One of the ladies in my Mom's group recently had her darling little baby boy. Before his arrival I wanted to design a new baby blanket for him.
Originally, I thought I could get a blue ('boy') version of the yarn I used for the Circus Infinity Granny Square Baby Blanket because I liked it so much. Since that yarn was mostly pink it's probably favored for girls. Looking on Lion Brand Yarn's website I realized that they don't have something similar that's blue. I wound up finding this yarn and thought that it would look nice in a star burst type of 'granny square' and I hope you agree that it looks fabulous!
This is a variegated yarn. The short color changes are perfect for double crochets. This is Baby Soft from Lion Brand Yarn. The color for the body is Pastel Print. It has blue, yellow, and lilac in it and it so cute! Additionally, the border also uses Twinkle Print and Little Boy Blue.
The finished blanket is 29 inches tall and 25 inches wide.
Items Needed
Baby Soft Yarn - 5 skeins Pastel Print
- 1 skein Twinkle Print
- 1 skein Little Boy Blue
Needle for weaving in ends
4mm crochet hook
Scissors
Abbreviations
CH - Chain
CH-SP - Chain Space
SS - Slip Stitch
DC - Double Crochet
Pattern for Hexagon (Need 75) Video Instructions
Start with Magic Circle
Row 1: CH 2 (counts as a DC), 11 DC into circle; SS into top of chain 2 (to join the round); pull circle closed. (Save yourself some time later and tuck the end of the yarn in as you do the first round).
Row 2: CH 2 (counts as a DC), DC into the same stitch as the SS (in Row 1); DC into next stitch [this is the first group]; *CH 2; 2 DC into next stitch, DC into next stitch*; repeat from * to * 4 more times (6 total groups of 3 DC); SS into top of chain 2 (at the beginning of this row).
Row 3: CH 2 (counts as a DC); DC into each of next 2 stitches; *2 DC into CH-SP, CH 2, 2 DC into CH-SP; DC into each of next 3 stitches*; repeat * to * 4 more times; 2 DC into CH-SP, CH 2; SS into top of chain 2 (at the beginning of this row).
Row 4: CH 1; SC in each of next 4 stitches; *3 SC into CH-SP; SC in each of next 7 stitches*; repeat * to * 4 more times; 3 SC into CH-SP; SC in each of next 2 stitches; SS into CH 1 (at the beginning of this row).
Leave a good 6 inches on the end of the yarn so you can use this for one side during assembly.
That's it for the hexagon. They are super simple and once you've done them a few times you can almost do it without even looking at it. LOL So, this is a great project to take with you for trips or even when you just have 15 minutes and you're looking for something to do.
Assembly:
The hexagons are stitched together using the mattress stitch using only 1 loop on each hexagon. This stitch is basically invisible and gives the blanket the look you see below. The mattress stitch is not difficult and you can see my instructions here.
To assembly the hexagons, take an 18 inch piece of the pastel print color and attach the hexagons top to bottom leaving 1 side open to be completed with the tails. The side with the tail end of yarn will be completed with the tail.
The sides marked here are where you assemble the hexagons from top to bottom of the blanket. It's easiest to complete a column of them from top to bottom and them add a column next to it, going top to bottom. Then you can finish by using the tails.
Once assembled and the ends are weaved in (whew!) it's time to work on the border. Using the Twinkle Print color you place a double crochet in each stitch all the way around the blanket. Place 2 double crochet at the outside corners and use a double crochet decrease on the inside corners. The decrease on the inside corners helps bring the 2 hexagons together at the edge. You don't want to add any other double crochets around the edges to keep from making the edges larger than the body of the blanket.
Next, using the Little Boy Blue color place half double crochets all around the edge, putting 3 decreases on the inside corners, but *do not* add stitches to the outside corners. These borders give the blanket a more rounded edge than the corners of the hexagons.
Finally, using the Pastel Print you will make a reverse crochet all along the outside. (instructions). For me, it's almost as if the Pastel Print was made for reverse crochet. Almost like "twinkling" lights and they bring out the colors in the body of the blanket so nicely.
I'm not gonna lie, this is not a quick project. However, it is fun, I think it's very attractive, and it's something that you can work on in pieces whenever you have time.
What will you crochet today?
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