Mar
okay so king size blankets are massive
I made my first king size blanket in spring 2022 and honestly I didn’t realize how much yarn I’d need until I was already three weeks in. The pattern I used was basically just a giant granny square because I didn’t want to think too hard about stitch counts, and even that took forever.
So first thing you gotta know is king size means you’re looking at roughly 100-110 inches wide by 100-110 inches long. That’s a LOT of surface area. I used Lion Brand Pound of Love because it was cheap and I needed like 15 skeins, maybe more? I lost count honestly. The color was this grey-blue situation that looked better in the store than on my couch but whatever.
picking your pattern type
There’s basically a few ways to approach this and they all have problems:
- Giant granny square worked from center out
- Strips that you sew together later
- Corner to corner (C2C) which people love but I find boring
- Simple stitch patterns like moss stitch or linen stitch done in rows
- Hexagon or square motifs joined as you go
The granny square method is what I did first. You literally just start with a magic ring and keep going round after round until it’s big enough. The annoying part is keeping it square-ish because crochet naturally wants to ruffle or cup depending on your tension. I had to block mine really aggressively at the end and even then one corner was weird.
yarn choices that won’t make you go broke
Look you need A LOT of yarn for this. I’m talking 4000-6000 yards depending on your pattern and hook size. Here’s what I’ve used:
Lion Brand Pound of Love: Comes in 1020 yard skeins which sounds great until you realize the yarn is kind of splitty and your hands will hurt. It’s acrylic so it’s easy to wash though.
Caron One Pound: Similar deal, big skeins, affordable. I used this for a blanket in summer 2024 when my sister asked for one and I was watching Love Island the entire time I crocheted it. The yarn is fine. Not amazing, just fine.
Bernat Blanket: This is the chunky stuff that works up faster but you’ll still need like 10-12 skeins and it’s more expensive per skein. Good if you want that really thick cozy look though.
Red Heart Super Saver: The classic. It’s scratchy at first but softens after washing. Super cheap which matters when you need this much.
I tried using some fancy wool blend once and got maybe 20% through before I realized I’d spend like $300 on yarn so I frogged it and went back to acrylic. No shame in that.
actual tutorial stuff
method 1: continuous granny square
This is the easiest brain-wise because you don’t have to count much. Start with a magic ring, chain 3, do 2 double crochet in the ring, chain 2, then repeat that three more times. You’ve got your four corners established.
Every round after that you’re gonna do: double crochet clusters in the spaces between clusters from previous round, and (2 dc, chain 2, 2 dc) in each corner space. Just keep going. And going. And going.
The thing that annoyed me about this method is that the blanket gets really heavy and awkward to maneuver after like round 40. You’re constantly wrestling with all this fabric trying to find where you are in the pattern. My cat kept sitting on it too which didn’t help.
For king size you need to measure frequently. I aimed for 110 inches across the diagonal and just kept adding rounds until I got there.
method 2: strips you join later
This is actually smarter for big blankets because you’re working with manageable pieces. Make strips that are like 10 inches wide and however long you need (110 inches for king). You’ll need 10-11 strips.
I used half double crochet for my strips in summer 2024 because it creates a nice dense fabric that doesn’t have big holes. Foundation chain of however many stitches gets you to 10 inches (check your gauge but probably 35-40 stitches with worsted weight), then just hdc back and forth forever.
The joining is where people mess up. You can whip stitch them together with yarn needle which is what I did, or you can do a slip stitch crochet join, or even single crochet them together which creates a little ridge that some people like for the design.
Pro tip: make all your strips first before joining ANY of them because I definitely made strips that ended up being slightly different lengths and had to either add rows or frog back and it was annoying.
method 3: corner to corner
C2C is popular for graphghans and it works up relatively quick. You start in one corner with a small square, increase along the diagonal until you hit your widest point, then decrease back down to the opposite corner.
For a king size square blanket you’d increase until your diagonal is about 155 inches (that’s the math for a 110 inch square), then decrease the same amount.
Each little square in C2C is made with chain 6, slip stitch to form a block, then you build off those blocks. There’s tons of video tutorials for this because it’s hard to explain in text.
I personally find C2C mind-numbing for solid color blankets but if you’re doing a pattern or color changes it looks really good. The fabric ends up being pretty heavy too which is nice for a blanket.
practical problems nobody tells you
Your hands will hurt. Like actually hurt. I had to take breaks every 30 minutes when I was working on my spring 2022 blanket because my right hand would cramp up. Get an ergonomic hook or try different grip styles.
Storage while you’re working on it is weird. You can’t just fold it up neat because it’s attached to your working yarn. I used a big canvas bag but the blanket would always spill out and get dog hair on it from where my dog would lay next to me on the couch.
Washing a king size blanket is a whole thing. Most home washing machines can’t really handle it when it’s wet and heavy. I ended up going to a laundromat with the big industrial machines which felt ridiculous but worked fine.
The weight of the blanket as you’re crocheting gets genuinely tiring. Your arms are basically holding up like 5+ pounds of yarn after a while and it makes your shoulders sore.
gauge matters more than you think
I know checking gauge is boring but when you’re making something this big, being off by even half a stitch per inch means your finished size could be way different than you planned.
Make a swatch that’s at least 6 inches square, measure it, do the math. If your pattern says you need 200 stitches for 100 inches, and your gauge is off, you’ll figure it out real quick when you run out of yarn or end up with a blanket that’s 85 inches instead.
I didn’t check gauge on my first attempt and ended up with something that was more like a really generous queen size than an actual king. Which was fine I guess but not what I planned.
timeline expectations
Be realistic about how long this takes. If you crochet like 2 hours a day at a moderate pace, you’re looking at probably 6-8 weeks for a king size blanket. Maybe faster if you use bulky yarn and a big hook, maybe longer if you have a detailed pattern or do a lot of color changes.
My spring 2022 blanket took almost 3 months because I kept getting distracted and only working on it on weekends. The summer 2024 one went faster, maybe 5 weeks, because I was more focused and used a slightly thicker yarn.
Don’t start this project thinking you’ll finish it in time for Christmas if it’s already November. Just don’t.
hook size logic
Bigger hook equals faster progress but also more drape and bigger gaps between stitches. For a blanket I usually go with whatever the yarn label recommends or one size up.
I used a 6mm hook with worsted weight yarn for most of my blankets. When I used Bernat Blanket I used a 9mm hook and it went SO much faster but the finished blanket was really bulky.
Some people like those really large wooden hooks or the ones with the squishy grip handles. I just use whatever aluminum hooks I have from the set I bought years ago at Michaels. They’re fine.
dealing with joins and ends
You’re gonna have a lot of ends to weave in unless you’re using absolutely massive skeins and get lucky. I had probably 30+ ends on my granny square blanket from all the times I had to join new yarn.
The Russian join is your friend here. It’s where you thread the yarn tail back through itself to join without knots and it’s way more secure than just tying yarns together. There’s videos showing how to do it and it’s worth learning.
For weaving in ends on the actual blanket, I usually do it as I go rather than saving them all for the end. Future you will be grateful because weaving in 40 ends at once when you just want to be done is the worst.
border or no border
Some patterns include a border, some don’t. For the granny square blanket a border helps even out any wonkiness in your edges. I did like 3 rounds of single crochet with a shell stitch on the last round just to make it look finished.
For the strip blanket I didn’t bother with a border because the edges were already pretty clean and I was tired of looking at it.
If you do add a border, make sure you’re putting enough stitches in the corners or it’ll buckle and look weird. Usually you want like 3-5 stitches in each corner depending on what stitch you’re using.
specific patterns that actually work
I’m not gonna link patterns because I honestly just winged most of mine but here’s what to search for:
Giant granny square patterns: literally just search “continuous granny square blanket” and scale it up to king size measurements
Virus blanket: this is a specific granny-style pattern that has a cool starburst look, works great for big blankets
Waffle stitch blanket: creates a really textured fabric that’s thick and warm, but it eats yarn like crazy
Simple stripe patterns: just alternating colors in basic stitches, easy to customize to any size
The pattern I used in summer 2024 was basically just rows of half double crochet in strips because I wanted something I could do while watching TV without thinking. It turned out fine, a little boring to look at but functional.
color decisions
Solid colors show every single mistake so if you’re not confident in your tension consistency, go with variegated yarn or do stripes. I learned this the hard way when I made a solid navy blue blanket and you could see where I’d gotten tired and my stitches got looser.
If you do stripes, carry your yarn up the side instead of cutting it every time if you’re alternating the same colors regularly. Saves you from having a million ends to weave in.
I tried doing a temperature blanket once where each row was the color of that day’s high temperature but gave up after like two months because it was too much record keeping and I kept forgetting what day I was on.
yarn chicken and running out
You will probably run out of yarn at some point and have to buy more. Try to buy all your yarn at once from the same dye lot because colors can vary between lots even in the same shade name.
I ran out of yarn once when I was like 90% done with a blanket and the store didn’t have that color anymore so I had to order it online and wait a week. Very annoying.
Buy more than you think you need. You can always return unopened skeins to most craft stores or use extra yarn for other projects. Running out mid-project is worse than having leftovers.
When you’re getting close to the end of a skein, start it at the beginning of a row not in the middle so your joins are at the edges where they’re less visible.
blocking a finished king size blanket
This is… complicated. You need a space big enough to lay out a 110 inch square which most people don’t have. I used my living room floor, put down some foam tiles, pinned the edges with T-pins, and sprayed it with water. Let it dry for like two days.
Some people take their blankets outside and pin them to the grass which seems wild to me but apparently works. I didn’t wanna deal with bugs or weather so I did it inside even though I had to walk around this giant wet blanket for days.
If your stitches are pretty even you might not need to block at all honestly. The blanket I made with strips didn’t get blocked and it’s fine, lays flat on the bed with no issues.
Acrylic yarn doesn’t block the same way wool does so don’t expect dramatic changes. You’re mainly just trying to even things out and set the stitches a bit.
Anyway that’s most of what I learned from making these huge blankets. They’re a commitment for sure but kinda satisfying when you’re done? Like you made this giant thing with just a hook and string which is pretty cool even if your hands hurt and you got sick of looking at it halfway through. The one I made in spring 2022 is still on my bed and it’s held up fine through tons of washing so I guess the effort was worth it or whatever.
