Blanket sizes are conventions, not laws — but they are conventions for good reasons. A stroller blanket is short so it does not trail in the wheels. A preemie blanket fits an incubator mattress. A twin blanket is 90 inches long because that is a mattress plus a tuck.
Crochet blanket size chart
| Blanket | Inches | Centimetres |
|---|---|---|
| Lovey / security blanket | 14 × 14 | 36 × 36 |
| Preemie / NICU | 18 × 24 | 46 × 61 |
| Stroller / car seat | 30 × 36 | 76 × 91 |
| Receiving blanket | 30 × 40 | 76 × 102 |
| Lapghan | 36 × 48 | 91 × 122 |
| Toddler / crib | 42 × 52 | 107 × 132 |
| Throw / afghan | 50 × 60 | 127 × 152 |
| Twin bed | 66 × 90 | 168 × 229 |
| Full / double bed | 80 × 90 | 203 × 229 |
| Queen bed | 90 × 100 | 229 × 254 |
| King bed | 108 × 100 | 274 × 254 |
Bed sizes are not blanket sizes. A queen mattress is 60 × 80 inches, but a queen blanket is around 90 × 100. The difference is the drop — the part that hangs over each side. Crochet a blanket to mattress dimensions and it will look like a fitted sheet. Add 12 to 15 inches per side you want covered.
The two adjustments almost everyone needs
1. Baby blankets: match the intended use
For a newborn gift, a 30 × 40 inch blanket is easy to handle for supervised floor time or a pram. Keep loose blankets out of an infant sleep space and away from a car-seat harness; the adult using the blanket should follow the current safety guidance for that setting.
2. Blankets grow after they come off the hook
Fabric can relax under its own weight, and washing or blocking may change the measurements. Measure a washed swatch before committing to a bed-size project, and avoid hanging a wet blanket where its weight can stretch it.
Working out your starting chain
Once you have a target width, the foundation chain follows from your gauge, not from a number in a pattern:
- Make a swatch and count stitches per inch.
- Multiply by the target width in inches.
- Add the turning chain your stitch requires.
- Round to fit your stitch repeat. A pattern repeating over 4 stitches needs a count divisible by 4.
Example: 3.2 stitches per inch × 40 inches = 128 stitches. Working a 4-stitch repeat, 128 divides cleanly, so chain 128 plus your turning chain.
Chain loosely, or skip the chain. A long starting chain is where blankets go wrong: chains are tighter than the stitches worked into them, so the bottom edge pulls in. Either chain with a hook one size larger, or use a foundation single or double crochet row, which makes the chain and the first row at once and at the same tension.
Sizes to avoid
Two sizes cause more disappointment than any others:
- The 36 × 36 "baby blanket". Square blankets look odd in a pram and are awkward to tuck. Rectangular wins.
- The full-size bed blanket as a first project. A queen blanket is roughly nine times the area of a receiving blanket. Most people abandon them somewhere around row 200. Make a throw first, then decide.