How to Create a Knitted Quilt-Like Afghan with Stunning Squares

If you’ve ever dreamed of knitting an afghan that looks like a quilt, you’ll find ideas and free patterns here

If there’s ever been a crafting hobby I wish I could do, it’s quilting.

Oh, I’m sure I could do it, if I really wanted to. People have been designing and creating quilts for centuries, if not millennia. I imagine it’s the sort of thing that anyone could do if they committed to the process. (Much like knitting!)

But that’s just it–I would need to commit to it. And I’ll admit that learning to quilt is a commitment I’m not quite willing to make.

(We all have to make choices as to what will consume our time, don’t we?)

So Much to Love About Quilts and Quilt-Making

Even so, I think many of us can relate to the admiration of quilting, can’t we?

• We love the originality and the art.
• We love the storytelling.
• We love the way quilt-making so often stitches together a community (almost literally!).

This was neatly summed up a few years ago by a Knitting for Charity Facebook reader, who expressed a longing to create “a knitted blanket that looks like patchwork, with pictures.”

This, in turn, led me to find knitting patterns that would create such a blanket.

Ultimately, I found only two such blanket patterns, both of which are shown below.

Quilt-Like Blanket Knitting Patterns

1. Odd-Ball Sampler Afghan

There is so much to love about this particular pattern! It’s ideal for using lots of scraps of yarn. You can also try so many different knitting techniques – cables, colorwork, entrelac, bobbles, and so on. I also love that the blanket is bordered by a series of smaller squares around the outside. And, of course, this would be an amazing gift!

2. The Ron Weasley Blanket

The squares used for this blanket are a bit more basic than the one used in the Odd-Ball Sampler. However, what I like about this blanket pattern is its potential to make a sort of testament to All The Yarns You’ve Loved Before. Even more than the Odd-Ball Sampler, you can truly use just scraps of yarn for this blanket, because at least half of the squares are striped in some way.

Design Your Own Quilt-Like Afghan

Now then, while I found only these two full blanket patterns that were truly designed in quilt-like fashion, that doesn’t mean that you can’t find patterns for squares and design your own style of quilt-like afghan.

In fact, many knitting designers on Ravelry have created a library of related (or unrelated!) knitted blanket blocks. These are ideal for creating your own quilt-like afghan.

You can remain with one theme–all dinosaurs, for instance, or all signs of the Zodiac–or you can mix and match to make a truly eclectic quilt!

1. Marianna’s Lazy-Daisy Days

Size of Squares: Most are around 6 inches

Marianna’s patterns are a favorite among many charity knitters. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that she has quite a collection of afghan blocks! Most of her blocks consist of boxed letters and numbers, which could make for an adorable alpha-numeric blanket for babies or children. (In fact, a children’s quilt would be a wonderful design, wouldn’t it?)

But she also has several picture-like blocks. These include houses, plants, animals, and the like. if you want to create a delightful quilt-like blanket for a child, Marianna’s squares are ideal!

2. Daisy and Storm

Sizes of Squares: in DK weight yarn, about 8.5 inches; in worsted weight yarn, about 10 inches

Daisy and Storm offers an incredibly vast library of free afghan block knitting patterns! As you can see on the page linked here, she has a multitude of categories for blocks, including holidays, food and drink, flags, and more. Simply from her page alone, you could create a themed afghan or a more hodge-podge blanket!

3. Sarah Bradberry

Sizes of Squares: Either 6 inches or 9 inches

Sarah is the designer of the Odd-Ball Sampler Afghan, and as such, many of her afghan block designs were created to be used for that pattern. However, she has a tremendous assortment of other styles of blocks available.

Some of these designs, like Wheat Quilt, are vintage designs that she worked out to completion. Others, like Twining Trees, are fully her own. All of them are breathtakingly unique and ideal for any quilt!

4. Celebration Blanket

Size of Squares: 14 inches

This lovely collection of blanket squares was the brainchild of Heather Walpole of Ewe Ewe Yarns to celebrate the shop’s 10th anniversary in 2021. She gathered a group of knitting designer buddies and had them design one block for each month of the year. Each block in this collection is 14″ x 14″, meaning that you really should need only each block shown here to make one beautiful, toasty blanket.

I love these designs because they’re a little more abstract than most of the designs in this collection. But they all still tell a story, like any good quilt should!

5. Zodiac Icons Blanket

Size of Squares: 13 inches

This might be the most intricately-designed set of blocks in the bunch! These beautiful afghan blocks each represent a sign of the Zodiac, and as such, it could make a great gift for anyone interested in astrology (or astronomy!).

To find each individual pattern, scroll down to the heading titled “Patterns” and click the link to each astrological sign.

6. Mandy Kay’s Land Before Time Blocks

Size of Squares: 10 inches

Okay, Mandy Kay doesn’t actually refer to this collection as “Land Before Time.” I call them this only because not all of these blocks feature dinosaurs. Others feature other extinct critters related to sea creatures, insects, and so on.

All the designs are created using double-knitting, producing not only fully reversible but also thick and warm blocks. And they are exquisite!

With all the beautiful and breathtaking block patterns to choose from, any knitter can create their own quilt-like afghan!