Arrowhead Queen Blanket

KC Chiefs–Inspired Chunky Colorwork Throw

A substantial queen-size blanket in bulky yarn, built for sofa and bed alike. A seed-stitch frame and a narrow gold ridge surround a smooth stockinette field. In the center sits a large upward-pointing arrowhead in the spirit of the Kansas City Chiefs emblem—gold fill, white outline, optional white lettering—worked as intarsia from a colourwork chart if you have one, or added later in duplicate stitch. The body is straightforward; the motif is the intermediate moment.

This is a fan-inspired design, not official team merchandise.

Skill Level: Intermediate
(Seed stitch, large-piece stockinette, simple intarsia or duplicate-stitch colourwork, long circular needle)

Finished Measurements
Width: 90" (229 cm)
Length: 90" (229 cm)
Border: 4" (10 cm) seed stitch on all four sides
Gold accent ridge: 2 rows (about ½" / 1.3 cm) inside the lower and upper borders
Center field: about 82" wide × 81" long (208 × 206 cm)

Fits as a queen coverlet (queen mattress is 60 × 80"). The fabric is heavy; plan a large blocking space.

Materials

Yarn
Bulky weight (category 5), wool or wool-blend recommended for stitch definition and warmth.

• MC – Chiefs Red: 3100 yd (2835 m)
• CC1 – Gold: 450 yd (411 m)
• CC2 – White: 200 yd (183 m)

Yardage assumes the field is red and the arrowhead is a large gold shape with a white outline. If your motif is mostly outline, you will use less CC1. Buy one extra skein of MC.

Needles
US 11 (8 mm) circular needle, 40–60" (100–150 cm) long, or size needed to obtain gauge. Worked flat; the cable holds the stitch count.

Notions

• Stitch markers (2, plus extras if you mark the motif window)
• Tapestry needle
• Bobbins or small balls for intarsia (if working the motif as you knit)
• Blocking supplies and a large floor or bed surface
• Optional: row counter

Gauge

12 stitches and 16 rows = 4" (10 cm) in stockinette stitch, blocked.

3 sts = 1"; 4 rows = 1".

Work a 6 × 6" (15 × 15 cm) swatch, wash, and dry as you will treat the blanket. Adjust needle size so the fabric is dense enough that colourwork does not show through, but not so tight that the blanket boards.

Seed stitch is slightly shorter and wider than stockinette; borders are worked to measurement, not only to row count.

Notes

• The blanket is worked in one piece from the lower edge up. Do not join in the round.
• Slip the first stitch of every row purlwise with yarn in front if you like a firmer selvedge; it is optional and not included in the stitch math.
• Keep side borders in seed stitch on every row while the field is in stockinette.
• Colourwork: The centered image is a classic arrowhead, point toward the top (bound-off) edge, in Chiefs-inspired red, gold, and white. Do not scale from a tiny logo on a phone screen without checking width in inches. Target size is about 22–28" (56–71 cm) wide and 24–30" (61–76 cm) tall, sitting in the middle of the field.
• If a colourwork chart is available to you, use it for the motif only. Center that chart on the 246 field stitches so the same number of MC stitches remain on each side. Do not strand across the full width; use intarsia (separate bobbins) for the large gold shape and a short white outline, or knit the whole field in MC and add the arrowhead in duplicate stitch after blocking.
• Floats longer than 1" (2.5 cm) should be avoided on the reverse of a blanket this heavy.
• Weave in as you go where colours change; a queen-size bulky piece hides a lot of tails if you leave them all for the end.
• The finished blanket is heavy. Bind off firmly enough that the top edge matches the seed border, not so tightly that it draws in.

Abbreviations (US)

BO – bind off
CC1 – contrast colour 1 (gold)
CC2 – contrast colour 2 (white)
CO – cast on
k – knit
MC – main colour (red)
p – purl
pm – place marker
rep – repeat
RS – right side
slm – slip marker
st(s) – stitch(es)
St st – stockinette stitch (knit RS, purl WS)
WS – wrong side

Stitch Guide

Seed Stitch (even number of sts)

• Row 1 (RS): *K1, p1; rep from * to end.
• Row 2 (WS): *P1, k1; rep from * to end.

Rep Rows 1–2. Knit the purls and purl the knits as they face you; the fabric is bumpy on both sides and will not roll.

Stockinette Stitch

• RS: Knit.
• WS: Purl.

Seed border with stockinette field (270 sts)

• RS: Work 12 sts in Seed Stitch, slm, k to last 12 sts, slm, work 12 sts in Seed Stitch.
• WS: Work 12 sts in Seed Stitch, slm, p to last 12 sts, slm, work 12 sts in Seed Stitch.

The 12-st borders are even, so on RS they begin k1, p1; on WS they begin p1, k1, matching the Seed Stitch definition.

Pattern

Cast On and Lower Border

With MC and US 11 / 8 mm needle, using a long-tail or knitted cast-on, CO 270 sts.

270 sts ÷ 3 sts per inch = 90" width ✓

Lower seed border: Work Seed Stitch across all 270 sts until the piece measures 4" (10 cm) from the cast-on edge, ending after a WS row.

About 16 rows at 4 rows = 1" ✓

Lower Gold Ridge

Join CC1 (gold). Do not cut MC; it can travel up the selvedge for a few rows or be cut and rejoined.

Ridge row 1 (RS): Knit. Ridge row 2 (WS): Knit.

2 garter ridges ≈ ½" ✓
These two knit rows make a gold welt that frames the field.

Cut CC1. Resume MC.

Set Up Field

Next row (RS): With MC, work 12 sts in Seed Stitch, pm, k 246, pm, work 12 sts in Seed Stitch.
(12 + 246 + 12 = 270 ✓)

Next row (WS): Work 12 sts in Seed Stitch, slm, p 246, slm, work 12 sts in Seed Stitch.

Continue in seed borders and MC stockinette field as established until the piece measures 32" (81 cm) from the cast-on edge, ending after a WS row.

Why 32": vertical center of a 90" blanket is 45". A motif about 26" tall, centered, begins near 32" from the cast-on (45 − 13 = 32 ✓). If your arrowhead is shorter or taller, shift this start so the middle of the motif lands at 45" from the cast-on.

Centered Arrowhead Motif

Motif (words, not a grid)
Work a single large arrowhead, point toward the top of the blanket. Think of the familiar Chiefs arrowhead: a broad, slightly curved triangular head, not a slim geometric arrow. Intended colours:

• Field and (if you wish) the interior ground of the head: MC red
• Body of the arrowhead: CC1 gold
• Crisp edge around the head, and any central lettering if you include it: CC2 white

Place the motif in the horizontal center of the 246 field stitches: count field stitches, subtract the width of your chart or duplicate-stitch design, and split the remainder evenly left and right. Example check (replace the chart width with whatever you are actually using): if a chart were 72 sts wide, leftover field sts = 246 − 72 = 174; 87 sts MC on each side of the motif (87 + 72 + 87 = 246 ✓). Do not force a chart to a width you do not have; keep side margins equal.

Keep the 12-st seed borders in MC on every row through the motif. Do not put colourwork into the border.

Method A — Intarsia (as you knit)
On the RS row that begins the motif, work the left seed border, knit MC to the start of the arrowhead, then work gold (and white outline stitches) from your chart or from a marked outline, using separate bobbins. Twist yarns at each colour change to close holes. Purl back on WS in the same colours. Continue until the arrowhead is complete, then return to MC only across the field.

Method B — Duplicate stitch (after the field is knit)
Ignore colour changes for now. Work the entire field in MC until the Upper Gold Ridge. After blocking, stitch the arrowhead in CC1 and CC2, centered, aiming for 22–28" wide and 24–30" tall. Duplicate stitch on bulky yarn is bold; use a tapestry needle and do not pull so tight that the field puckers.

Work even in pattern (seed borders + field, with or without intarsia) until the motif is finished, then continue in MC only until the piece measures 85½" (217 cm) from the cast-on edge, ending after a WS row.

85½" leaves ½" for the upper gold ridge and 4" for the upper seed border (85.5 + 0.5 + 4 = 90 ✓).

Upper Gold Ridge

Join CC1.

Ridge row 1 (RS): Removing field markers as you come to them, knit all 270 sts.
Ridge row 2 (WS): Knit.

Cut CC1. Resume MC.

Upper Seed Border

With MC, work Seed Stitch across all 270 sts until the upper border measures 4" (10 cm), matching the lower border, and the full piece measures 90" (229 cm) from the cast-on edge. End after a WS row.

Bind off in seed pattern (knit the knits, purl the purls as they face you). Keep the same ease as the fabric; a tight bind-off will pull the top edge narrower than 90".

Finishing

1. Weave in ends on the WS. For intarsia, split and weave each tail along its own colour.
2. If you used Method B, work the duplicate-stitch arrowhead now, then weave those ends.
3. Block: Soak in lukewarm water with a little wool wash. Support the wet blanket when lifting—it will be very heavy. Roll in towels, then pin or pat to 90 × 90" (229 × 229 cm) on a clean floor. Dry completely before moving.
4. Steam the seed borders lightly if they flare, without flattening the texture.

Optional: add a small loop of MC at one corner if you hang the blanket.

Placement Recap

Horizontal: 4" seed + ~82" field + 4" seed = 90" ✓
Vertical: 4 + 0.5 + 81 + 0.5 + 4 = 90" ✓

Customizing the Motif

• All-red field, gold head, white outline is the strongest read from across a room.
• A white head on red is higher contrast if you prefer less gold.
• Keep the point aimed at the bound-off edge so the blanket “reads” right-way-up when the cast-on sits at the foot of the bed.
• Do not put small lettering in bulky yarn unless your chart uses several stitches per letter; on this gauge, tiny “KC” will blur. If lettering is not clear at 3 sts per inch, stitch only the arrowhead shape.

Enjoy the game-day stack of red, gold, and white.