still be dragged around by a toddler years after it was first placed in a crib.
Let’s start from the very beginning so you have everything you need before casting on.
Materials You Will Need
Yarn: A DK weight (double knitting) yarn works beautifully for this pattern. You want something with a little softness and good stitch definition so the heart motif stands out clearly. Baby-specific yarns like those labelled machine washable merino, cotton blend, or bamboo blend are excellent choices. Avoid anything too fuzzy or halo-heavy (like mohair blends) as the heart detail will disappear into the fluff. A standard DK at approximately 200–230 metres per 100g skein is ideal.
Approximate yarn quantities:
Travel size (approximately 40 x 50 cm): 150–200g
Pram size (approximately 60 x 75 cm): 350–400g
Cot size (approximately 90 x 110 cm): 700–800g
Needles: 4mm knitting needles. Circular needles (any length from 60cm upwards) are recommended even when knitting flat, as they comfortably hold the number of stitches for the larger sizes. If you prefer straight needles, a 35cm or 40cm pair will handle the travel and pram sizes, but you may find the cot size awkward.
Other tools: Tapestry needle for weaving in ends, stitch markers (optional but helpful), and scissors.
Gauge: Approximately 22 stitches and 30 rows = 10cm x 10cm in stocking stitch. Always swatch first. Baby blankets benefit from a relaxed, drapey fabric, so if you knit tightly you may want to go up half a needle size.
Abbreviations Used in This Pattern
K — knit
P — purl
St(s) — stitch(es)
RS — right side
WS — wrong side
Rep — repeat
PM — place marker
SM — slip marker
CO — cast on
BO — bind off (cast off)
K2tog — knit two together (decrease)
Pattern Notes Before You Begin
This pattern is worked flat, back and forth in rows. The fabric is primarily stocking stitch (knit on the right side, purl on the wrong side) with a garter stitch border on all four edges to prevent curling. The heart motifs are worked using a simple combination of knit and purl stitches — no colourwork or intarsia required, which makes this pattern wonderfully portable and suitable for knitting on the go.
The hearts are created using a reverse stocking stitch technique: on a stocking stitch background, the heart shape is formed by purling those stitches on right side rows (creating a raised, bumpy texture against the smooth background). This gives a subtle, elegant embossed effect that reads clearly without being overpowering.
If you prefer a more graphic, high-contrast look, you can substitute a second yarn colour for the heart stitches and work them as stranded colourwork, but the single-colour embossed version is the design as originally written.
Cast On Numbers
The border is worked as a 6-stitch garter edging on each side (6 stitches at the beginning of every row, 6 stitches at the end of every row) and a 6-row garter border at the top and bottom.
Travel size: Cast on 89 stitches
Pram size: Cast on 133 stitches
Cot size: Cast on 199 stitches
These numbers are based on the heart repeat working over a multiple of 22 stitches, plus border stitches and a few balancing stitches so the hearts sit centred. If you find your gauge is slightly different and you need to adjust, work to the nearest multiple of 22 stitches for the central panel and add 12 for the borders (6 each side), then add 1 centring stitch if needed.
The Heart Motif Chart
The heart is worked over 11 stitches wide and 13 rows tall. On the right side, stitches marked as “heart” stitches are purled; all other stitches are knitted. On the wrong side, all stitches are purled as normal for stocking stitch (the heart stitches on the WS are simply knitted to continue forming the reverse stocking stitch bump on the RS face). The garter border stitches are always knitted on both right side and wrong side rows.
Heart Motif (written out, worked over 11 stitches):
Row 1 (RS): K11
Row 2 (WS): P11
Row 3 (RS): K2, P2, K3, P2, K2
Row 4 (WS): P2, K2, P3, K2, P2
Row 5 (RS): K1, P4, K1, P4, K1
Row 6 (WS): P1, K4, P1, K4, P1
Row 7 (RS): P5, K1, P5
Row 8 (WS): K5, P1, K5
Row 9 (RS): K1, P4, K1, P4, K1 — wait, this row reverses. Actually: K1, P3, K3, P3, K1
Row 10 (WS): P1, K3, P3, K3, P1
Row 11 (RS): K2, P2, K3, P2, K2 — adjusted: K2, P1, K5, P1, K2
Row 12 (WS): P2, K1, P5, K1, P2
Row 13 (RS): K11
Row 14 (WS): P11
Because written charts can be tricky to parse, here is the heart broken down in a cleaner visual way. Think of the 11 stitches as columns 1 through 11 from left to right:
Row 1: all knit (plain)
Row 2: all purl (WS, plain)
Row 3: K, K, P, P, K, K, K, P, P, K, K (two bumps forming the top lobes of the heart)
Row 4: mirror of row 3 on WS
Row 5: K, P, P, P, P, K, P, P, P, P, K (lobes widening)
Row 6: mirror of row 5 on WS
Row 7: P, P, P, P, P, K, P, P, P, P, P (widest point of heart)
Row 8: mirror on WS
Row 9: K, P, P, P, K, K, K, P, P, P, K (beginning to taper)
Row 10: mirror on WS
Row 11: K, K, P, K, K, K, K, K, P, K, K (narrowing toward the point)
Row 12: mirror on WS
Row 13: K, K, K, K, K, P, K, K, K, K, K (the very tip of the heart)
Row 14: mirror on WS
Rows 15 and 16 are plain stocking stitch, giving the heart a small frame before the next repeat begins if you are stacking hearts vertically.
Feel free to chart this on graph paper or use a knitting app like Stitch Fiddle to draw it out before beginning. Once your hands learn the shape after the first repeat or two, you will find you can work it largely from memory.
The Full Pattern
Setup — Bottom Border:
Cast on the appropriate number of stitches for your chosen size. Work 8 rows of garter stitch (knit every row) to create a neat, flat bottom border.
Main Body:
Row 1 (RS): K6 (border), knit across to last 6 stitches, K6 (border).
Row 2 (WS): K6 (border), purl across to last 6 stitches, K6 (border).
Repeat these two rows until you have worked 4 rows of plain stocking stitch after the bottom border. This plain section creates a small visual frame before the heart motifs begin.
Beginning the Heart Section:
On the next RS row, you will begin placing hearts. The hearts are spaced with 11 stitches of plain stocking stitch between each heart column horizontally. After your 6 border stitches, knit 5 plain stitches, then begin your first heart motif over the next 11 stitches, then 11 plain stitches, then the next heart motif, and so on across the row, ending with 5 plain stitches before your 6 border stitches.
For the pram and cot sizes, hearts are also stacked vertically with a 16-row gap (including the 14 rows of the heart itself plus a 2-row plain break before the next heart begins). This creates a scattered, evenly spaced heart field across the whole blanket rather than a single row of hearts.
Continue working in this manner — knitting the borders on every row, purling the WS body stitches, and following the heart chart on RS rows — until the piece measures:
Travel size: 42cm from cast on
Pram size: 67cm from cast on
Cot size: 100cm from cast on
Top Border:
Work 8 rows of garter stitch (knit every row).
Bind off loosely on the next row. A stretchy cast off works beautifully here: try the old Norwegian cast off or simply work K2tog, slip back to left needle, repeat to end.
Finishing
Weave in all ends carefully using your tapestry needle. For a baby item, weave each end in two directions to make sure nothing comes loose during washing. Wet block your finished blanket by soaking it in cool water with a small amount of wool wash, gently squeezing out excess water (never wring), and laying it flat on a towel or blocking mat. Pin it out to the correct measurements and allow it to dry completely before gifting or using. Blocking transforms knitting — the stitches even out, the hearts become crisper, and the blanket softens beautifully.
Tips for Knitting Success
One of the most common challenges with blanket knitting is maintaining even tension across a large piece, especially on the border stitches where you transition between garter and stocking stitch. If you notice a ladder forming along the edges of your border, try slipping the very first stitch of each row purlwise with the yarn in front. This creates a neat, chained edge.
If you are knitting for a newborn, consider whether the recipient or their parents have any yarn sensitivities or allergies. Superwash wool is generally well tolerated and has the significant practical advantage of being machine washable — an enormous gift to any new parent. Cotton and bamboo blends are naturally hypoallergenic and especially good for warmer climates or babies prone to overheating.
For colour choices, the heart motif shows most clearly in solid or semi-solid colourways. Heathered yarns can work, but very variegated or self-striping yarns will obscure the heart detail. If you want a bit of colour variation while keeping the hearts visible, a tonal gradient yarn (moving gently from one shade to a close neighbour) can look absolutely stunning.
Adapting the Pattern
One of the joys of a modular, repeat-based pattern like this is how easy it is to customise. You can make a narrower, longer blanket for a bassinet by simply adjusting your cast on to fewer stitches but working more rows. You can add a crochet border after finishing — a simple single crochet edging all the way around, followed by a shell stitch row, gives the blanket a lovely finished frame that many knitters love.
You can also substitute the heart motif for other simple reverse stocking stitch shapes. Stars, simple trees, or small circles all work on a similar grid and can be charted in exactly the same way. This makes the basic structure of this pattern a kind of template you can return to again and again.
If you are an experienced knitter looking for a small extra challenge, consider working the entire blanket in seed stitch or moss stitch for the background, and using plain stocking stitch for the heart outlines. This reversal of texture creates a more complex, heirloom-quality look.
Making Multiple Sizes as a Set
Some knitters love to make a matched set — a travel blanket for the car seat, a pram blanket for outings, and a cot blanket as the main sleeping blanket. Using the same yarn in three colours, or three shades of the same colour, gives a coordinated look that makes a beautiful and generous shower gift. Because all three sizes use the same heart repeat and the same structure, once you have learned the pattern at the smaller size, scaling up is straightforward.
Caring for Your Knitted Baby Blanket
Always check the yarn label before washing. Most modern baby yarns are machine washable at 30 or 40 degrees on a gentle or wool cycle. Lay flat to dry rather than tumble drying, which can shrink or felt wool fibres. Avoid fabric softeners with wool, as they can break down the fibre over time. Store folded (not hung) to prevent stretching.
With proper care, a handknitted blanket can last decades. Many knitters hear stories of their own childhood blankets still existing somewhere, slightly felted and much loved, in a memory box or at a grandparent’s house. There is a real chance the blanket you make today will outlast the babyhood it was made for and become something carried forward into the next generation.
A Note on Gifting Handknitted Items
If you are making this blanket as a gift, consider attaching a small card that explains how to care for it. Many people who receive handknitted gifts are not knitters themselves and may not realise they need to treat the item gently. A simple card tucked into the fold of the blanket, noting the fibre content and washing instructions, is a thoughtful addition that protects the work you have put in.
You might also consider including the name of the yarn, in case the recipient would ever like to get matching yarn for something else, or so they know what the baby has been in contact with if any skin sensitivity questions arise.
Final Thoughts
This free knitted baby blanket pattern with hearts is designed to be worked at your own pace, adapted to your own needs, and made with whatever love and intention you bring to it. Whether you are casting on for the first time on a project this size or you are a seasoned blanket knitter looking for a reliable, satisfying pattern to revisit, the heart motif gives the work a sense of purpose that feels right for a new life beginning.
Take your time with it. Blanket knitting rewards patience. The rows that seem long in the middle of a cot-sized blanket become the rows you remember most fondly once the whole thing is blocked and folded and waiting to be given away. There is no deadline except love, and that is the best kind of knitting there is.
Happy knitting.
