An easy Bulky Knit Blanket Free Pattern that uses three strands of yarn held together to quickly knit up an afghan/blanket.
I love knitting blankets, and I’ve been seeing these Chunky big knits all over the internet. But most of them require nice thick merino wool or some kind of wool roving. I wasn’t sure what I really needed, but meanwhile, I had just bought a whole bunch of Hometown USA (not sponsored!) yarn online at a great sale.
So, I thought to myself, why not try knitting a big bulky blanket with what I already own? It sure would make my husband happy if I didn’t go out and buy more yarn, ha!
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How much super bulky yarn for a blanket?
I did end up needing a bigger knitting needle- I bought this Knitter’s Pride US 50 size needle on amazon.com and thanks to the joys of Amazon Prime I had the needle in just 2 days and was ready to knit! This is the biggest sized knitting needle I own now!
To create the stripe pattern I used 4 different colors of the Lion Brand Hometown USA yarn. This is a No 6-Super Bulky: Bulky, Roving Yarn; with 5-Ounce (140 g), 81 yds (74 m). The colors I used are Honolulu Pink, Atlanta Apricot, Dallas Grey, and Houston Cream.
TIP: While buying yarn on amazon.com I try to search for the 3-packs instead of single skeins. The 3 packs are more cost-efficient.
I ended up using about 12 skeins of yarn. Though I did end up with a lot of leftover cream and orange skeins. If you were to make this entire blanket in one color, I think you would need about 9 skeins of the yarn.
How to make a Bulky Knit blanket:
The idea I had was to make a lap blanket that was warm and cuddly and measured about 48 by 58 inches in size. After making a gauge swatch, I figured out I needed about 40 stitches and cast them on.
This blanket is knit entirely in a basic ribbing pattern of K2 P2. Now even though I am using a circular knitting needle, I am not knitting in the round. The circular needle just has more space to accommodate all the stitches I need. A regular straight pointed needle would not be able to hold all the 40 stitches.
If you aren’t comfortable knitting with a circular needle- an easier option would be to knit smaller rectangles that when joined would make the desired sized afghan like I did in my Easy Chunky Knit Blanket Pattern: 4 strands of yarn
Oh, I forgot to mention the most important part- you need to use 3 strands of yarn, from 3 different skeins of yarn held together as one to knit this blanket. So while counting your stitches, like seen below, every single stitch is made up of 3 loops of yarn. This is what creates the thick stitches with just regular yarn that you can buy at the craft store. I love how those big stitches look in the ribbing!
Multi-strand knitting is something I do very often. If you have never tried it before, no worries. I have many other blanket blog posts where I explain how I do this. Check out my garter stitch blanket, and Knit Multi Colored Blanket and Yarn stash-busting projects: The 10 day quick knit
I also have a video explaining it in this blog post: Rainbow Knit Blanket Pattern
Here is a pattern to follow along:
Now back to our Bulky Knit Blanket pattern. Well, there is not much to the pattern really, simply K2 P2 till the end of each row. Repeat till the desired length is achieved.
The entire project is knit with three strands of yarn held together as one (a triple strand if you may) to create the bulky stitches
- Cast on 40 stitches on the circular needle.
- Row 1: *K2, P2* repeat till end of row.
- Repeat Row 1 till desired length (my blanket measures about 58 inches)
- Create uneven stripes by changing yarn color when desired.
- Bind off loosely maintaining the ribbing pattern and tuck in stray yarn ends.
A look at the finished blanket:
This blanket ended up being a unique, one kind, a colorful blanket that makes me smile on cold grey rainy days. Also, this blanket is a bit stretchy thanks to the ribbing and oh so very soft to snuggle under.
If you wish to make this blanket wider simply increase the number of stitches you cast on. Just make sure that your total number of stitches is a multiple of 4 to maintain the ribbing pattern.
I initially had planned to make this a nice solid single grey colored blanket and I still think this pattern would great in a single solid color. But after a few rows, I knew that I wanted this blanket to be colorful not just one solid grey color. Hence entered the pink, orange, and white-colored uneven stripes.
NOTES FOR THIS BULKY KNIT BLANKET:
- Knitting with three strands of yarn means when it comes to weaving in the ends, you have three times as many ends. I just use a large crochet hook and weave each strand of yarn individually. I also try to fold the strands over and weave as I knit the next row to avoid all the hassle of weaving in.
- The stripe pattern for this blanket was completely random. I just changed the colors as and when I felt it was time. But you can use a Random Stripe Generator to create an uneven stripe pattern for you.
- Variation: To make this into a single colored blanket my rough estimate would be that you’ll need only 9 skeins of yarn. If anyone does make a single colored blanket from this blanket I would love to hear and see your results too!
- This blanket is quite chunky. It is a stunner and everyone who visits my house comments on how beautiful this bulky knit blanket is. It keeps you really warm, but it is a bit heavy- it’s definitely not a lightweight blanket.
So pretty!
Love the rainbow colours blanket
I love it..I love your blankies
Beautiful I will make it
Thank you for this pattern! It will be fun to make. I would love to see a stash-buster blanket pattern. I have lots of stash to be busted, and would love some inspiration!
This is a beautiful blanket Smitha. I have a question though… How do you know what size needle to use when you are doubling or tripling the yarn?
Trial and error. I try two or three needle sizes and create a swatch and then use the one I like best.
I would like to make this but need it to be much wider (twin size). Approx how many stitches to cast on?
That would depend totally on your gauge/tension. I would recommend you make a swatch of 4 by 4 inches and then calculate the number of stitches needed…
Love this pattern tks so much
love this pattern thanks
You’re welcome Mary!
Just finished! Using this for a Christmas gift. I am thinking I’m going to add some tassels to give it a little extra length and hide some of my ends. Once I broke down and got the circular needles it took me two nights of working.
Thanks a bunch.
Yay! Glad you found the pattern useful! And that needle is a great buy! I’ve started another blanket with it. I’m hoping to spend the holidays with my knitting in hand
How many rows of grey, white, apricot, and pink did you use? You start with grey — how many grey rows before you switch colors, for instance? This is one of the most beautiful and unique throws I’ve ever seen! I love it!
This project is next on my knit list! How did you weave in the ends when you changed colors or finished the blanket? Is there anything you would do differently than in a 1-strand knit to keep the ends from unraveling?
I weave my ends in at the end, when all my knitting is done. It’s messy and I’m not sure I do a good job. I’m still looking for better ideas/options
How many of each colour yarn would you need to purchase?.. I know it says 9-12 if you do all one colour ?
Sorry Sue just saw your comment. I would say you need 9 skeins.
Do you have more bulky patterns for sixe 50 needles and bulky yarn or using 3 strands of yarn ?
I have this pattern too that uses 4 strands of yarn https://www.smilingcolors.com/2015/07/easy-chunky-knit-blanket-pattern-4-strands-of-yarn/
Sorry my email was wrong its [email protected] hope you get this
Kathy Banket
Hi Kathy! I also have a 4 strand yarn blanket here https://www.smilingcolors.com/2015/07/easy-chunky-knit-blanket-pattern-4-strands-of-yarn/ I’ve also started another blanket with the 50 size needles. Just need to find time to finish it up!
Hi 🙂 the blanket is beautiful. I couldn’t find if you used 5 or 6 weight with the 2 strands. Would you mind clarifying please? Thank you
Hi Melissa, The Hometown USA yarn details are 6-Super Bulky: Bulky, Roving Yarn; Solids: 5-Ounce (140 g), 81 yd (74 m); Hope this helps!
Thank you 🙂
You are welcome!!!
how many skeins wound I need for multi color , bulky yarn 100g/130yds for three strands knitting
What exactly do you mean by multicolor? variegated?
Veragated thank you
You’d probably need more than the single color option I have listed- because variegated yarn balls tend to be a bit smaller
Hi Smitha! Beautiful cozy blanket! How is the Hometown yarn with shedding? I knit a blanket before using my size 50 needles (LOVE THEM) and Bernat Extra Chunky…it shed so bad I didn’t like using the blanket and eventually gave it away 🙁 I want to knit another extra chunky on my needles, but am looking for a better (less “sheddy”) yarn…THANKS!
The hometown usa yarn is nice, it hasnt shed but it is an acrylic yarn so it does wear a bit with time. I also have tried Bernat Blanket yarn recently. The bulky one. That had a soft feel.
This project is next on my knit list! I love your blankets . Can I use a different size needles for this pattern and a different brand of yarn?
Yes! Blankets are so versatile. You can easily change the needle size to match whatever yarn you have. Just adjust the number of stitches to be casted on accordingly.
Thank you so much for sharing! I love how it turned out. 🙂
Love this blanket. Can I use any yarn and any size needles?
Guess where I will be going after I sit empty-handed in the waiting room of car dealership having a block heater installed this morning for 2 hours???? Michaels!..here I come. 😉 😉
Can the new super bulky blanket yarns be used instead of your 3 strand way? Will it give a different appearance?
Just make sure the gauge is close. It will till work.otherwise, but you’d have to increase the starting cast on stitches
I wandered aimlessly around Michaels for over and hour yesterday. They didn’t have the needles and didn’t understand what I had copied from your pattern as to the type yarm I would need to make this sooooooo I bought balls of impeccable medium weight yarn in 5 balls Cameo Green Tweed /190 yards and 4 Deep Forest green/277 yards and have started a hat, to be followed by mitts & scarf for myself ! All yarn is # 4 weight. I will hand write your pattern and go to the “wool shop” and see what my friend is carrying that will give the the results I want from your pattern.
Those really large needles are available on Amazon.com easily. I haven’t seen them in Michaels. If you use impeccable you’d probably need about 7 strands held together I’d think. I used Hometown USA which you can buy on amazon.com or lionbrands website.
Hi SMITHA,
I live in the uk what wool would I use for this blanket I have the needles ,but not sure which,wool to use,
The blanket looks amazing by the way .
Julie, you try using the thickest yarn you can get your hands on. Or try using three or four strands of yarn held together as one
Which cast on and bind off method did you use for this?