(AKA The slowest project ever) I started this blanket a few years ago as a side project and would only knit when on holiday, hence why it took me months to finish it. And it’s taken me even longer to write up the pattern, but it’s finally here!

I initially created this blanket for Lindsay‘s little girl, Matilda. The whole time I was making it I thought ‘by the time I’m done she will be too big for it’, but luckily (I’m a lazy knitter and don’t really measure my work from the start) it ended up being quite big for a baby blanket – it’s around 70x84cm.

Lindsay is the talented maker behind Em&Sprout and is one of the reasons why I started knitting squares in the first place. Remember the 30 animal squares I knitted back in 2014? I created them as part of her #animaldoodleaday challenge on Instagram! I then used the squares to make my first ever patchwork blanket and wrote up the pattern for all 30 squares – you can find it here. The response to this pattern has been incredible and worth the effort!

When Lindsay asked me to make one of these blankets for her little girl, I knew I wanted to try something a little different and improve my design skills, plus the initial blanket was a bit small anyway. So I mixed it up and alternated animal squares animals in Intarsia, with plain seed stitch squares (my fave stitch). I redesigned some of my original animal squares, and added a couple of new animals: an aplaca and a panda (don’t think I need to justify why I chose these cuties).

To join the squares together, I decided to give crochet a try and I instantly fell in love! It gives the blanket such a pretty finish. So I went on and made a crochet border too. Finally I stitched on a fleece backing and I was done!

Years later, the pattern for the animal patchwork blanket is finally available! It includes the instructions, a stitch library and individual animal charts. It’s a very complete pattern and ideal if you’re looking to learn new (and easy) finishing techniques. I really hope you love this pattern and I can’t wait to see your creations!

Buy The Animal Patchwork Blanket Pattern on: ETSY | RAVELRY