Crochet Waffle Stitch Playmat Blanket

A big happy smile from Jack as he plays on his new Waffle Stitch Playmat Blanket! I used a really easy pattern from Yarnspirations.com called Stitch Club Jane’s Simple Striped Baby Blanket.

screenshot of good housekeeping stitch club — tap photo for more info on the stitch club

This is part of a new beginner series on the Yarnspirations website in collaboration with Good Housekeeping to bring you easy patterns all in one kit. If you purchase the yarn you get the pattern plus a whole lot of help to make the blanket.

Here is some info on the Stitch Club:

The Stitch Club is a collaboration with Good Housekeeping and Yarnspirations. All of the patterns are tested and created by Good Housekeeping editors.
To join the Stitch Club head over t0 Yarnspirations.com, choose the pattern/kit of their choice, once you have purchased the kit you’ll then receive step-by-step instructions with links to video tutorials in your email.
There are crochet and knit patterns, perfect for both beginner and experienced stitchers. The program is great for those starting out, as they receive the extra help with tutorials and stitch instructions.
Every month there will be a new pattern with the Good Housekeeping team, so stitchers can keep an eye out for more inspiration!
If further guidance is needed, the Good Housekeeping team has been sharing supporting tutorials on their YouTube Channel.

I made mine for baby Jack as a playmat because this is a simple version of a waffle stitch that is so puffy I knew it would be perfect as he is now learning to play with toys.

I decided to use a lot of colors, we noticed that Jack loves to search for dark colors and light colors. Bernat Softee Chunky had shades of blue and teal that I paired with white and grey.

I used 2 skeins of each of the colors, teal waves, light jade, grey heather, dark blue and light blue (these two colors are available at JoAnn.) I used 4 of the white because I chose to add a ribbed border.

I used the base chain of 81 that is given in the pattern and used an 8mm size hook.

I also chose to change colors every four rows and also during the row.

(Caution, you will have a lot of ends to weave in if you make the block look. I don’t mind weaving in ends, but if you do, there will be two ends for every color change, I did not carry yarn through the rows, I simply changed color, left it behind, picked up for the return passes and then cut it after using it for four rows.)

I also didn’t use a graph or anything, I just changed colors as I went, it was quite relaxing.

But here is a fully laid out version of the blanket to see how it looks: