If you are thinking that this delicious bright blanket
looks familiar, well you are quite right!
Last summer, myself and the other Stylecraft Blogstars,
were all working with the new Batik yarn.
I made a blanket using the wisteria block by Jan Eaton,
in all the rainbow shades and it was very popular.
If you missed the original post you can read it
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| Stylecraft Batik |
In fact it was so popular,
I received many requests from crocheters,
asking for an alternative in a non wool yarn
and a more affordable option.
So here is my response for you!
I have chosen to work with
This is our much loved Stylecraft Special DK
which comes in 8 shades with a fleck in it.
Of course it has the softness and washability we all love
and comes in 100g balls at the normal affordable price.
For my squares I have used
the pattern I am again using is the
wisteria block
from the book
200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton
These shades are absolutely delightful,
so bright and remind me of jewels!
I made as many squares as I could from the 6 balls
and then made the largest blanket possible.
For joining I chose parchment
from the regular Special DK range
The pattern in the book has 7 rounds,
I stopped after round 5
and used my joining colour for round 6.
(I did not make round 7 at all.)
The squares were then arranged in a random manner.
I like to play crochet sudoku
and try to arrange them so that there is only 1
of any colour in each row or column!
For joining my squares, I have again used the method of crocheting together
from the back, using UK dc through both loops.
This makes a strong join with a ridge on the back.
You can follow my tutorial for this joining method
When joining begins something magic happens
and flowers appear where the 4 corners meet!
This was a happy accident that I discovered,
but please note it only works if you omit round 7 of the pattern!
As you will see the blanket is full of pattern
as the holes in the squares form diagonal lines across the blanket.
Every blanket deserves a border to frame it.
First I made 1 round of trebles around the whole blanket,
then I chose border 27 from the book
Around the Corner by Edie Eckman.
You can buy these books from Amazon,
follow the link on my sidebar to have a look.
I am frequently asked if I block my squares.
My answer is no, I am lucky enough to have flat squares straight off my hook.
However I always wash my blankets to help settle the joins.
This has the effect of blocking
and a certain magic happens when you wash the blankets too!
I just use my regular soap powder and fabric softener
and wash at 30 degrees, following the instructions on the ball band,
then I tumble dry on LOW.
The result is a beautifully soft flat blanket!
I hope this leaves your fingers twitching and wanting to create!
If you do have a go, dont forget to share photos of your makes,
either in my Facebook group called Crochet Inspired by The Patchwork Heart
or on Instagram use the #inspiredbythepatchworkheart
for a chance to be featured on my Sunday Spot!
wishing you a relaxing hooky time
Heather
X X X
This post was sponsored by Stylecraft Yarns
