The waffle blanket

This year I have discovered a new love!

If you too like texture

 and want to make the thickest, most squishy, dreamiest blanket ever,

 then take a look at the waffle stitch blanket.

For my first adventure in texture and colour,

 I used the

 red rainbow pack

 in my favourite 

Stylecraft Special DK

 with a 3.5mm hook.

The colour packs I have put together also have 2 balls of cream,

 as they were originally set up for the rainbow granny blanket.

I learnt how to do this stitch,

 using an excellent video tutorial on You Tube

 by Olivia aka Girly Bunches

You can find this 

HERE

It really is a very easy stitch and you will soon be hooking,

 while talking and watching tv.

This blanket has the most fabulous texture,

 with interesting patterns both back (above) and front (below).

I made 2 rows in each colour to achieve this narrow striped design.

Immediately I finished the red rainbow,

 I was fast onto another using 

the pink rainbow pack

I was totally hooked and enjoying every stitch.

 Colour therapy from this fabulous colours

 and crochet therapy from the amazing stitch.

 It soon became easy and I was hooking away fast from memory.

When you look at the waffle stitch from different directions,

 it has different looks. The texture is fascinating

 and I soon found myself running my fingers along the waffles.

It is so very tactile and sure to be a winner for children in pushchairs!

To frame my blankets I chose a plain linen stitch border in 1 colour.

 This sits nice and flat and makes a stunning frame to the blanket.

Linen Stitch border

(UK crochet terms)

Foundation row ~ dc in corner, 2 chain, repeat, dc 2 chain, all the way round,

 spacing out the dcs so as to make your blanket edge straight and flat,

 we do not want a frilly blanket here!

Round 1 ~ dc in dc, 2 dc in chain loop, repeat with 3 dc in corner stitch.

Round 2 ~ 3 dc in corner stitch, chain 1 miss a dc, dc in next dc, 

chain 1 miss a dc repeat then slip stitch into first stitch

.

TURN YOUR WORK 

so you are now working from the back

Round 3 ~ dc in the chain space, chain 1 , dc in next chain space chain 1 

repeat with 3 dc in the corner, slip stitch into first stitch. Turn your work.

Turning the work after every round helps to keep the border nice and flat.

Keep working until you have the required depth of border.

It can be left with a nice straight edge as here in the pink rainbow blanket

or

an edging can be added as in my pink/grey blanket (see later).

For this I changed to a different colour

 and made the final round in reverse linen stitch.

 This feels strange at first working backwards,

 but you soon get into the rhythm of it.

After the bright waffles, orders started coming in

 and I had the pleasure of making 2 grey blankets for customers.

Lemon, silver and white

then candyfloss, silver and white

Stylecraft Special DK.

Instagram

is the most fabulous place for crochet inspiration.

Try searching for appropriate hashtags

 and you will have hours of pleasure discovering new people to follow

 and new ideas to make!

 I was inspired by many wonderful blankets and crocheters

 and next discovered the square waffle blanket.

For this pattern I learnt from another excellent video tutorial on You Tube,

 by Natasha aka Buttonnose Crochet, you can find this 

HERE

This time I chose blues,

denim, cloud blue, silver and white,

and again the reverse linen stitch edging 

completed my square.

By now I was totally smitten with this

gorgeous

squishy

warm

cosy

blanket

and decided I needed one in my own life!

Sitting under a blanket to rest is a big part of everyday life for me.

So it wasn't long before I had picked out the beautiful soft vintage colours

of  Stylecraft Special DK.

I used 8 shades,

 duck egg, parma violet, grape, pale rose,

 mocha, vintage peach, mushroom and grey.

My border this time was made in stripes,

 using up the oddments I had left and I like the simple straight edge here.

If you too have caught the waffle bug

 do share your photos in my Facebook group

Crochet Inspired By The Patchwork Heart

and use

 #inspiredbythepatchworkheart 

as a tag on Instagram.

It makes me so happy to see what you are making!

My blog has recently been updated with 2 new pages

Tutorials

and 

Blankets

to make it easier for you to find things again in future.

Yoy can find these pages listed at the top right of the blog.

Take a look now and see what a wonderful resource this is!

Happy hooking friends

Heather

x x x

Moroccan Tiles

Here as promised is my full blog post

 about how I made this stunning

 Moroccan Tiles blanket.

I have used 1 each of the 8 colours for the tiles

dark brown, mocha, camel, parchment,

 copper, tomato, spice and gold.

(I apologise if some of you think the parchment

 looks like duck egg in the photos, it is not!)

The joining and border colour will be walnut, allow 4 balls.

You can buy this yarn

HERE

I have used a 3.5mm hook as this suits my tension.

 Some poeple use 4 or 4.5mm.

 It is recommended that you make a sample squares first to test your tension.

I have chosen to make 49 squares and arrange them in a 7x7 square,

 but you could also use 48 and make a 6x8 rectangular blanket.

I made 1 test square at the start, to familarise myself with the pattern,

 so I then needed to make 48 more.

 This works very nicely with 8 colours so I made 6 middles of each shade.

I am using the Willow Block from the book

200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton.

She explains very clearly how to make it.

As usual I worked in a production line system.

 This organised method helps ensure

 an even balance of colour in the blanket.

 If you are not familiar with this method

 you can read an earlier post about how I plan colours

HERE

So when I sit down to crochet

 I grab 1 ball of yarn and 6 middles to be used.

This also makes it very portable and easy to pack in a bag for going out.

The 3rd colours are planned in the same way,

allowing 6 of each.

Each square will be unique using this method. 

They grow really fast and 

its easy to sew the ends in as you go.

Planning is my favourite part!

I love lining them all up on the table and choosing the next colours.

If you don't have the space to leave them out,

 then simply put each ball and pile of squares

 in separate plastic bags to keep them organised.

The addition of the 4th colour

 really makes them look like tiles.

The final task is to add an extra round in the joining colour walnut.

I did uk dc in each stitch with 3 in the corner. 

Choosing mugs to match my crochet is a pleasure of mine and

 has become my trademark, its something I do automatically!

The next part of the process is to

 lay them out on the bed for the joining arrangement.

 People always write and ask how I do it.

 Well there no secret really, 

I start with 1 of each colour in each row

and just use my eye to make sure neighboring squares are not too similar.

To join my squares I have crocheted them together

 from the back using UK dc through both loops.

 If you are not familiar with this method 

you can read my step by step tutorial

HERE

this creates a strong join

 which is smooth and flat on the front

 and has a ridge on the back.

Once the blanket is in 1 piece I add a foundation row to prepare it for the border.

For this I do a round of UK trebles.This makes the border deeper, 

but more than that, it allows me to straighten out the blanket edge.

 I always find that where 2 squares meet there is slight dip in the edge. 

When I make this foundation row I use a longer stitch at this point. 

So in the 2 corners of the squares I make double trebles,

 but I do half a double treble in the first corner and keep it on the hook, 

then half a double treble in the second corner,

 then pull the yarn through both together making 1 stitch.

 This removes a few stitches from the border helping it to lie flat.

My border is number 93 from the book

Around the Corner by Edie Eckman.

This is available in my shop

HERE

Don't worry if you don't have the exact number of stitches,

 needed for the border its very easy to adapt it.

 Crochet is very forgiving and you can easily add or remove a stitch,

 in the gaps in several patterns on the first row of the border.

I always wash my blankets when complete to help settle the joins.

 This has the same effect as blocking.

 Follow the instructions on the ball band.

 I was mine in the machine with my normal soap powder

 and fabric softener at 30 degrees.

 Then I tumble dry on LOW heat. 

This makes the yarn even softer and your blanket is ready to snuggle!

My finished blanket is 130cm /51 inches square.

I hope you have lots of fun making this blanket.

remember to share your photos as you make in the 

Facebook Group

we all love to see what you are doing!

My blanket is now stored ready to gift

and I'm off to start something new!

Have a lovely hooky weekend friends

Heather

X X X