• 0 items$0.00
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Hands Occupied

Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

  • BLOG
    • Knitting
    • Crochet
    • Latch Hook
    • Macramé
    • Punch Needle
  • ABOUT
  • Shop
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • YouTube

Fisherman’s Rib Baby Blanket

March 20, 2018 14 Comments

Knit the Fisherman's Rib Baby Blanket, a great option for a decorative throw or baby blanket. This pattern uses an addictive stitch with lots of and dimensionality that will give your blanket endless texture.
Meet the Fisherman’s Rib Baby Blanket, a great option for a small, decorative throw or baby blanket. This pattern uses an addictive stitch with lots of and dimensionality that will give your blanket endless texture. You’ll notice in the pattern that I recommend using a German Twisted Cast On and an Icelandic Bind Off. The fisherman’s rib stitch is used throughout the body of this blanket, giving it lots of 3D texture and stretch, so you’re going to want to begin and end your project with a cast on and bind off known for being both stretchy and sturdy to give your blanket the structural foundation it needs to lay just right. In addition to the allover stitch pattern, this blanket is embellished with four-color pom poms, which is an easy way to bring an extra contemporary touch to the finished piece! (And if you’re making one of these blankets for a baby shower gift, it’s also a great opportunity to tie in your friend’s nursery colors without having to do tons of colorwork!)

Knit the Fisherman's Rib Baby Blanket, a great option for a decorative throw or baby blanket. This pattern uses an addictive stitch with lots of and dimensionality that will give your blanket endless texture.

Fisherman’s Rib Baby Blanket – Knitting Pattern

Supplies
3 skeins LB Collection Superwash Merino yarn in Dijon
scrap yarn in additional colors (optional – for pom poms)
US 6 (4 mm) knitting needles – circular needles with a 24″ or 32″ cord
scissors
tapestry needle
cardboard or pom pom maker in desired size (Optional – a 45 mm maker was used in blanket pictured.)

Abbreviations & Terms
CO – cast on
sts – stitches
German Twisted or Old Norwegian Cast On – A stretchy knitting cast on that is worked with a long tail. Here’s a tutorial.
sl – slip
wyif – with yarn in front
p – purl
k – knit
k1b – knit 1 in the row below
rep – repeat
BO – bind off
Icelandic Bind Off – A stretchy knitting bind off that pairs well with a German Twisted Cast On. Here’s a tutorial.
Fisherman’s rib – A knitting stitch that creates a one over one (k1, p1) style rib, but by knitting one stitch in the row below instead of working a regular knit one, a three-dimensionality is created. This trait makes the fisherman’s rib stitch mimic that of a brioche rib stitch while being much easier to knit. Here’s a tutorial. 

Gauge & dimensions: 16 sts & 18 rows over 4″ in fisherman’s rib stitch. Finished blanket measures 24.5″ wide and 36″ long (not including pom poms, which are 45 mm).

Knit the Fisherman's Rib Baby Blanket, a great option for a decorative throw or baby blanket. This pattern uses an addictive stitch with lots of and dimensionality that will give your blanket endless texture.
Knit the Fisherman's Rib Baby Blanket, a great option for a decorative throw or baby blanket. This pattern uses an addictive stitch with lots of and dimensionality that will give your blanket endless texture.

Pattern

Get a printable, ad-free PDF of this pattern here.

CO 105 sts with a German Twisted Cast On.
row 1. sl1 wyif, p to last st, k1.
row 2. sl1 wyif, *p1, k1b; rep from * to last 2 sts, end p1, k1.
Rep row 2 until blanket measures 36″ in length. BO all sts using the Icelandic Bind Off. Weave in all ends and wet block to size.
Embellish (optional)
Make 4 pom poms using remaining yarn, and if you’d like to make colorful pom poms like those pictured, include 3 additional colors of yarn as you wrap your pom pom maker. Attach one pom pom to each corner of the blanket with a secure knot and weave in all ends.

Knit the Fisherman's Rib Baby Blanket, a great option for a decorative throw or baby blanket. This pattern uses an addictive stitch with lots of and dimensionality that will give your blanket endless texture.
Knit the Fisherman's Rib Baby Blanket, a great option for a decorative throw or baby blanket. This pattern uses an addictive stitch with lots of and dimensionality that will give your blanket endless texture.
Yarn for this design was provided by Lion Brand Yarn.

Filed Under: Free Patterns, Knitting Tagged With: baby blanket, fisherman's rib, fisherman's rib baby blanket, free knitting pattern, knitting pattern, pom pom

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. She specializes in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macramé, and her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now!

Previous Post: « Picks of the Week
Next Post: How to Knit & How to Fix Fisherman’s Rib »

Reader Interactions

DID YOU LIKE THIS POST?
Visit similar articles...

  • Winter Sea Stocking CapWinter Sea Stocking Cap
  • Checked Snood – free knitting patternChecked Snood – free knitting pattern
  • Picks of the Week for May 12, 2017 | Hands OccupiedPicks of the Week
  • Picks of the WeekPicks of the Week

DON’T MISS ANOTHER UPDATE

Comments

  1. Liz hart

    March 25, 2018 at 7:36 am

    Could I knit fisherman’s rib blanket on straight needles pls x

    Reply
    • Heidi

      March 26, 2018 at 1:51 pm

      It’s worked flat, so you absolutely can! :) You’ll just need pretty long needles since it’s knit in one, wide piece.

      Reply
  2. Carol W

    May 7, 2018 at 3:59 pm

    I love this pattern, but the intended recipient lives in Florida, so I’m reluctant to use wool..
    Can you suggest another yarn that would work with this, possibly in cotton or a cotton blend?
    Thanks very much!
    (P.S, I love the pompoms!)

    Reply
    • Heidi

      May 7, 2018 at 6:13 pm

      Sure thing! My in-laws live in the South, so I get it for sure! :) You could do a Sugar ‘n Cream – it’s 100% cotton, but the stitch is so inherently stretchy that you can get away with it. If you’re thinking more of a blend, I’d go with another LB collection yarn, their Cotton Bamboo. The Le Pom Blanket design I’ve also done used that yarn, and you can see how it looks here.

      Reply
  3. Carol

    May 9, 2018 at 3:50 pm

    Hi Heidi,
    Thanks for these recommendations, and for your quick reply.
    One more question: the Ravelry page indicates that the pattern is free. When I click on the tab,
    though, the one that says it will give me a PDF without ads. I get an error message that says the
    item is no longer available at that site. Can you help? Can I download the pattern through Ravelry?
    Thanks very much.
    Carol

    Reply
    • Heidi

      May 10, 2018 at 12:56 pm

      Hi Carol,

      Happy to help! I tested all of the links in the post & on Ravelry, and I didn’t run into any error messages. Can you help clarify what you mean by, “When I click on the tab, though, the one that says it will give me a PDF without ads. I get an error message that says the item is no longer available at that site.”? What tab are you referring to?

      Best,
      Heidi

      Reply
  4. Kit

    May 30, 2018 at 2:59 pm

    I’m just learning the Fisherman’s Rib. In a different guide it says to cast on an even number of stitches.
    You suggest an odd number of stitches (105) which I imagine has to do with slipping the first stitch.
    Can any odd number work or does it need to be a certain multiple plus one?

    Reply
    • Heidi

      May 31, 2018 at 9:12 am

      Any odd number greater than 3 will work. :)

      Reply
  5. Nicolle

    September 18, 2020 at 12:33 am

    Hi Heidi
    Thanks for this pattern, I have now knitted 2 baby blankets for loved ones and about to start my 3rd. However, I can only seem to get it to work if I use 104 cast on stitches. I assume it should be an even number as in the second row and beyond, excluding the first and last stitch, you are doing a p1, k1b pattern until the last three stitches which are p1, p1 (instead of p1, k1b) and then the final k1 stitch which I included in counting the 1st and last stitches, so makes me think it then should be an even number cast on? What am I doing wrong, if not? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Heidi

      September 22, 2020 at 1:51 pm

      The first stitch of each row is slipped to form a chained edge, which is why the cast on is 105 sts. 👍🏻

      Reply
  6. Isobel McBride

    September 27, 2020 at 8:43 am

    Hi Heidi!

    I love this pattern but I was hoping to scale it up to a throw size for an adult. Do you have any recommendations for dimensions?

    Thanks!

    Isobel

    Reply
    • Heidi

      September 28, 2020 at 11:09 am

      I’ll refer you to this useful guide on blanket dimensions 😊 : https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/standard-bed-and-blanket-sizes-2116316

      Reply
  7. Lady

    December 20, 2020 at 9:07 am

    It s absolutely stunning, Destiny! I m determined to only have one knitting project at a time until I know what I m doing more, but I ve added this one and your Latticework scarf to my queue. Your Fair Isle beanie is on my radar too among other things. ??

    Reply
    • Heidi

      January 4, 2021 at 3:44 pm

      What beanie are you referring to? :)

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

UPDATES BY EMAIL

Monthly highlights sent to your inbox.

Find Me Elsewhere, If You’re There

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
Latch Hook by Heidi GustadDiscover Unique Items

Footer

INSTAGRAM

handsoccupied

Yarn craft designer & author. Into intarsia knits, latch hook, color & vintage-modern style.
❤️ Email for pattern support
👇🏻 Book, Patterns, Tutorials

Heidi Gustad 🧶✂️
This yoke deserved a mid-blocking closeup, don’t This yoke deserved a mid-blocking closeup, don’t you think? ❤️💛💙
.
Pattern: modified #soldotnacrop sweater / yarn: various from my stash
If you look closely, you’ll see I’m casually k If you look closely, you’ll see I’m casually knitting from one sweater into another here, no big deal. (What can I say, I lost a game of yarn chicken. 😂) I almost didn’t post this because I was worried someone might have some nonsense to say about my ability to knit. Then I remembered I can’t care about that. Silly me, I almost forgot myself! 
.
Speaking of which, dang it’s good to have my mental health back consistently after the past couple of years. The anxious parts of my personality are just chilling, rather than constantly screaming that my work isn’t good enough to share. The confident parts of me that matter have me creating (and starting to share my creations & process with strangers and friends) again! 
.
Anybody else feel like they are beginning to return to themselves, so to speak, this spring?
I’m feeling better, & all my [big, bad bug] proj I’m feeling better, & all my [big, bad bug] project needs is a couple of short sleeves! I’ll be finishing this sweater *just* before it gets too warm to wear, but isn’t that always how it goes? 🫠🧶 
.
#knittersofinstagram #soldotnacrop #handsoccupied #knitincolor #springknitting
Just divided the sleeves on this quick sweater, wh Just divided the sleeves on this quick sweater, which has unsurprisingly turned into a love letter to primary colors. ❤️💛💙 The heart stripe is a wee tweak I incorporated, and I don’t regret it! 
.
 #handsoccupied #soldotnacrop #strandedcolorwork #knitting #yokesweater
I am unfortunately home bound for the near future I am unfortunately home bound for the near future thanks to the big, bad bug. So far I’ve knit half a sweater, consumed about a gallon of ginger tea, & plowed through 3 seasons of Pit Bulls and Parolees. 
.
June doesn’t understand why I’m suddenly so boring, but she seems to like watching animal planet. 🤷🏼‍♀️
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 / Foodie Pro Theme On Genesis Framework / Branding by Ink + Mortar
All Site & Shop Policies / Privacy Policy / Cookie Policy