The kind of project you start in a frenzy after sitting a little chilly on the sofa all winter, only to start making serous progress as the weather warms. At this stage I’ve crocheted a very serviceable and beautiful lap blanket size so I’ll just keep building on this as and when I fancy it through all the years to come. That’s the beauty of a modular blanket!
Secondary note - this was also intended to use up my odds and ends as I started learning to spin, so the gauge etc is very variable and the entire thing is mostly made through instinct, but I’ve tried to note what I can if only for my own benefit.
Squares/patterns
I used free online tutorials for the squares (if this changes I’ll add them to the project and this note). The basic squares (purples/pinks/reds band) are just 4 rounds of granny stitches with a bit of flux for my beginner’s handspun: if I had big slubby bits I’d granny stitch a double instead of a triple, or if the yarn got really skinny I’d basically do a puff stitch instead of a regular double crochet stitch.
Joins
So far just been using slip stitch. I want to try a more complex Mijo Granny Join or Celtic as the blanket grows.
“Sunburst” or spot centre square pattern
(My original plan for this blanket was a crochet take on Tin Can Knits’ Pop Blanket, on the cream background with handspun centres, but I forget crochet is a huge yarn eater and the cream yarn was very much a vintage from my English grandma which I couldn’t have found an exact match for, so those could only be the centre.)
I followed a free online tutorial which I can’t find now, but there are plenty. From memory I think it was:
Circle (handspun)
Magic loop.
Chain 3 Dc 11st.
Comes to 12st on loop; join with sl st and pull tight.
(Every round after here starts with a ch3 which acts as the first dc stitch)
Dc twice into each stitch, join with sl st.
Dc, alternating between once and twice into each stitch.
Transition to square/background (cream)
This is where it actually gets somewhat complicated and my memory less reliable. This goes on quarter circles and I’m going to number it by stitches below 1-9 per quarter to try and help keep track. If the needle contains more or less than 36st then adjust accordingly tbh sorry!!
- dc twice into this first stitch, ch2
- dc twice more into this next stitch
- hdc twice into this next stitch
- hdc once into this next stitch
- 2sc once per stitch!
-
-
- hdc into stitch
- hdc twice into this stitch
(Repeat from 1 for every quarter, sl st to join round)
Should end up with around about 60st…? Quarters are now 15st each.
1, 2. (dc stitches below) hdc once into each.
3, 4. (ch2 space between stitches) dc twice into space, ch2, dc twice into same space.
5, 6. (dc stitches below) hdc once into each.
7, 8, 9. sc into each stitch
10, 11. (dc stitches below) hdc once into each.
12, 13. ch2 space between stitches) dc twice into space, ch2, dc twice into same space.
14, 15. (dc stitches below) hdc once into each.
(Repeat from 1 for every quarter, sl st to join round and pull yarn through to end).
13-04-2025
Trying to keep slightly better track of my stitch counts cos blocking can’t fix everything…
I evened all sides of the blanket out to 30 granny clusters on the last go round. Now I’ve made 8 large spots to put at either end and begin turning this onto a rectangle rather than a huge square. I expect their stitch counts to be wildly different at this stage as I just kind of made them mindlessly while watching Buffy, but I’ve marked each into quarters using my bulb pins and will even each out to fit into my “squaring off” pattern (first row of which is a x4 repeat):
Squaring process for the big spots
(sc4; hdc2; dc1; dc2 into st below, ch2, dc2 into next st below; dc1; hdc2; sc4) x4 to create all 4 corners.
On the next round dc every stitch except the ch2 gap where I dc2, ch2, dc2 all into the gap.
Thinking of doing the blocks from the Retro Stripe Sunburst Granny Throw for the next set of blocks, but want to do another all-around round first to even up stitch counts again.
18-04-2025
Raspberry yarn from grandma
Stitch counts for each side - 135st, 90st, 132st, 98st.
Not too badly off! Next round changing to granny stitch - 34cl, 144cl, 34cl, 143cl (oops
Next round definitely needs some blues and greens, it’s getting quite pink/purple heavy. Also fancy doing more actually square based granny squares again soooo
Ch4 and join, make 4 clusters w 2ch between each.
30-04-2025
Washed this thing today and it became incredibly unwieldy and heavy while wet - dripped like crazy too. Think I might actually machine wash it on a gentle cold cycle next time. I’m really happy with the way it’s growing though - it’s big enough for Will and me to share it as a lap blanket on the sofa now, or for one person to nap under full length!
I think I’m happy with the length, and will maybe just do at least a few rows of regular double crochet or maybe granny clusters along the sides now, using up some odds and ends (trying to keep using scraps from the yarns/colours already in the blanket to keep things somewhat cohesive). I can always add another strip of squares down either side later in the year.
10-05-2025
For now, she’s done. So comfy and snuggly. The corners have stretched a lot with the weight of dripping dry so I think I’ll machine wash and spin next time (on cold, I’m not completely crazy) - I was mainly worried about ends coming unravelled hence the soak this time, but I’ve needle felted most of those in now (you can see a before and after in the photos) and any mild felting in the wash will only hold the whole blanket together better and lessen the slight scratchiness of some of the more rustic wools. I love having this little showcase of my handspinning out in the living room for all to see, warts and all!
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