Hello friends, Hannah here with a little (big) announcement…our baby boy James is here!

We haven’t really talked about it on Instagram for a while but a lot of you probably know that my husband and I have been dealing with infertility for several years…at the end of 2021 we were able to have a successful round of IVF and it’s been really neat to see our little guy grow all the way from a tiny embryo.

I wanted to decorate his nursery with a sort of nature/mountains theme, so I’m calling this the Raindrops Baby Blanket 😊. Maybe it’s just because I grew up in the dry southwest, but for me sometimes infertility felt like being stuck in a drought, and I’m very grateful that this year we’ve been able to experience some rain.

Thank you so much to all of you who have sent me kind messages and shared your own experiences over the years. I really really appreciate it and my mom and I are constantly inspired by all the love that exists in this crochet community. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Materials

Note: For this blanket I used Bernat Forever Fleece Finer yarn, and unfortunately I didn’t find out until after I started making the blanket that this yarn is sadly being discontinued. So sorry! However, I think regular Bernat Forever Fleece yarn or Bernat Bundle Up yarn would both be great alternatives.

Bernat Forever Fleece Finer (100% polyester, 280 g/9.9 oz, 352 m/385 yds)

3 skeins Pebble

Size J/6.00mm hook, tapestry needle, scissors

Size

Finished size 34 in x 36 in

Gauge 4 in = 10 st and 11 rows of HHDC

Stitches

Herringbone Half Double Crochet (HHDC): Yarn over (YO), insert your hook, YO, pull up a loop and pull directly through first loop on hook. YO and pull through two loops on hook.

Double Crochet (DC): YO, insert your hook, YO and pull up a loop, YO and pull through two loops on hook, YO and pull through remaining two loops.

Front Post Double Crochet (FPDC): Insert your hook from front to back around the post of the next DC and work a DC so that the post pops to the front side of your work.

Single Crochet (SC): Insert your hook, YO and pull up a loop, YO and pull through two loops on hook.

Pattern

Chain 96. (Pattern repeat is a multiple of 6.)

Row 1: Starting in the 2nd chain from the hook, work 1 HHDC in each chain. CH 1 and turn.

Rows 2 – 4: Work 1 HHDC in each stitch across the row. CH 1 and turn.

Row 5: Work 1 HHDC in each of the first 5 stitches. *Work 1 DC in the next stitch, and 1 HHDC in each of the next 5 stitches. Repeat from * across the row. CH 1 and turn.

Row 6: Work 1 HHDC in each of the first 5 stitches. *Work 1 FPDC around the next DC, and 1 HHDC in each of the next 5 stitches. Repeat from * across the row. CH 1 and turn.

Rows 7 – 10: Work 1 HHDC in each stitch across the row. CH 1 and turn.

Row 11: Work 1 HHDC in each of the first 8 stitches. *Work 1 DC in the next stitch, and 1 HHDC in each of the next 5 stitches. Repeat from * across the row and end with HHDC in the last 8 stitches. CH 1 and turn.

Row 12: Work 1 HHDC in each of the first 8 stitches. *Work 1 FPDC around the next DC, and 1 HHDC in each of the next 5 stitches. Repeat from * across the row and end with HHDC in the last 8 stitches. CH 1 and turn.

Rows 13 – 16: Work 1 HHDC in each stitch across the row. CH 1 and turn.

Repeat rows 5 through 16 until you have 15 sets of raindrops or until you reach your desired length.

Border

Weave in all ends.

Round 1: Pull up a loop in corner and CH 1. Work 1 round of SC around the blanket, working 1 SC per row on the sides, 1 SC per stitch on the ends and 3 SC in each corner.

Round 2: At starting corner, slip stitch into starting stitch, then chain 6. Continue working in same direction. Starting in the 2nd chain from the hook, work a SC in each of the 5 chains back toward the edge of the blanket. Slip stitch into the next stitch, and in the next stitch. Turn and SC 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.) Continue repeating around the blanket.

When you reach the corners, *only slip stitch once into the corner, before turning and working back loop SC back up to the top of the border. Return and slip stitch into the corner space. Repeat from * two or more times so that your border is neatly fanned around the corner. After finishing the corner, continue working around the blanket as before.

When you reach the corner you started with, work the corner as you did previous corners, then tie off when you are at the top of the border, leaving yourself a long tail. Then use the tail to sew the sides of the corners together with a tapestry needle. Tie off and weave in ends.