A modern twist to the classic granny stripe stitch.
I have made several baby blanket crochet patterns over the years, but have never touched anything this classic than the granny stripe blanket.
A granny stripe stitch is the picture one has on his head, whether he crochets or not, of what a crochet fabric looks like.
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Granny stripe blankets have made it over to TV shows and movies over the years, just casually thrown on the couch, to indicate a feeling of an actual home and not a TV set.
They are an icon, to say the least. They usually are full of bright colors, alternating each row. In the following years, more neutral ones made their appearance but the classic ones never lost their fans.
Today, I am trying a totally different approach with a modern granny stripe blanket with only one solid color.
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The yarn
Well, not exactly solid, because the yarn I chose, Rico Basic Super Big Tweed Aran, is a tweed yarn, so speckles make their appearance here and there.
It comes in generous skeins of 400 gr/880 m and it’s an acrylic/merino/viscose blend.
I have used this yarn in the past to make a cardigan for myself and I love how easy is to work with. It’s one of those nice acrylics, not scratchy at all.
It’s actually one of the few acrylics I like to work with.
Substitute yarns
Great alternatives if you can’t find the Rico Basic Super Big Tweed Aran would be:
– Paintbox yarns Wool mix Aran
– Paintbox yarn Simply Aran
– City Tweed Aran
– Swish worsted
– Brava worsted
– Wool of the Andes worsted
More free crochet blanket patterns you may like:
From left to right: Lacy baby blanket, Calm dreams baby blanket pattern.
Crochet blanket edging
The crochet edge I chose to go onto the blanket is a romantic ruffle edging. It is very easy to make just a little bit time-consuming, and well, a major yarn-eater.
I am going to give you a couple of options for the ruffled edge to make it work for you, but this is quickly becoming one of my favorite crochet borders for blankets.
How many chains do I need for a granny stripe blanket?
The granny stripe stitch is one of the easiest stitches out there, perfect for a blanket or a shawl. It uses only double crochet stitches in clusters of 3, which makes it a very fast crochet blanket.
To make the granny stripe stitch you must make a multiple of 3+3.
You are going to need these numbers if you are going to adjust the size of this baby blanket.
I believe it would make an excellent crochet lap blanket for those cozy movie nights.
If you want to know all the secrets and some guidance on how to adjust the size of any blanket or rectangle project to fit your needs take a look at my mini-course Crochet Blankets Made Easy.
Notes:
– All my patterns are written in Standard US terms.
– This is the first pattern I am using the alternative turning chain or chainless starting double crochet method. Please read more about it below.
– A cluster is just stitches that are close together. On this occasion, a cluster is 3 double crochet stitches in one space.
– You are going to place all clusters from R2 and onwards in the space that is formed between the clusters.
Knit blanket patterns you may like:
From left to right: Two rivers baby blanket, Wild berries blanket, Orfeas blanket.
Materials:
yarn: Rico Basic Super Big Tweed Aran
crochet hook: US J/6.0 mm
yarn needle, scissors
yardage: approximately 1093 yds (1000 m) without including the ruffle edge, check out the appropriate section below to learn why.
Finished size: 30”x35” (76×92 cm) without edging
Gauge: 12 double crochet and 8 rows is 4”
Abbreviations:
R: row
RS: right side
WS: wrong side
ch(s): chain(s)
dc: double crochet
sk: skip
sc: single crochet
alt tch: alternative turning chain (chainless starting double crochet)
Utilizing the chainless starting double crochet
As mentioned above, this is the first pattern I had written after discovering the chainless starting double crochet method. And no, I didn’t invent it, but it drastically changed the way I am approaching straight edges from now on.
You can read all about the chainless starting double crochet, alternative turning chain, or stacked single method in my previous blog post. I also have a small video tutorial for you there but believe me, it’s very easy.
I wanted to explain a bit about why I chose to write the granny stripe blanket pattern the way I did. It’s all about the straight edges.
Keeping your crochet edges straight
When you utilize this method your edges are so clean and straight that you are going to love the result. Plus, writing it this way eliminated the need for a second row repeat.
I won’t get into technical details but, the thing is, you are going to have to repeat just one row to complete this pattern. We are talking about the ultimate soothing and mindless project.
For the lack of a better abbreviation and explanation, I used the term “alternative turning chain” as alt ch in the pattern. I have seen it this way in another tutorial but haven’t found a formal standard term for it as the other found in the Craft Yarn Council.
Now, go watch that video or read the blog post and come back here to implement what you learned.
Having said all that, you can totally go the old familiar way and substitute the alternative turning chain with a standard chain 2. You can then decide to count that turning chain as a stitch and make 2 double crochet stitches after that, or not and make 3 dc in the first space.
Just make sure you will have the correct pattern repeats as indicated in R3.
The granny stripe blanket is part of the International Crochet Month blog hop, hosted by Marie Segares. You can find all the info to participate on her blog, the Underground Crafter.
Granny stripe blanket free crochet pattern
R1 (RS): ch 90, dc 2 in third chain from hook, sk 2 chs, * 3 dc, sk 2 chs *, repeat from * to * until last 3 chs, sk 2 chs, dc in last chain, turn
R2 (WS): alt tch in first space, 2 dc in same space, 3 dc in each space until last, dc in space between ch and first dc, turn
R3: alt tch and 2 dc in first space, 3 dc in each space until last, dc in alt tch of previous row (it’s the last st of this row), turn (29 clusters plus 1 dc)
R4-74: repeat R3. Do not cut your yarn in the last row.
See? Didn’t I tell you this pattern is super easy? Let’s get to the blanket border.
Continue going around the whole blanket with the same yarn and crochet hook. First, make one single crochet onto the side of your blanket and continue going around the whole blanket with single crochet stitches.
On the sides of the blanket, you are going to make 2 sc for every double crochet row. For the top and bottom parts of the blanket, things are more straightforward. Just make 1 single crochet for every chain (bottom) or in every double crochet stitch (top).
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Crochet ruffle edge
If you ever wanted to know how to crochet a ruffle edge on anything and it looked difficult, believe me, it’s not.
To create this frilly and romantic result the only thing you have to do is place 2 or more double crochet stitches in the same stitch.
I have been experimenting with this quite a bit to make this baby blanket and decided that I liked the outcome best when I was alternating 3 dc in one stitch and then 2 dc in the next.
Three double crochet stitches in each stitch were a bit too “ruffly” for me and two double crochet in each stitch were a bit minimal.
So, I decided to go for the middle ground and settle for 3 dc in one and then two in the other. I wouldn’t worry too much about keeping score as the ruffles are going to appear just fine.
You can make your own experiments and decide how frilly your edge would like to be but, be aware that this is going to affect how much yarn you are going to need.
I have left the border part out of the yardage intentionally because it will heavily depend on your choices. I can give you my estimation that for my baby blanket, I used about 70 grams of yarn.
Join in the first single crochet you made. Now, let’s get to the ruffle part. Chain 2 and make 3 more double crochet stitches in the same stitch, then 2 double crochet stitches in the next stitch.
My crochet granny stripe blanket is for those who love neutral and solid colors and want to make a classic design without all the retro vibes.
It’s an easy crochet blanket using the crochet granny stripe to make a striped blanket with no stripes. Does this make any sense? Ha-ha, I believe all the neutral lovers out there will get the joke…
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Sandra
Monday 1st of May 2023
Love this pattern!