Knitting Pattern for Classic Ripple Baby Afghan

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Knitting has been a favorite hobby of mine since I was in grade school.  I’ve tinkered around with lots of other crafts and hobbies over the years (beading, scrapbooking, sewing) but the one that I always stick with and keep coming back to is knitting.  For me (and for lots of other knitters too) it’s relaxing and at the same time lets me feel productive and keep my hands busy as I sit and watch TV or while I’m having  some quiet time at the beginning or the end of a day.

When I found out at the beginning of this year that there was a new grandbaby arriving, one of the first things I knew I wanted to get busy knitting was a baby afghan.  I decided to use the same pattern I knit for MY babies but to change it up a little bit by using some updated colors to match the new baby’s nursery.  Back in the day when I first made this pattern, I used white, blue, and pink yarn because I didn’t know the gender of my baby ahead of time.  We just prepared for either one back in the good old days and knit with both blue and pink!

Knit Baby Afghan Pattern

For knitting up this afghan pattern the second time around I decided to use teal, yellow and gray to match our little grandson’s nursery and was very pleased with how it turned out. And to be a little more specific and helpful, here are the exact names of the yarn I used because we know the yarn manufacturers would never use boring old names for their yarn like teal, yellow, and gray.  Oh heck, no.

I used the Red Heart brand of yarn in “Iced Aqua, Daffodil, and Pewter”.  { Yes, that  really does sound better! }

These came in 7 oz skeins and the medium (4) weight. I bought two skeins of the Iced Aqua which was my main color, and one skein each of the Daffodil and the Pewter.

Red Heart Yarn for Knit Baby Afghan

Update January, 2017:  Here’s a second afghan I’ve completed (for a granddaughter) using this pattern. I used Red Heart Soft in Light Grey Heather, Red Heart Super Saver in Aruba Sea, and Red Heart Super Saver in Bubble Gum (the main color).

Free Knitting Pattern for a baby afghan in a classic ripple pattern

You’ll probably find that it won’t be long before you have the pattern sequence committed to memory and you’ll be able to knit along quite quickly!

Classic Ripple Knit Baby Afghan Pattern

Click here for printable pdf of Pattern

You will Need:

  • Size 9 (American) Circular Knitting Needles
  • Approx. 12 oz of main color (Iced Aqua)
  • Approx. 4 oz of  first contrast color (Pewter)
  • Approx. 4 oz of second contrast color (Daffodil)
  • Stitch Markers
  • Crochet Hook Size H for finishing

NOTE:  The abbreviation of “SSK” used in this pattern is a “Slip, Slip, Knit” and is worked as follows:  Slip the next two stitches knitwise, one at a time, then insert the tip of the left-hand needle into the fronts of these two stitches, from the left, and knit them together from this position.

Knit Baby Afghan Pattern

Here is the Pattern Stitch you will be using:

Rows 1 – 5:  Knit

Row 6:  *K2 tog, K2, Increase in the next 2 sts, K3, SSK, repeat from * across.

Rows 7, 9, and 11:  Purl.

Rows 8, 10 and 12:  Repeat Row 6.

This pattern stitch is a multiple of 11.  I found it helpful to place stitch markers every 22 stitches (the first time I worked Row 6) so I could keep track of my pattern.   I suppose you could place them every 11 stitches but that was more stitch markers than I wanted to keep moving around    ðŸ™‚

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

With main color (Iced Aqua) cast on 154 stitches.

* Work pattern Rows 1 – 5.

Drop main color but do not break off (carry loosely up the side).  Attach first contrast color (Pewter) and work Rows 6 – 11.

Drop Pewter (but do not cut, carry up the side) and with Iced Aqua work Rows 12 and 1 – 5.  Drop Iced Aqua and with second contrast color (Daffodil) works Rows 6 – 11.  Drop Daffodil (but do not cut, carry up the side) and with Iced Aqua work Row 12.

Repeat from * until piece measures about 41″ ending with a Pewter stripe.  Then work patterns Rows 1 – 4 in Iced Aqua.  Bind off.

Knit Baby Afghan Pattern

Finishing:   Weave in the yarn ends along the one side of your afghan.  With crochet hook and your main color, work a row of single crochet along both sides of the afghan.

This last step of a finished crochet edge is not absolutely necessary, but does make for a more finished edge on your afghan and hides the starting and the stopping of the stripes along the edge a bit more.

And of course, you can make this afghan in any colors you want to match the decor of a certain room or to use up yarn you may already have.

Knit Newborn Baby Hat

And speaking of using up your leftover yarn . . . here’s a little newborn baby hat I made with the leftover yarn from this project.  This is a pattern I use for knitting baby hats for donation to a local hospital.  It’s a pretty simple pattern and a little hat can be made in just a couple of hours.

You can get the pattern here = = > > Knit Pattern For Newborn Baby Hat

And you can see more of my knitting patterns here – – > Make Your Own Zone Free Knitting Patterns

 

 

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30 Comments

  1. Hi there!

    You mentioned adding a crochet boarder, but I was hoping to match the knit blue boarder around the entire blanket (the five rows of knitting I’d like to go all around the blanket). Is there as way to do this with video tutorial? Thanks so much

    1. The sides are finished with a row of single crochet which works as a border and helps to keep the edges from rolling.

  2. I new to knitting but I thought circular knitting needles made a circular item.. is this true?? Sorry am daft at times lol. I love this pattern thank you for sharing x

    1. Circular needles can be used for both! If you get to the end of the first row you can either “join” the work and knit around and around to make a circular item, OR, you can turn the work and just knit back and forth like you would on any knitting needles. Circular needles are often used for large items that aren’t circular (like afghans) because it’s an easier way to handle that many stitches on your needles.

  3. By “increase in the next two stitches”, does that mean after k2, knit next stitch with increase knit next stitch with increase?

    1. Yes, in each of those next two stitches you will do an increase by knitting into the front and the back of the stitch.

  4. Can you explain how you get to 11 stitches? I only count 9 and am guessing I don’t understand the increase part fully. Thank you for any guidance!

    1. It’s probably Row 6 of the repeating pattern that you are wondering about. The 11 stitches comes out like this: The K2 tog ends up being 1 stitch, then K2 (up to 3), then increase in the next 2, knitting into the front back, which gives you four stitches (now up to 7), then K3 (now up to 10), and then the SSK, which results in 1 stitch (for a total of 11). I hope that helps!

    1. You’re right, I did not have that worded correctly as I do not cut (or break off) any of the colors as I make the afghan and instead carry them up the side. I have made the correction to the pattern. Thanks for bringing that to my attention!

  5. Hello!

    I’d like to make this with alternating 3 colours, (grey, mint, and white) instead of repeating the aqua.

    I was wondering what I should do for row 12, where it says to use aqua again… should I use whatever colour will be part of the next 1-5 knit rows section again as the colour for row 12?

    Thank you!

    1. Yes, that is exactly it. You need to work Row 12 in the repeating pattern in the same color as whatever you are using for Rows 1-5.

      1. Thank you very much! My first time trying to use more than one colour – I’m used to doing big chunky blankets with super bulky yarn, so this has been quite the challenge!

        Do you have any good tips for changing colours? I found a few ways on youtube, but I’m open to suggestions!

          1. Interesting, so even with using 3 colours, and there being 12 rows between each use of the colour – do you think it’s best to carry the two colours not being used up the side with every row? Or would it be better to cut and weave them in, since there are two colours resting? (I’m only on row 8, so I’ve just done two rows of my second colour and can change how I do things now while I’ve only just started!)

            Thank you!

            1. I would just carry the two colors not being used up the side. I would not break the yarn. That is how I have done it every time I have made this afghan. When the afghan is all knit, and you are to the step of making the finishing crochet edge, that crochet edge will cover up those yarns on the side that were being carried.

  6. I would like to make the blanket bigger than you have done
    How do you think it would look if it was twice as long? My 8 year old grandson has requested it

    1. Yes, I think you could definitely adjust this blanket to make it larger. If you are making it twice as long, I would make it a little wider too. The pattern is a repeat of 11 stitches, so if you cast on more stitches to make it wider, add stitches in multiples of 11. (I think maybe casting on an additional 22 stitches would do the trick).

        1. I never considered doing one color before, but now that you mention it I think it would turn out quite nicely. I think there’s enough texture in this pattern for one color because the stripes alternate between stockinette stitch and garter stitch. I might have to try this on the next one I knit!

  7. Can I use the same pattern with a regular straight needle? I am a relative newbie to knitting and want to make this for my on the way baby boy!

    1. Congrats on the baby boy that’s on the way Jess! You probably could use straight needles, but because you are casting on 154 stitches they will be packed pretty tightly together on your needle. Using circular needles doesn’t really feel any different than knitting on straight needles, and you have much more room for all those stitches. I’d encourage you to give the circular needles a try.

      1. I had the same issue! I was using a different way of increasing – thank you so much for posting the link to the way you intended it to be done, that saved me from giving up (and is way easier than the other way I’d learned!)