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

Fisherman’s Rib Baby Blanket

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.

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Comments

    • 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. 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

    • 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. 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

    • 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. 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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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

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