About a month ago a friend of mine asked if I would make a blanket for her first grand-baby. A rainbow baby following not one, but two heartbreaking losses during the past year.
The expectant Mama loves earthy/natural tones, which are perfect for gender-neutral designs. Grand-Mama-to-be was keen on something modern and so we settled on a gingham design in white and taupe.
The final blanket measures 42 x 45" (105 x 112.5cm) and used a whopping 22 balls of 100% NZ merino 4ply yarn. Personally, I prefer the softness and affordability of synthetic yarns. However, price was no barrier for this family's love of natural fibres. This was by far the most expensive item I have created thus far.
I used two strands together, in two colours, to achieve the gingham look; and to minimise the need to cut, tie, and weave ends, I worked two strands and carried two strands throughout. That is, 2x white for the white squares, 2x light brown for the light brown squares, and 1x white + 1x light brown for the "marl" squares.
This resulted in a fairly thick cot blanket - perfect for winter! I'm thinking a 3ply would result in a thinner and softer blanket. That isn't to say this isn't soft - just not that lush softness that you might want to swaddle a newborn in.
For the first time ever, I actually measured the time I spent crocheting: 15min per row (row, not colour stripe) and 1.5 hours for the border. So over 30 hours went into creating this beauty (not counting all the rows I unraveled due to being a perfectionist - the struggle is real!). But honestly, it was an absolute pleasure from beginning to end. In fact, I'm a little sad that its completed.
Materials
Naturally Baby Haven 100% NZ Merino 4ply yarn:
12x White (359)
10x Baby Light Brown (366)
5.00mm Crochet Hook
Instructions
Abbreviations:
CH chain
DC double crochet
SC single crochet
SS slip stitch
Foundation:
Working with 2 strands of white, chain 144 (13 squares of 11 stitches plus 1).
Row 1:
Working with 2 strands of white, and carrying (working over) 2 strands of light brown, SC in second chain from hook. *DC in the next chain, SC in the next chain* repeat for a total of 10 stitches. SC in the next chain, beginning the stitch with 2 strands of white, and pulling through 1 strand white and 1 strand light brown to finish. (You have now completed the first white square comprising of 11 stitches and switched to marl to begin the next square.)
Working with 1 strand of white and 1 strand of light brown, and carrying 1 strand of white and 1 strand of light brown, *DC in the next chain, SC in the next chain* repeat for a total of 10 stitches. DC in the next chain, beginning the stitch with 1 strand of white and 1 strand of light brown, and pulling through 2 strands white. (You have now completed the first marl square comprising of 11 stitches and switched back to white to begin the next square.)
Continue alternating SC and DC stitches, changing colours every 11 stitches, until the end of the row (13 colour repeats in total). The final stitch in the row will be a SC. CH1 and turn.
Row 2:
Carry the 2 strands of light brown around the end of the row and continue crocheting over these strands.
Working with 2 strands of white and carrying 2 strands of light brown, SC into the final SC of the row below, *DC into the next DC, SC into the next SC* repeat for a total of 10 stitches. SC into the next SC, beginning the stitch with 2 strands of white, and pulling through 1 strand of white and 1 strand of light brown to finish (as per the previous row).
Working with 1 strand of white and 1 strand of light brown, and carrying 1 strand of white and 1 strand of light brown, *DC in the DC, SC in the next SC* repeat for a total of 10 stitches. DC in the next DC, beginning the stitch with 1 strand of white and 1 strand of light brown, and pulling through 2 strands white.
Continue alternating SC and DC stitches, changing colours every 11 stitches, until the end of the row (13 colour repeats in total). The final stitch in the row will be a SC. CH1 and turn.
Row 3 - 9:
Repeat Row 2 until you have achieved even squares.
You have now completed your first stripe of alternating white and marl squares.
Row 10:
Carry the 1 strand of white and 1 strand of light brown around the end of the row and continue crocheting over these strands.
Working with 1 strand of white and 1 strand of light brown, SC into the final SC of the row below, *DC into the next DC, SC into the next SC* repeat for a total of 10 stitches. SC into the next SC, beginning the stitch with 1 strand of white and 1 strand of light brown, and pulling through 2 strands of light brown to finish. (You have now completed the first marl square comprising of 11 stitches and switched to light brown to begin the next square.)
Working with2 strands of light brown, and carrying 2 strands of white, *DC in the DC, SC in the next SC* repeat for a total of 10 stitches. DC in the next DC, beginning the stitch with 2 strands of light brown, and pulling through 1 strands white and 1 strand of light brown. (You have now completed the first light brown square comprising of 11 stitches and switched back to marl to begin the next square.)
Continue alternating SC and DC stitches, changing colours every 11 stitches, until the end of the row (13 colour repeats in total). The final stitch in the row will be a SC. CH1 and turn.
Row 11 - 19:
Repeat Row 10 as per previous stripe.
You have now completed your first stripe of alternating marl and light brown squares.
Repeat this pattern for a total of 13 stripes - finishing with a stripe alternating white and marl squares.
Border
Tie off 2 strands of light brown and weave in ends.
Round 1:
Working with 2 strands of white, SC around the entire blanket, working one SC per stitch on the sides, and 3 SC into each corner space. SS into first SC, CH3 (forming first DC of the next round).
Round 2:
DC into the top of each SC from the previous round, working 1 DC, CH2, 1 DC into the middle SC of each corner. SS into the 3rd chain of the beginning CH3, CH2 (forming firs SC of the next round).
Round 3:
SC into the top of each DC from the previous round, working 1 SC into the first chain and 2 SC into the second chain of each corner. SS into first SC, tie off and weave in remaining ends.
Voila!!
Step back and admire your work with pride.
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