Hello, Hannah here! I’ve wanted to make a baby blanket pattern to go with the darling book *The Day the Crayons Quit for a while now and I was so excited when I finally found the perfect shades in Bernat Softee Baby!
This pattern is very similar to our Modern Dash pattern, but for this blanket I made the base chain a little longer than usual and worked the blanket lengthwise so that the little dashes could be vertical to look like crayons.
The colors that I used for this blanket in Bernat Softee Baby are White, Grass Green, Navy, Soft Red and Pumpkin. It took me a little bit of hunting to find them all – there are two different listings for Bernat Softee Baby on the Yarnspirations website that include different shades – so if you are looking for a specific color, please click on the link for that specific color below. You should also be able to find most of these shades at Michaels or Joann.
Materials
Bernat Softee Baby yarn (100% acrylic, 140 g/5 oz, 331 m/362 yds)
4 skeins White, 1 skein each Soft Red, Grass Green, Pumpkin, Navy
Size H/5.00mm hook, tapestry needle, scissors
Size
Finished size 35 in x 40 in
Gauge 4 in = 14 st and 17 rows of WHDC
Stitches
Half Double Crochet (HDC): Yarn over (YO), insert your hook, YO and pull up a loop, YO, pull through all 3 loops on hook.
Wide Half Double Crochet (WHDC): YO, insert your hook into space between stitch posts, YO and pull up a loop, YO, pull through all 3 loops on hook.
Wide Half Double Crochet (WHDC) Cluster: YO, insert hook into space between stitch posts, YO, pull up a loop, YO, insert hook again into same space, YO, pull up another loop, YO, pull through all loops on hook.
Here is a the video tutorial for this blanket if you’d like to see how to work the stitches before you get started!
Pattern
Tips to know before you start:
- Pull through with the new color on the last step of the stitch.
- Lay whichever color you aren’t using along the top of your work and crochet over it as you go.
- To avoid your yarn getting twisted as you carry it along your work, it helps to always keep one color to the front and one color to the back each time you switch colors.
Chain 127 with White. (Pattern repeat is a multiple of 15, plus 7.)
Row 1: Starting in the third chain from the hook, work 1 HDC in each chain. CH 2 and turn.
Rows 2 – 5: Work 1 WHDC into each space across the row. CH 2 and turn.
Row 6: Work 1 WHDC into each of the first 5 spaces with White, then work 1 WHDC Cluster into each of the next 10 spaces with Grass Green, crocheting over the White as you work. Continue alternating 5 WHDC stitches with White and 10 WHDC Cluster stitches with Green, always crocheting over whichever color is not in use. You can stop carrying the Green yarn after the last set of Green stitches; cut the Green and leave a tail to weave into the blanket later. You should end the row with 5 WHDC stitches in White. CH 2 and turn.
Rows 7 – 11: With White, work 1 WHDC into each space across the row. CH 2 and turn. (To better hide the colorful yarn that was carried on the previous row, you can insert your hook underneath the carried yarn as you work row 7.)
Row 12: Repeat row 6 with Navy.
Rows 13 – 17: With White, work 1 WHDC into each space across the row. CH 2 and turn.
Row 18: Repeat row 6 with Soft Red.
Rows 19 – 23: With White, work 1 WHDC into each space across the row. CH 2 and turn.
Row 24: Repeat row 6 with Pumpkin.
Rows 25 – 29: With White, work 1 WHDC into each space across the row. CH 2 and turn.
Repeat rows 6 – 29 four more times.
Tie off and weave in ends.
Border
Round 1: Pull up a loop in corner and chain 1, then work 1 HDC into the same space. Work 1 round of HDC around the blanket, working 1 HDC per row on the sides and 3 HDCs in each corner. At starting corner, slip stitch into starting stitch.
Round 2: Continue in same direction and chain 6. Starting in the 2nd chain from the hook, work SC in each of the 5 chains back toward the edge of the blanket. *Slip stitch into the next unworked stitch, and in the next stitch. Turn and work in the back loops of each of the 5 SC you just made. CH 1 and turn. Work back down and SC in the back loops only. (Be careful not to miss the 5th stitch, it sometimes pulls tight and is hard to see.) Repeat from across * each side.
Corners: When you reach a corner space, only slip stitch once, before turning and *working the SC back up to the top of the border. Return and slip stitch once into the corner space. Repeat from * two more times, then resume slip stitching into each of the next two stitches and working across the side.
(If your corner isn’t looking rounded enough, you can slip stitch an additional time into the corner and work up and down an extra time with SC, or if it is causing the border to ripple, you can slip stitch into the corner only two times instead of three.)
When you reach the starting corner, work the corner the same way as previous corners. Stop when you get to the top of the border and tie off, then use a tapestry needle to sew corners together. Then tie off, weave in any additional ends and enjoy your blanket!
If you’d like to add finishing touches to your blanket, lay it out flat on a towel or foam blocking boards if you have them. Use a spray bottle with water to dampen. Press the blanket into straight lines, massaging the stitches and adjusting your tension. Pin with straight pins and let it dry.
Thank you so much for visiting Daisy Farm Crafts! Happy Crocheting!
Click here or on image below for printable pattern
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