Easy DIY Knit Blanket – No Sewing Required!

Want to make a blanket, but don’t have knitting experience? This tutorial is for you!

If you’ve never knit before but want to learn how to make a blanket, you’re in the right place! In fact, the black blanket pictured above is the first thing I’ve ever knit, so there’s proof that it’s possible even if you have no experience whatsoever!

Today I’m going to walk you through the technique that I used to create two chunky knit blankets. Our blog will consist of photos and text, but if you prefer some video help too, you can check out our “DIY Blanket” story highlight on Instagram.

I learned the basic technique from a wonderful woman on Youtube–you can learn anything on Youtube! So if you prefer a video tutorial from a pro, you can view her video here.

Alright, let’s start DIYing!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, I earn a small commission, but it won’t cost you a penny more)!

UPDATE: Looks like the Sherpa yarn has gone MIA.

How to Make a Simple Knit Blanket

New to DIY? Download our free 5 Steps to Getting Start with DIY guide!

Step 1: make some decisions

Determine what yarn you want to use and how loose you want your blanket to be. 1.5-2″ is a good place to start.

Step 2: Create a chain

First tie a knot at the end of your yarn then make a loop approximately 1-3″ away from the knot. Pull your working yarn through the loop until you’ve created a 1.5-2″ loop.

Repeat this process until you have your desired amount of links. We did approximately 20 links.

You can determine how many links you want based on the size of your loops. If you want your blanket to be 40″ wide and you’re using 2″ loops, then you will need approximately 20 chains.

Step 3: create a row of loops

This is the most complicated step of the entire blanket, so don’t be discouraged if it’s not as easy as you had hoped!

For this step, you need to find all of the places that your knots “bump out.” You will slide your finger under the first bump and pull your working yarn through to create your first loop.

Then find the next bump, slide your finger under it and pull your working yarn through to create another loop. Continue down your chain until you have the desired number of loops.

Note: Make sure that your loops are always the same size. Consistency in sizing is the most important factor for knitting a blanket. If you are inconsistent in your loop sizes, your blanket will end up being a funny shape and it will look sloppy. Some holes will be big, some will be tight. Concentrate most on making sure that all of your loops are the same size!

step 4: knit your first real row

 You’re going to ignore the first loop in this row for now and just move onto the second loop. Pull your working yarn through the backside of the loop to create a new loop.

Make sure that loop stays in place while you move onto the next loop and pull the working yarn through. Keep going until you reach the end of your row.

FINIshing a row

Remember how you ignored the first loop? Well now it might look like you have an awkward loop hanging out on the side.

You’re going to treat this awkward side loop as if it were any other loop. Just pull your working yarn through the backside and create a new loop with it.

Now your loop should look like it belongs to the same row as your other loops rather than being an awkward side loop.

Starting a new row

When you start a new row, you’re going to skip over the loop that you just created with the working yarn and the awkward side loop. Once you skip the loop you just created in step 5, just repeat step 4 until you get to the other side.

Step 4: repeat until you’re almost done

If you’re working with the Sherpa yarn, you need to be especially careful that no loops get skipped. Since the yarn is so smooth, it slips easily.

If you finish your blanket and find that you missed a few loops, sew them to another loop to prevent your blanket from unraveling.

Connecting two yarn skeins

When you run out of yarn and need to connect a new one, it’s very simple. Simply tie the two pieces of yarn together with a knot.

When I was creating the Sherpa Yarn blanket, I used a double knot since the fabric comes undone so easily. Don’t worry about the knot–the yarn is so soft that you shouldn’t notice it.

Step 5: Make the finishing row

You’ll need excess yarn for this step, so stop knitting your blanket when you have enough yarn to do 1.5-3 rows remaining. What you’re going to do is loop the first two loops around your hand (don’t ignore the first loop like you normally would).

Then pull your working yarn through those two loops to create a new loop. Keep this loop on your hand and add the next loop in the row to your hand. Pull the working yarn through to create a new loop. Keep repeating until you get all the way to the end. Don’t forget to grab the awkward side loop too! 

Once you pull the yarn through the awkward side loop, you realize that there is still an extra loop. Grab your working yarn and weave it through the loop and pull until the blanket is tight. For the Sherpa Yarn blanket, I added an extra double knot at the end just for extra security.

Weave in any excess yarn that you might have. We had to weave in the yarn that was leftover from the final row as well as the excess yarn from the first row.

You did it!! I told you the process was easy. The hardest part is staying consistent with the loops sizes, but once you do that, you’re well on your way to becoming a knit blanket pro! Send us a picture of your blanket on Instagram and feel free to reach out with any questions!