Blanket size chart: what size is a throw, baby or bed blanket?

The blanket size chart above gives finished sizes, width × length, for knitting and crochet blankets from a lovey to a king. We found no standards body that publishes handmade blanket sizes, so these are conventions, not standards: each row is the range across the yarn companies and bedding makers that row cites. The sizes are for a flat blanket without a border. Under each size, “Yarn for” opens the yarn calculator with the larger end of the range, so you can work out the skeins from your own swatch.

Throw blanket size

A throw is the couch blanket. Five of the seven sources in the throw row (S2, S3, S5, S6 and S8) give 50" × 60". Lion Brand’s blanket guide (S1) gives 50" × 65", and the American Crochet Association (S4) 52" × 60", so the row runs 50–52" × 60–65".

Lion Brand’s throw guide (S8) says what each size is for: “Standard throws measure 50”×60", sized for one seated adult on a sofa; oversized runs 60"×70" for taller adults or shared use; travel/lap sizes land around 40"×50"." Superior (S5), a bedding maker, sells a 50" × 70" Throw XL and says to “Choose it if you are tall, or if you like to lie down on the couch with your feet tucked in.” Those longer throws are the oversized throw row, 50–60" × 70".

A lap blanket is smaller: 36–40" × 48–50", from a Lion Brand pattern’s size list (S2) and the throw guide’s “around” 40" × 50" (S8). Crochetly (S7) prints lapghan and throw as one row, 40–50" × 50–65", so we don’t use it for either range.

Baby blanket sizes

Baby sizes run from a lovey (a small comfort blanket, 10–12" × 10–12") up to a crib blanket, 36–60" × 52–72". Lion Brand’s blanket guide (S1) says “a baby blanket falls between 30 by 36 inches and 36 by 40 inches”; across all its sources, our baby / receiving row runs 30–40" × 30–44".

A stroller blanket is 30–36" × 30–36". Yarn & Row (S3) lists its 30" × 35" stroller size for “Pram, stroller or car seat”, and that’s the only car-seat mention we found, so there’s no separate car-seat row. The toddler row, 40–42" × 48–52", comes from one source only (Crochetly, S7).

Safe sleep: Safe to Sleep (NICHD) says: “Keep comforters, quilts, pillows, and blankets out of baby’s sleep area.” The crib row gives the sizes the sources print, not advice on where to put a blanket.

Bed blanket sizes: twin, full, queen and king

Bed sizes are where the sources disagree most, because they assume different drape: how far the blanket hangs over the mattress’s sides. Yarn & Row (S3) sizes a blanket to sit on top: “Bed sizes cover the top of the mattress with a little overhang; add 10–15 in (25–40 cm) each side for a bedspread that reaches the floor.” Lion Brand (S1) says “bed sizes should account for mattress drape”, and to tuck or hang a blanket over the sides, “add 10 to 15 inches per side beyond the mattress’s own width and length.”

A twin runs 65–68" × 86–90". The two bedding makers (S5 and S6) sell one Full/Queen blanket, so it counts in both the full / double row (80–90" × 90") and the queen row (86–90" × 90–108"). Their king blankets print the long side differently: Superior (S5) gives 90" × 108", and American Textile (S6) 108" × 90". Superior explains why that’s the same blanket: “A blanket is a rectangle, and you choose which way it lies.” So the king row runs 104–108" × 90–108". The California king row, 108" × 100", comes from one source only (Superior, S5).

Why there’s no single right size

The sources say so themselves. The American Crochet Association (S4) calls its chart “based on estimates for crochet baby blanket sizes and bed sizes within the industry.” Crochetly (S7): “Use it as a starting point, then adjust based on your stitch pattern, yarn thickness, or personal preference.” Lion Brand (S1): “Standard charts are a starting point, not a rule.”

Lion Brand’s next step is to “Start by measuring the actual space the blanket needs to cover”, whether that’s a sofa, a bed or a person. Our advice: pick a size inside the row’s range that fits what you measured, and go outside it if your measurement says so.

From blanket size to yarn

Each “Yarn for” link sends the larger end of its range to the yarn calculator. For the throw, that’s 52" × 65". With the calculator’s starting figures, a 6" × 6" swatch weighing 18 g, a 220 yd / 100 g label and a 10% margin, that’s 19 skeins: 4,090 yd, 1,859 g. A 50" × 60" throw with the same figures takes 17 skeins. Those starting figures are an example, not your yarn: type in your own swatch and label.

Our advice: plan yarn for the size you’ll actually make, and when you’re between sizes, for the larger one, since leftover yarn is easier to deal with than running short. The chart’s sizes have no border, and Lion Brand’s (S1) figures “assume a flat blanket with no border”; the yarn calculator’s notes cover borders and fringe.

To turn a width into a cast-on or a starting chain, type your gauge and the width into the gauge calculator’s “Cast-on for a width”.

FAQs

What size is a throw blanket?

Most of our sources give 50" × 60". Yarn & Row (S3): “A throw is usually about 50 × 60 in (127 × 152 cm). That is big enough to cover one adult on a sofa.” Across all seven throw sources, the range is 50–52" × 60–65".

Is there a standard blanket size?

No. Some sources call their sizes standard, but we found no standards body that publishes them, and the sources differ, most on bed sizes. That’s why each row here is a range with its sources.

What size blanket do I need for a queen bed?

Our queen row runs 86–90" × 90–108". The wide spread is drape: how far each source expects the blanket to hang over the sides. Measure your bed and decide how far you want it to hang.

How big is a baby blanket?

Our baby / receiving row runs 30–40" × 30–44", and a crib blanket 36–60" × 52–72". See the safe-sleep note above before using any blanket in a crib.