7 Blanket Patterns That Take 365 Days To Knit

In the fall of 2010 I found myself sitting in the back room of a yarn store in Downtown Chicago. I can’t remember the name but I think it’s been closed for years now.

I was working on my sampler scarf, minding my own business, when a black woman wearing a police uniform walked into the room.

She seemed as surprised to see a big Mexican guy knitting as I did seeing a cop in a yarn store.

“What are you working on?” she asked.

I showed her my project and she seemed impressed. Probably more by the fact that a guy had managed to knit something decent than with the quality of my work. I had only been knitting a few months by that time.

On the table next to me sat a 365 Knitting Stitch Perpetual Calendar. The woman sat down and started flipping through the stitches in the calendar.

“It’s crazy how many different knitting stitches there are.” I commented.

“Yeah.” She agreed, “You know what would be cool? Is to knit one of these stitches every day, and then at the end of the year, sew them all into a blanket.”

I had never even considered such a thing, but that planted the seed of an idea that eventually became New Stitch a Day.

Ever since then I’ve been fascinated by the idea of year long projects.

Today, we’re going to look into why working on long term projects is good for your brain, how it can improve your knitting, and some inspiration to get you started.

Why knit a year long project?

Even though it feels like a year flies by, it’s not a short period of time.

Committing to working on something for 365 days is no small thing.

And the chances you will give up because life gets in the way is pretty high.

So is it even worth trying?

Absolutely, and here are a few reasons why:

• A long term project can offer a grounding point to your day, giving you something to work on that you can always control.
• It’s an excuse to explore a topic you are interested in learning more about.
• Being consistent will improve your skills over time.
• It can be a document of a specific time in your life, and something positive to look back on when finished.
• You don’t have to work on it for very long each day in order to make progress.

There are lots of things we will do in 2025, but how proud would you be to look back at a big blanket and say “I knit this!”

Getting 1% Better Every Day

In his book Atomic Habits, author James Clear talks about the concept of continuous improvement.

Achieving on big goals isn’t done through periodic leaps of effort and focus. Those who accomplish the most make consistent progress over time.

He calls this the 1 percent rule.

By improving 1 percent every day you may not even notice much progress, but over time you’ll see major growth.

The same is true of your knitting.

Knitting one or two rows of a blanket every day might not seem like much, but over a year it’s A LOT.

And you’ll see other benefits in your knitting as well.

Building a daily knitting habit

Not all year long knitting projects need to be worked on daily. We’ll cover some monthly and weekly projects as well.

But getting in the habit of knitting even a little bit each day can have big benefits.

Mental Health

Knitting has been proven to be a calming activity which reduces stress. Unless of course you’re trying to wrap your head around 2-color brioche for the first time. 😫 But knitting can even be an effective form of meditation. If you find it hard to sit still for 10 minutes meditating, try doing it with needle and yarn in hand.

Speed and Efficiency

While knitting fast may not be a priority, the more you practice the more you will improve. This is even more true if you’re taking the time to learn a new knitting style.

Mindfulness

Many of the projects below focus on paying attention to your mood or your environment. Taking a moment to be mindful of your knitting and appreciate the process can help reset and reorient your day. Where meditation is about clearing your thoughts, mindfulness is about being intentional with them.

In her book The Mindfulness of Knitting, Rachel Matthews has some tips for creating a space for mindful knitting.

• Choose a spot you can place your year long project. Ideally in a comfortable place for you to sit and knit.
• Create a mood; dim the lights, light a candle, put on some music.
• As you begin knitting notice your breathe; inhale and exhale
• Listen to the rhythm of your needles
• Find inner peace

Ok I added that last part, and it might feel a bit silly to treat knitting like a yoga retreat.

You don’t have to create a knitting oasis in your home in order to benefit from a daily knitting habit. Just paying more attention to your knitting from time to time is enough.

But you have permission to buy a knitting candle. 😉

Conclusion

So what do you think?

Do you have the patience and determination to take on a year long knitting project?

Have you done a project like this in the past?