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Blue Bell Baby Blanket. Photos © AishahBey & © Yarnfanatic
Blue Bell Baby Blanket by Ann V. Gallentine is a free baby blanket knitting pattern featuring a beautiful shell-stitch border surrounding a simple stockinette center.
The original blanket measures approximately 42 inches square and is knitted with worsted-weight yarn. Its combination of an elegant lace-like border and uncomplicated center makes it a lovely choice for a handmade baby gift.
The feature that gives the Blue Bell Baby Blanket its distinctive look is the decorative Lucina Shell Pattern used around the edges of the blanket.
Ann Gallentine explains that the border reminded her of bluebell flowers, which inspired the name of the design. The shell pattern surrounds a straightforward stockinette-stitch center, allowing the decorative edge to stand out.
The Lucina Shell Pattern used for the border was adapted by the designer from Barbara G. Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns.
The original Blue Bell Baby Blanket was knitted with worsted-weight Berroco Comfort, a nylon and acrylic blend. The designer lists 5½ skeins of 3.5 ounces each for the original blanket.
The recommended needle size is 6.5 mm (US 10½), with a gauge of 4 stitches and 6 rows per inch in stockinette stitch.
If you substitute another worsted-weight yarn, make a gauge swatch before starting if you want your finished blanket to remain close to the original dimensions.
Worked according to the original instructions, the blanket measures approximately 42 inches square.
This gives you a generously sized baby blanket that can work well in a nursery, stroller or as a handmade gift.
Yes. One of the useful features of Ann Gallentine's design is that the size can be customized.
The designer explains how to increase or decrease the cast-on count while preserving the shell-pattern repeat. Check the original pattern before changing the dimensions so that the decorative border remains correctly aligned.
Remember that making a larger blanket will require additional yarn.
The original version combines the decorative shell border with a stockinette center, but Ann also suggests another option: work the entire blanket in the shell pattern.
This creates a much more heavily textured version of the design. It will also require more yarn than the original stockinette-center blanket.
This pattern offers a useful balance between decorative and simple knitting. The shell border provides visual interest, while the large stockinette center gives the eye a place to rest and keeps the finished design from becoming overly busy.
A solid or softly tonal yarn is a particularly good choice when you want the shadows and curves of the shell-stitch border to remain clearly visible.
The complete Blue Bell Baby Blanket by Ann V. Gallentine is available free on the designer's original Ann's Knitting Page.
Get the Free Blue Bell Baby Blanket Pattern
Pattern availability was checked when this article was updated. Availability on external websites may change over time.
The Oden Baby Blanket by Gena Shaffer is a beautifully simple textured baby blanket built around a repeating chevron-style stitch pattern. The design creates rows of gentle zigzags without requiring complicated cables, lace charts or colorwork.
The stitch pattern uses an easy 8-stitch, 4-row repeat, making this a particularly appealing project for knitters who enjoy rhythmic, easy-to-memorize patterns.
The blanket is worked flat in one piece with Aran-weight yarn, and the complete pattern is still available as a free download from the designer's Ravelry store.
Design and original pattern © Gena Shaffer.
The main feature of the Oden Baby Blanket is its repeating zigzag texture.
Instead of creating the chevrons through several yarn colors, the design uses stitch texture to produce the visual effect directly in the knitted fabric. This gives the blanket plenty of interest while allowing it to remain a single-color project if you prefer.
The result is clean and modern, with horizontal rows of raised texture that travel across the blanket.
One of the strongest features of this pattern is its short repeat. The textured design is based on only four rows, with an eight-stitch repeat across the width.
Short repeating patterns can be especially enjoyable for larger projects because you spend less time constantly checking complicated charts or long instruction sequences.
Once you become familiar with the rhythm of the four rows, it becomes easier to recognize where you are in the pattern simply by looking at the developing fabric.
The Oden Baby Blanket is knitted flat as one continuous piece.
There are no separate squares or panels to sew together afterward, which keeps the construction straightforward.
This style is particularly convenient for knitters who prefer traditional back-and-forth knitting on straight or circular needles rather than working large projects in the round.
The blanket begins along the lower edge and grows upward as you continue the repeating texture.
A bottom-up construction works especially well for this type of design because the chevron pattern gradually builds into horizontal bands across the entire blanket.
As the project grows, the repeating stitch structure makes it easy to see whether the pattern remains correctly aligned.
The original pattern recommends Caron Simply Soft, an Aran-weight acrylic yarn.
The published yardage is approximately 750–790 yards / 686–722 meters.
Caron Simply Soft is commonly used for blankets because it creates a soft, washable fabric while still giving textured stitches enough definition to remain visible.
You can substitute another suitable Aran-weight yarn if desired, but always check that your chosen yarn produces a fabric you like at the required gauge.
For a textured blanket like this, a relatively smooth yarn is often the best choice.
Very fuzzy yarns can hide the raised chevron texture, while a smooth yarn allows the knit-and-purl structure to remain more visible.
For a baby project, also consider washability and durability. A blanket that can tolerate regular gentle washing is generally more practical for everyday use.
The published gauge is:
18 stitches and 24 rows = 4 in / 10 cm.
Gauge is less critical for a blanket than for a fitted garment, but it still affects the final dimensions, texture and amount of yarn required.
If your stitches are significantly larger than the published gauge, the blanket will become larger and may require additional yarn. A tighter gauge will create a smaller, denser blanket.
The pattern recommends US 8 / 5 mm knitting needles.
A long circular needle can be especially convenient for baby blankets even though the project is worked flat. The flexible cable can support the growing weight of the blanket more comfortably than shorter straight needles.
Use the listed needle size as a starting point and adjust if necessary to achieve the intended gauge and fabric.
The short repeating structure makes the Oden Baby Blanket a good choice for a knitter who already knows the basic knit and purl stitches and wants to move beyond plain garter or stockinette fabric.
There is no stranded colorwork, intarsia or complicated cable construction to manage.
The main challenge is simply keeping track of the stitch repeat and making sure the textured chevrons remain correctly aligned across the rows.
That makes this a useful advanced-beginner blanket project.
Use stitch markers between repeats if needed. When first learning the pattern, markers can help divide the eight-stitch sections and make mistakes easier to locate.
Count your stitches regularly. A missed stitch can shift the chevron alignment several rows later.
Learn to read the texture. Once several repeats are complete, use the existing V shapes as a visual guide instead of relying only on row numbers.
Keep your tension consistent. Uneven tension is especially noticeable in repeating textured patterns.
Check your yarn supply before starting. The published requirement is roughly 750–790 yards, and a larger gauge or wider customized blanket may use more.
The design is based on an eight-stitch repeating motif, so the structure is naturally suited to width adjustments.
However, changing the cast-on count or final dimensions also changes the total yarn requirement.
If you want to adapt the blanket beyond the designer's published version, first make a swatch and calculate your desired width from the repeat and gauge. Always preserve any edge stitches required by the original pattern.
A handmade knitted blanket can be useful for supervised cuddling, stroller use, floor time and other age-appropriate situations.
Always follow current infant safe-sleep recommendations and do not place loose blankets in an infant sleep space when they are not recommended.
Yes. The Oden Baby Blanket by Gena Shaffer is currently available as a free knitting pattern.
The designer's Ravelry store currently provides the exact pattern as a free download.
This is the legitimate publication source for the design, so Amazing Knitting links directly to that page rather than to copied PDFs or unofficial pattern websites.
Get the Free Oden Baby Blanket Pattern →
The Oden Baby Blanket offers a useful balance between simplicity and visual interest.
The four-row repeat is short enough to become familiar quickly, while the raised zigzag pattern prevents the finished blanket from looking plain.
It is also a practical project for knitters who prefer single-color blankets: the texture creates the design, so there is no need to manage multiple yarn colors or large numbers of loose ends.
With Aran-weight yarn and 5 mm needles, the fabric can also build relatively quickly compared with finer-weight baby blankets.
Amazing Knitting links readers to legitimate designer or publisher sources whenever possible. Pattern prices, download locations and availability can change after an article is published.
Read Our Pattern Availability Policy →
Amazing Knitting is an independent pattern discovery and project-guide site. The Oden Baby Blanket design and knitting pattern remain the intellectual property of Gena Shaffer. This guide does not reproduce the designer's complete row-by-row pattern instructions.
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