Crocheting your first blanket
Blankets are a staple part of a crocheter’s journey. They are a popular choice for both beginners and seasoned crafters because there are so many types of blankets you can crochet in varying sizes, stitches, and colors.
When deciding to start a crochet blanket, there are a few things to keep in mind. These include:
- What blanket pattern will you use, or will you create your own?
- What yarn do you want to use, and how much will you need?
- How big will your end blanket be; are you making a baby blanket or a giant Afghan for your king-size bed? Check out this article on blanket sizes to figure out what size you need!
Getting Started crocheting blankets
If you’re new to crocheting blankets, it may take you a while to get into the flow. If you are making a large blanket, the rows may seem endless, and as it grows, it will become heavy to move around. On the positive side, crocheting a large blanket in the winter means it will keep you warm as you work!
As with anything, the more you practice a skill, the better you will become, meaning you can create a wonderous pile of multi-colored blankets in many beautiful stitches.
Why start by crocheting a blanket?
Many people suggest starting with a small project such as a scarf or dishcloth, but by starting your crochet journey by making a blanket, you can practice your technique repeatedly. The goal is to lose yourself in crochet: the rhythm of the stitches and the movement of your hook. Mastering a new stitch or pattern will improve your confidence to take on smaller, sometimes more fiddly projects later down the line.
Before starting your blanket
Choosing yarn and colors
Most people create blankets using acrylic yarn because it is cheap and easily accessible; most grocery stores now stock a small selection. Acrylic yarn also comes in a massive variety of colors, meaning that whatever your color scheme, you are bound to find the perfect color almost every time. Lastly, many acrylics yarns are machine-washable, and actually get softer over time! On the other hand, cotton blankets tend to be heavier, and pill more with washing. Wool is often not machine-washable, so if your blanket will need regular cleaning, be sure to check the yarn care instructions first!
Try to work out how much yarn you will need to complete your blanket and buy it all at once. The subtle differences in color and tone between dye lots may stand out on your afghan depending on the pattern. As a general rule, a throw-sized blanket will require about four pounds of yarn.
Of course, you can choose to crochet your blanket using any yarn you want. Skeins vary in price from a few dollars to over $30 each. If you are crocheting a large Afghan with yarn that’s $30 a skein, it will be an expensive investment!
What stitches and patterns should I use?
A few basic crochet stitches are good to practice before crocheting a blanket. These stitches include chain stitch, single crochet, double crochet, and half double crochet.
When looking for a blanket pattern, the internet is an invaluable tool. It has made finding a design very easy — as you can find hundreds of patterns with a quick search — but created a problem: how do you choose a pattern to crochet from all the beautiful options out there?
The pattern and yarn you choose will also impact the hook you need. You can create a swatch when you have made all your decisions to ensure you like the look and drape of your finished blanket. Sometimes changing your hook size up or down can make all the difference.
Different types of blankets
There are many different styles of crochet blankets, too many to include in this article. Below we have selected some popular choices to help narrow down your search for the perfect blanket pattern.
One-Piece Blankets
The easiest way to crochet a blanket is to choose a stitch and crochet a square or rectangle to your desired size. Although we say easiest, this blanket may become quite boring to make, depending on the size you choose. You can make crocheting more interesting by changing colors to create a striped pattern or adding a border to finish your blanket. (We talk about these further down the article.)
Granny Square blankets
If you are familiar with crochet, you know that the granny square is the royalty of all things crochet. This fantastic little square is incredibly versatile; you can use it for blankets, garments, and accessories in varying sizes and designs.
There are two main ways to make a blanket using the granny square pattern.
- You can either create one massive granny square that grows in rounds until you’ve reached your desired blanket size, or
- Create multiple small squares and sew them all together at the end. These usually consist of three rounds of crochet to make a complete square.
Whichever way you choose, you will probably want to finish off with a border to neaten the edges.
Other ways to create a blanket
There are many ways you can create a crochet blanket. You could crochet long strips and sew them together afterward or crochet different tessellating shapes like hexagons or triangles to make your blanket instead of squares.
Our pick of top designs to get you started
Below are some excellent blanket pattern ideas to help get you started on your crochet blanket journey.
Granny square blanket
After mentioning the ever-so-popular granny square blanket above, we couldn’t leave this style out of our round-up of top patterns to try.
Ripple Crochet Blanket
Ripple blankets are super simple, but the finished effect is beautiful and has people asking if it was hard to make such a great zig-zag colorful blanket. This technique is sometimes called chevron striping.
Corner-to-Corner Chevron Blanket
You can create this type of blanket using the corner-to-corner crochet method. You start at one corner, with each row getting longer until you have reached the desired length of the middle of your blanket. Then you begin to decrease the stitches on your rows down to the last corner. This pattern combines this technique with the chevron striping from the pattern above. The final result is super stylish.
Moss Stitch Blanket
The moss stitch is fantastic because it has a distinctive appearance that looks more woven than crocheted! It can also be used cleverly to blend the colors between rows together.
Shell Stitch Blanket
The shell stitch makes an excellent choice for crocheting a blanket. It offers enough complexity for you to learn something new, but at the same time, the repetitiveness of the stitch means that once you have it mastered, you will be able to take advantage of the mindfulness of crochet.
Super Bulky Blanket
Using a super bulky yarn is a great way to finish a blanket in a weekend! Compared to a worsted weight blanket, which may require around 200 rows, this blanket is only 64 rows! Using a 15mm hook and super chunky yarn, this pattern will create the warmest, coziest blanket you could imagine. These would make great quick gifts for family and friends.
Freestyle Crochet Blanket
When it comes to crocheting a blanket, you have so much room for creativity. The final pattern in our list is the Snuggle Up pattern. We hope you will use this as inspiration to improvise your own crochet blanket pattern!
The detail in this blanket is next level and is a great pattern to choose if you want to challenge yourself to something more complicated. The finished result is well worth it, and your family will cherish your blanket for years. This pattern has everything you could wish to improve your crocheting techniques with so many new stitches!
Adding a border to your blanket
Adding a border to your blanket is the finishing element: it neatens the edges and completes the overall look of your blanket. There are many different border designs to choose from and selecting one that compliments your blanket is a must. You don’t want to distract from your main blanket by adding a too-fancy border if plain edging will finish off your work nicely.
Hopefully, you’ve found some inspiration to start making crochet blankets and experimenting with a range of different stitches and patterns. Remember that patience and practice is key to creating a successfully finished blanket. Don’t give up if you start to get frustrated with the techniques you’re using; come back to your work later and try again! You will soon be crocheting with ease and enjoying this relaxing therapeutic craft while creating a range of beautiful blankets to keep your family warm for years.
This article assumes that you already have basic crochet knowledge, but if you would like to learn how to crochet, check out this article on how to crochet.