Rainbow baby blankets

 This winter I've been making rainbows!

I love the simplicity of these baby blankets

 that are very quickly finished. I have chosen 7 shades

 to make a rainbow, with a contrasting background colour

 and made 7 different versions so far! They have been

 so popular on

 Facebook

 and

 Instagram

 that I thought I'd make a permanent record

 of the colour recipes here for you!

 Of course in true Patchwork Heart fashion

 there's been a lot of mug matching going on as you can see here! 

I've been playing with colour recipes for girls,

 colour recipes for boys, neutrals that should suit all tastes,

 pastels, brights and more muted tones,

 so I'm hoping there will be something here to please all!

If you are new to crochet 

then a granny square baby blanket is a perfect beginners project.

You can follow my 

granny square tutorial

and learn how I make my blankets so perfectly square!

When you've completed the square to the size that you want add a 

simple edging

 and bingo your blanket complete!

All the blankets are made in

 Stylecraft Special DK

 and I have used a 3.5mm hook

 (but you need to use whatever suits your tension.

 The recommended size on the ball band is 4mm).

You need 2 balls of the background colour

 and small amounts of the 7 colours.

 My blankets are approximately 60cm square.

You can now find these rainbow baby blankets for sale in my Etsy shop!

 Here are the colour recipes underneath each photo:

1. Lipstick, spice, saffron, pistachio, aster, plum and magenta

 on a parchment background.

2. Fondant, shrimp, citron, pistachio, aspen, bluebell and wisteria

 on a soft peach background.

3. Candyfloss, apricot, lemon, spring green, sherbet, wisteria and clematis

on a white background.

4. Pomegranate,blush, saffron, pistachio, aspen, wisteria and magenta 

on a cream background.

5. Lipstick, spice, saffron, kelly green, aster, plum and magenta

on a grey background.

6. Claret, tomato, mustard, kelly green, turquoise, plum and magenta

on a petrol (blue) background

Here is a collage

 to help you compare and choose which to make.

I definitely have a passion for crocheting rainbows,

 now my hook has turned to spotty blankets!

 Keep watching this spring for more spotty creations

 and more colour recipes to entice you!

7. Claret. tomato, mustard cypress, storm blue and grape

 on a teal background

Stylecraft Special DK

 is such a wonderful tool for us crochet addicts

 with a colour palette of over 80 shades to choose from!

I am delighted to announce

 that soon some of these colour recipes will be available in my

 Colour Pack Shop!

Do remember to share your makes in the 

Facebook Group

I love to see what my makes have inspired you to do!

I wish you all lots of colourful hours crocheting rainbows

Heather

x x x

Rainbow Baby Blanket

For a long time now I have been chasing rainbows!

Always in search of that perfect blend of colours

and the perfect number of rows

 to fit my hot water bottle and baby blankets.

This week I think I have found that pot of gold!

I have been oh so happy

 with my 14 shades for a hot water bottle cover

and 15 shades for my baby blanket.

At last I have perfected (to my eye)

 that gentle flow of colours blending from

 red - orange - yellow - green - blue - indigo - violet.

Stylecraft Special DK

is available in over 80 shades.

It is a wonderful palette for us crochet artists and colour addicts

 and the recent new additions

 of tomato, sage, storm blue and mustard,

have made my rainbow making perfect!

To make a 60cm square baby blanket I have used 15 shades

claret

lipstick

tomato

spice

gold

mustard

lime

meadow

sage

storm blue

aster

bluebell

violet

grape 

and

raspberry

with parchment as the neutral in between.

This of course is personal choice

 and it would work equally well

 with silver, white or cream as the background colour.

I use a 3.5mm hook as this suits my tension, use whatever is best for you!

To make a perfect granny square,

 which is square and does not twist, follow the instructions in my

 granny square tutorial.

I chose to make 60cm square,

 as this is a good size baby blanket for use in a car seat or pram.

 However if you wish to make a larger blanket

 just keep repeating the colours, the recipe is designed to keep on flowing.

 So start with claret and work through to raspberry,

 than repeat from claret again till you reach your desired blanket size.

Every blanket needs an edging, just as a picture needs a frame.

This time I used a simple edging, you can read about how to do this

 HERE

For my 2L hot water bottle cover I needed 1 stripe less,

 so I made the same rainbow without the sage.

I'm sorry I do not have a pattern for the hot water bottle cover,

I make it up as I go!

 You will find a great tutorial for the granny stripe pattern on

 Attic 24 blog

To buy all 16 shades at once would be rather expensive,

 so if you are a beginner

 I would suggest a simple rainbow of 7 shades,

 to make a more affordable option.

For a vintage look try

claret tomato mustard meadow aster violet and raspberry on parchment.

For a brighter look try

lipstick spice saffron kelly green aster magenta and fondant on cream.

This morning as I write

 there is a distinct smell of autumn in the air which fills me with delight.

There is nothing better than to layer up with cosy scarves,

 socks and boots and snuggle by the fire

 with blankets and hot water bottles!

If you have been inspired by my colour recipes please feel free to use them.

Post photos of your work on Facebook or on Instagram and tag your work with #inspiredbythepatchworkheart

for a chance to be featured on my page in my Sunday spot.

So its back to my hook now for me.

 Watch out next week for my Batik Blanket and a

 competition

with chance to win some amazing

 Stylecraft goodies!

Happy Hookin friends

Heather

X X X