10 Beautiful Fair Isle Blanket Knitting Patterns

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If you want to practice your stranded knitting skills, knitting a blanket will give you plenty of time to do just that! These beautiful Fair Isle blanket knitting patterns are the perfect way to start practicing. We’ll take a quick look at these patterns in this article:

  • Indian Nights Blanket
  • Fair Isle Border Blanket
  • Persian Dreams
  • Lucky Seven Snowflake Blanket
  • Snowdrifts
  • Colourful Fair Isle Throw
  • Glass Knot Afghan
  • Sage Throw
  • Sleepy Monkey
  • Friesland

There’s actually a difference between Fair Isle knitting and other forms of stranded colorwork knitting but people often use Fair Isle as a catch-all term for all of those stranded colorwork methods. But true Fair Isle knitting has its own specific rules that separate it from these other terms. But, for this article, I’m using Fair Isle as a catch-all term for stranded colorwork blankets.

The blankets below aren’t all necessarily Fair Isle but they all use stranded colorwork techniques to create the blanket.

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Indian Nights Blanket

The Indian Nights Blanket from Knit Picks (designed by Jenise Hope) uses the popular Knit Picks Palette line (which comes in a huge variety of beautiful colors), a fingering weight yarn. While it looks detailed and intricate, it is worked in the round and you’re only using two colors per round. This is also a great way to give steeking a try – you work some extra steek stitches and then cut them open so the blanket will be flat. There’s also some advice about creating a pillow instead if the thought of the full blanket feels a little overwhelming.

Get the pattern: Indian Nights Blanket

Get the yarn: Knit Picks Palette

Fair Isle Border Blanket

The Fair Isle Border Blanket, designed for Patons and using their Patons Decor yarn, measures 54″ x 64″ and includes instructions for a 20″ pillow as well. The body of the blanket (and pillow) is worked in a textured argyle pattern with a Fair Isle border. It’s listed as an intermediate-level pattern because there’s quite a lot going on the pattern – the textured blanket, the stranded colorwork border, and the way the edgings are worked may be difficult for beginner-level knitters.

Get the pattern: Fair Isle Border Blanket

Get the yarn: Patons Decor

Persian Dreams

The Persian Dreams blanket is a beautiful, colourful design created by Jenise Hope and available at Knit Picks (and uses their fingering weight Palette yarn but also has options for other yarns if you prefer something other than 100% wool). It’s a throw size (80″x 60″) that was inspired by the beautiful designs in Persian rugs. The pattern is charted only — something that’s fairly common for stranded colorwork patterns. This blanket is on my to-knit list – it’s just so beautiful!

Get the pattern: Persian Dreams

Get the yarn: Knit Picks Palette

Lucky Seven Snowflake Blanket

The Lucky Seven Snowflake Blanket, designed by Ann Franklin, uses Rowan Baby Merino Silk, a beautifully soft DK weight yarn. The pattern features a Garter stitch border (that’s worked as you knit the blanket instead of being added later). Within these Garter stitch sections, stranded colorwork sections featuring large Norwegian stars are worked in two colors. The blanket also features some textured snowflake/star sections as well.

Get the pattern: Lucky Seven Snowflake Blanket

Get the yarn: Rowan Baby Merino Silk DK

Snowdrifts

Snowdrifts is a beautiful stranded colorwork blanket worked in use two colors and features beautiful snowflakes with bands of smaller motifs in between. It was designed by Margaret Holzmann and is available at Knit Picks using their Mighty Stitch yarn (worsted weight acrylic and wool blend) so it’s an easy care blanket that still has the benefits and warmth of wool. It’s worked in the round with steek stitches that will be cut open so the blanket can lay flat. Then a Seed Stitch border is worked around the edge with instructions for an optional lining for the back of the blanket.

Get the pattern: Snowdrifts

Get the yarn: Knit Picks Mighty Stitch

Colourful Fair Isle Throw

The Colourful Fair Isle Throw, designed for Lion Brand and using their Wool Ease yarn is a 40″ x 48″ blanket. Using four different colors and worked flat (something that’s not common with Fair Isle knitting), the pattern is both charted and written. The motifs are simple – just two that are worked in alternating sections. After the colorwork is done, a Seed stitch border is worked along the edges to complete the blanket.

Get the pattern: Colourful Fair Isle Throw

Get the yarn: Lion Brand Wool Ease

Glass Knot Afghan

The Glass Knot Afghan, designed by Kerin Dimeler and available at Knit Picks, using their Chroma worsted yarn (there are options for other yarn choices as well). The blanket is a combination of Celtic knot-style designs worked in a pattern that makes the blanket look like stained glass. But the yarn does all the work – it’s worked in just two colors and the Chroma yarn, which has slowly shifting color changes, does all the colorwork for you. The tiles are worked individually and then seamed together (with options for three different sizes – a 34″x 45″ lap blanket, a 46″ x 56″ throw, and a 68″ x 79″ bedspread).

Get the pattern: Glass Knot Afghan

Get the yarn: Knit Picks Chroma Worsted and Wool of the Andes

Sage Throw

The Sage Throw, designed by Marie Wallin, is worked in Rowan Felted Tweed DK. It is a beautiful Fair Isle blanket that demonstrates why this stranded colorwork technique is so popular — because of the thoughtful way colors are combined to create a cohesive design. Unlike the usual habit of working Fair Isle in the round, this blanket is worked flat. There are many colors used, but only two are ever used in one row. The multi-color motifs are standard Fair Isle design choices. After the colorwork patterning is complete, a corrugated rib border (worked in multiple colors) is added to all four edges.

Get the pattern: Sage Throw

Get the yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed

Sleepy Monkey

The Sleepy Monkey blanket designed by Mary Ann Stephens is a reversible baby blanket featuring different motifs on each side. One side has adorable monkeys and the other has a simple geometric pattern. After the body of the blanket is complete (worked in the round and steeked) a border is picked up and knit along all the edges. The blanket is worked in worsted weight yarn and the designer has a few color options on her website to help you choose colors.

Get the pattern: Sleepy Monkey

Get the yarn: Washable, worsted weight yarn like Knit Picks Mighty Stitch

Friesland

Friesland, designed by Jenise Hope, takes her popular Persian Dreams design (mentioned above) and makes one simple change that completely alters the look of the blanket. Just by working the blanket in just two colors it takes on a completely different look. The 29 hexagons are worked in the round from the center out and then, when they are complete, they are held on waste yarn to graft them together before adding a border.

Get the pattern: Friesland

Get the yarn: Sport Weight Wool like Wool of the Andes Sport

There are ten beautiful Fair Isle Blanket patterns – ready to inspire you to knit something beautiful for your home.

For more information about stranded colorwork, take a look at the resources and articles below.

Fair Isle & Stranded Colorwork Knitting Resources

More Knitting Pattern Ideas