Fuzzy Pink Stashbuster Blanket!

I was clearing out some yarn and made this.  I really like it.  It makes me happy when I look at it.

It was so easy to make.  Just gather up a bunch of leftover yarn in similar colors.  I used regular worsted weight, bulky novelty yarn, fun fur yarn and bouncle yarn.  I combined them three strands at a time and just used single crochet.

Whenever I was tired of a particular yarn, I cut it and tied on a new one.  I didn't always wait until the end of the row and I didn't change out each of the three strands at the same time.  That kept the pattern fun and random.  The hardest part was the most basic problem of making an afghan - counting, counting, counting.  There were several times when I had to rip out rows of stitches because I miscounted and saw that telltale wavy side - yuck.

The specifics on this - chain 61 and 60 stitches per row.  It's 33" x 45" - kind of the size of a lap blanket.  This was really freeform, so I didn't make it to a certain size specification.  I'm going to be raffling this blanket as part of a raffle basket to benefit Pueri Cantores St. Bernard of Clairvaux youth choirs later this fall and I'll let everyone know when that is happening just in case you want to buy a raffle ticket.  Maybe it will be part of a "girly-girl" basket.

cindy

Stash Buster Challenge - Thick & Cuddly Baby Blanket

In April I joined the Stash Buster Challenge to get rid of a stash of baby yarn I have.  

If you read Straddling the Gap you also know I absolutely love Bernat Baby Blanket yarn.  Evidently others do too, because it has been popular in my Etsy store.  A little while back I started using a new pattern with my favorite yarn.  I'm not sure what to call the pattern, but it does make a thicker (and thus more cuddly) weave, so I'm going with the name "Thick and Cuddly Baby Blanket."  (Note - if you have a stash that includes the old version of Bernat Baby Blanket yarn - it won't be very thick or feel like chenille - you need the newer version that does.)

It's one of the easiest stitches to do.  I used a size N hook, but depending on how tight you want to make the weave, you can use as small as a K.  I used 1 1/2 skeins of 10.5 ounce size.  (Yes, this is a pig on yarn, so plan accordingly).  To make a blanket about 33" inches square, you start off with chain 53.  (It's 2 + 1 regardless of the size you want.)  Row 1:  Make a double crochet in the third hook from the last chain and double crochet all the way across.  Chain two.  Row 2:  Make a single crochet on the second chain from the hook.  Yo and run the hook behind the post immediately below, yo where your hook comes out on the left side of the post and pull back up.

You will now have three chains on the hook - just like a regular double crochet.  Yo and pull through two chains and then yo again to pull through the remaining two chains.  Then continue in that pattern - single crochet and double crochet behind the post below.  It will look something like this (this picture shows the stitch a bit sideways):

Continue across Row 2.  You should end with a single crochet.  Chain 3.

Row 3 is another row of double crochet.  Chain 2.  Continue with Rows 2 and 3 until you get the desired length.  Make sure you keep those special posts lined up with the ones below.  That's probably the hardest part, but generally this is a very easy blanket to make.  The look of this is great because one side has these ridged posts and the other has almost a basket weave look.

If you want to do a single crochet border, that's great, or any other border you would like.  I wouldn't get too fancy because this is very thick yarn and by this point you've probably used more yarn that you would like.  However, you will love the results - a thick and very soft blanket.  I hope you love it as much as I do!

cindy