How to Make a Cozy Finger Knit Blanket in Two Hours

This cozy finger knit blanket was incredibly easy and fun to make.  I also made it in less than 2 hours, with 2 coffee breaks tucked in.

About a year ago I set out to arm-knit a chunky blanket in under an hour.  My results were not ideal, and I was not at all happy with the outcome, or the yarn I used.  Since then I have been searching for a yarn or wool that wouldn’t pill or shed, and a method to get one of these bad boys done in less than an afternoon.

One of my readers suggested I try finger knitting.  Well, I finally got around to testing it, and all I can say is what a great suggestion.  If like me, you were disappointed with arm knitting and you don’t want to try knitting with giant needles, definitely give finger knitting a try.

Hand Knitting A Blanket – How Much Experience Do You Need?

I went into this project without any prior hand or finger knitting experience.  My knitting skills are what we would call beginner.  I can knit a few stitches here and there and they get me by, but I still make mistakes, still twist, or drop stitches from time to time.

I do have some experience knitting up a big thick blanket, you can check out that original post to see the challenges I had with arm knitting. But nothing quite this size, or quite this chunky.

Despite all that, I found this whole project to be incredibly easy especially for such a large project.

Velky Blanket and We Are Knitters

We Are Knitters reached out to me to see if I was interested in testing one of their kits.   The one they requested to send me was the Velky Blanket, along with their super chunky highland wool.

I emailed them back and asked if they received complaints about shedding or pilling because that’s my primary issue with these big blankets.  They responded that they don’t get complaints about it, and after using their wool I can see why.

The We Are Knitters website has AMAZING kits for every experience level.   Each kit comes with the wool and tools you need to complete the project.  My kit included 5 giant skeins of their super soft XXXL highland wool, instructions, a care tag, and a few other fun bits and bobs.

If you order one of the other kits, they even include the right size needles for the project.  You can even opt-out of the needles if you already have the right size.   I love how their website is set up, it’s incredibly user-friendly.

Also, these kits would make fantastic gifts for the knitters and crocheters in your life.  And if you are one of my wonderful family members reading this… hint hint hint.

The Velky blanket comes with instructions for arm knitting.  I suck at arm knitting.  So I opted to make my blanket by finger knitting.   My instructions are a bit different from what they supply, simply because I chose a different knitting method.  But my blanket knitted up the same way and ended up the same size 70″x 50″.

A few notes about the XXXL Wool from We Are Knitters.

~This post may contain affiliate links.  If you click one and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. 

I only ever recommend what tools or materials I use for my projects.  I also test all my projects before publishing and if something doesn’t work, I don’t share it!   For this specific post, We Are Knitters provided with me the supplies free of charge for an honest review~

So this is 100% Peruvian highland wool.  Smaller strands of fiber are braided and weaved together to create this wool.  This weaving creates a rope-like look and I loved that additional texture in the final project.

The way this wool is weaved does help prevent shedding.  I had almost zero shedding after finger knitting this blanket.  Time will tell if the wool will stand up to frequent use.

Usually, pilling doesn’t show up right away, but since the shedding is minimal (and I mean minimal) it should technically reduce pilling considerably.

I will update the post in a few months to report back on pilling.

Also important to note that this wool is THICK.   Below is a comparison photo of Lion Brand’s Wow, and Red Heart’s Irresistible.  I tested both of these yarns in different projects.   I was hunting for wool or yarn that wouldn’t shed or pill so I could reattempt to make a big knit blanket with the right fiber the second time around.  (the first time was a bust).

You can check out that jumbo yarn comparison post if you want to find a different jumbo yarn.  None of them are nearly the size of this XXXL wool, but you could still use this hand knitting method with any of them.

I adore this XXXL wool.  It’s incredibly soft and creates one super cozy blanket.  It’s also incredibly easy to work with.

I would buy more of this this yarn for other big-knit projects.

From left to right-  Lion Brand’s Wow,  Red Heart’s Irresistible, and We Are Knitters XXXL wool.

So is this blanket knitted or crocheted?

Neither.

Ok so wait for a second, this is a “knit blanket’, but we crochet chains?  Yup.  Sounds weird, but at the end of the project, the blanket looks knitted, it does not at all look crocheted.  So we will call knitted blanket.   You’re not actually knitting, or crocheting here, it’s a completely different method.

This is a very straightforward pattern.  Chain 25, chain one extra, skip the last chain in a row, loop into the second loop on the next row, and continue to loop to the end of the row.   Repeat.

So what does all that mean?  I will break it down for you at each step, and provide a video that will visually show you how to complete your finger-knit blanket.

Step 1:

Start with a simple slip knot.

Step 2: Chaining the first row of your finger knit blanket.

Chain 25 chains, and add one extra on the end.   Do not turn your work.

If you are unfamiliar with chaining, check out the video above, it’s easy as pie.

Step 3: Working the rows and edges of your finger knit blanket.

Do not loop into the last chain on each row. You will skip that loop, and loop into the 2nd chain. If you’re not familiar with crochet, don’t worry about it, I barely am and I got through this no problem.

So to reiterate, chain your first row, chain one extra, skip that one extra and start looping into the second row of loops.

When you get to the end of the 3rd row, make sure you pick up that loop we left behind. See the photo below. Once it is looped, skip looping into it again, and loop into the next one. The video will show you how to do this if these instructions are not clear.  They are harder to write then they are to do!

Continue looping through each row until you have about 10 feet of yarn left.

This method of leaving a loop behind on each row creates a very neat and tidy edge on both sides that match the bottom and the top.

Step 4: casting off & weaving in loose ends.

To cast off, you simply pull together two loops and loop into them and continue that way across the row.   Use a pair of scissors and cut the remaining yarn with the tail of about 18 inches and weave that piece and any other loose ends into the blanket.

Tricky bits and tips and tricks

Since this was my first time attempting finger knitting anything I encountered a few small issues.   I think if you correct for these things before you even start your project, you will have an even better time than I did.

Make Sure Your Workspace Is Big Enough

Make sure you have enough space to work with this project, if you are cramped you’re going to have a hard time.   I started on a desk, but the blanket bulked up very quickly and I found shifting it back and forth twisted my stitches.

My recommendation is to complete this project on a big table, like your dining room table, or a large island.  Since the project works up fairly quickly, you don’t have to worry about moving it to work around.

I also found on the dining room table, I was able to keep my finger knit blanket laid out and it made it much easier to go back and forth with my rows.  It also made it much easier to see and correct any twisted or dropped stitches.  They are not as easy to see when the blanket is bunched up.

Watch for Twisted Stitches

Speaking of twisted stitches, watch for them.  You can’t go back and fix them unless you unravel all your work, and who wants to do that?  Make sure that the loop are you stitching into is in the shape of a U and not an X.   The video has a good example of what I mean.

Watch the Size of Your Loops

It’s not entirely vital to make sure that your stitches are perfect, but you do want to make sure that you pull enough yarn through each stitch, so it doesn’t get dropped accidentally because the loops were too small.

This isn’t a cheap project!

So let’s talk about the price of this project.  For 5 skeins of wool, you’re looking at $250 US.   It’s not cheap.

I’ve priced these blankets up here in Canada and I can’t find one the same size for less than double that price, so for me, to DIY this project would be well worth it, especially since the project turned out so well and is made with wool, and not acrylic yarn.

I am brutally honest with my reviews, and my experiences.  You can see the whole arm knitting debacle post and how I wasted $160 CDN for a blanket that ended up being a dog bed.  I was always annoyed that my original jumbo blanket wasn’t at all jumbo and pilled like crazy.

I’ve also spent a good chunk of change buying and trying to find the right wool for this project.   Wool that would knit up nice and thick, not shed like 2 labradors in the summer, or pill like mad.

This is it.

This XXL  wool and project fulfilled ALL my wants for this blanket.  I mean it took me a year and a half to get here, but I honestly think if you’ve tried other methods and other yarn, this might be the right fit for you.

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