On a cold winter’s day, there’s nothing quite like being able to curl up under a big blanket. A thick and chunky knit is the epitome of comfort.
The only thing that can make it better is the warm feeling you get from knowing you made it yourself.
For beginners, knitting can seem like an intimidating prospect. This arm knit blanket is the perfect thing to start with, as it allows you to take full control of every stitch.
The end result is a stylish, cozy, big knit blanket, perfect for wrapping yourself up in.
This guide gives you some super simple instructions for how to knit yourself a chunky blanket, using only your arms (and a few skeins of yarn).
If you’ve never knitted before, try the techniques slowly, and watch as you do it – you should be able to see the stitches forming as you go.
What you need:
- 8 skeins of jumbo yarn
- 2 arms
Casting on
- First, pull roughly 6 feet of yarn from the skein to create a long tail to cast on. It doesn’t need to be exact, you just need enough yarn to use comfortably. The loose yarn is the tail.
- Make a slipknot. To do this, drape the yarn over the fingers of your right hand (including the thumb). Pinch the draped sides of the yarn together with the left index finger and thumb. Twist your right hand away from you, and using this hand, grab the end of the yarn that’s attached to the skein. This is known as the working yarn. Pull this through the loop that’s over the right hand to create your slipknot. Pass the right hand through the loop, and tighten. This is your first stitch.
- Next, we want to cast on. Keep the tail angled towards you, and the working yarn away. Lightly trap the working yarn and the tail underneath the ring finger and pinky of your left hand. Twist your left hand away, and use the thumb and index finger to open the strands above the hold. Turn your palm back towards you. This will create a “Z” shape with the yarn, coming across the index finger, through the knot, around the back of the thumb, and across the palm. Take the index finger of your right hand and thread it under the bottom of the “Z”, passing in front of the thumb, and over the strand crossing the hand. This will pull a loop of yarn upwards. Using the index finger and thumb, pass this loop over and beneath the top line of the “Z”, and pull it through. This creates another slipknot, and a new stitch. Pass your wrist through the stitch, so it sits against the first. Tighten. Now you have two stitches.
- Repeat the cast on process for a total of 18 stitches. (The initial slipknot also counts as a stitch.)
Rows
- Hold the working yarn in your right hand. Take the last stitch you made, and pull it over the hand, keeping a tight hold of the working yarn. This creates a new loop with the working yarn, which is the first stitch of your new row. Loop this over the hand of the left arm, and tighten well.
- Repeat – hold the working yarn tight in the right hand, pull off a stitch to create a new loop with the working yarn. Pass this stitch over the left hand, and tighten. Keep going, until all the stitches have moved to the left arm. This is your first row.
- Now we move on to the second row. This is the same process, but reversed. Hold the working yarn in your left hand, pull the first stitch off to create a new stitch with the working yarn. Loop the stitch over the right arm, and tighten. Repeat, until the row is finished. This is row 2.
- Repeat for 34 rows in total (or whatever size blanket you want).
- To add a new skein of wool, simply tie a knot attaching the new skein to the working yarn of the old skein. Use a double knot, and tighten it well. Trim any excess, creating a small, unobtrusive knot.
Binding Off
- When all your rows are finished, you need to bind off. Knit two stitches from the right hand to the left, as though you were starting a new row. Keep these stitches loose. Pull the first stitch over the second stitch, and tighten slightly. This is binding off. Repeat, knitting another stitch and pulling over the first. Keep going until only one stitch remains on the left hand.
- Cut the end of the working yarn until roughly 1 foot remains. Pull it slightly tighter. Pass the final stitch over the hand, and knot the end of the yarn through the loop, pulling to tighten. This should tie the end of your blanket securely.
Finishing steps
- Gently pull on all the stitches, to stretch them out.
- Find the cast off edge, and pull it from side to side to loosen. Weave the tail through the cast on edge to create a tight knot, and trim any excess. Repeat with the bind off edge.
- Cuddle up with your blanket!
Knitting can seem like a lot at first. The good thing is that once you’ve got the hang of a few simple techniques, it’s incredibly easy.
Arm-knitting is a great way to start because it’s easy to see how each stitch is forming – and where you might be going wrong.
Take it slow until you understand the technique, and then you’ll find your blanket comes together in no time at all.
Newcomers should be able to finish in a few hours, and once you’ve mastered the process, it’s possible to create a blanket in less than half an hour.
This cozy blanket is a stylish way to get into knitting. The arms are used in place of knitting needles, but the techniques are all the same.
Once you’ve seen the way a stitch is formed, it’s so much easier to move on to more complicated projects!
