I am a proud collector of yarn. I love meandering through the colorful rows at the store admiring all the beautiful fibers. There is something truly inspiring about standing in front of a rack filled with 16 different shades of purple. And most of the time I can’t resist picking up a new skein, or two – even if I have absolutely no idea how I would use it. I have been accumulating yarn for a few years now and my collection has gotten out of control. The best way to downsize a yarn stash, in my opinion, is to make a blanket.
I love blankets: crochet, quilted, knitted, it doesn’t matter, I make them all. Suffice it to say, our home is not short on cozy cover-ups. Crochet works up much more quickly than knitting so I tend to pick a crochet pattern whenever I make a blanket out of yarn. I love the texture of crochet stitches so the pattern doesn’t need to be fancy to look amazing (like in this awesome color block scarf). For the blanket I just finished I filled a basket with all different types of yarn, grabbed a hook, chose a stitch and got to work. Here is what I came up with:
Stash Busting Striped Blanket in Half-Double Crochet
For this pattern don’t think too much about color combinations, just grab a skein and start crocheting. For extra interest you could add different weights of yarn, just make sure they are all the same fiber: wool, acrylic, etc.
Finished size:
Approx. 5.8 feet long x 4.6 feet wide – but feel free to adjust the size however you want
Abbreviations:
- CH – chain stitch
- HDC – half double crochet
- SK – skip
- ST(S) – stitch(es)
- R – row
Tools:
- US N/10.00mm crochet hook
- Lots and lots of yarn – I used worsted weight
- Darning needle
Pattern:
- With your chosen color, loosely chain 180 stitches
R1: Working into foundations chain, sk first 2 sts, make 2 hdc in next st (cluster made), *sk next 2 sts, make 2 hdc in next st, repeat from * across to last ch st, turn
R2: Ch 2, make 2 hdc in space between clusters from previous row, repeat across, turn
- Repeat row 2 of pattern until skein ends, add new color and continue in pattern
- Work until blanket measures desired length
- Weave in ends
What I love most about knitting, sewing and crocheting blankets is that there really are no rules. Make it whatever size you want, use whatever colors you want, pick whatever stitch you want -how it unfolds is up to you. Also, I love working in stripes because I don’t have to put too much thought into the pattern, I just grab a random color and go. Sometimes the colors don’t always pair well and the stripes are different sizes, but that’s all part of the fun! Enjoy!
Cheers,
Amy
gray duck 