Mixed stitch stripey blanket crochet-a-long

This is where I will put all my posts about this project, so they are all in one place!

Mixed stripey blanket beginnings...wanna join in?

Well, I have finally got around to starting my next mixed-stitch-stripey blanket, I have been procrastinating a lot regarding this blanket.  

However, on our last trip to Melbourne I bought this book, and there are so many fantastic stitch patterns in here that I could put it off no longer!  There were many patterns with similar effects to what I was looking for in my experimenting, so why reinvent the wheel?  I will just use the similar ones in here I think. 

These are a few I like and think I could incorporate into my blanket, along with some old favourites, they might not all make the cut but it is good to have lots of options in a blanket like this!

What do you think?  Aren't they lovely! I do like nice solid looking patterns, I actually think the Interlocking Diamonds would be gorgeous for a blanket all on it's own! Maybe next project there!

Soooo......here is my beginning, 3 rows of hdc (htr) in blue,watermelon and green.  

Choosing the colours for this blanket has been quite a challenge, do I go for a different look or choose old favourites?  Lots of different colours or a limited palette?  In the end I've decided to go with the flow and see what takes my fancy as I get to each new stitch pattern.  It's going to be fun!

Definitely going to be one interesting blanket!

If anyone would like to crochet along with me on the own mixed-stitch-stripey blanket, feel free, I'd love to see what you come up with!  I am hoping to start a page dedicated to this blankets progress with the patterns and mini tutorials on it so you can see what I am doing.  But feel free to do your own thing, choose what ever stitches you like and lets create a unique blanket together!

I am using 8 ply wool (DK I think equivalent) with a 3.5 mm hook, but use what ever hook you feel comfortable with, I want a nice firm tight stitch, but you may prefer a looser fabric.

To begin with I chained 390ish stitches ( I kind of lost count and then kept loosing count when I went back to check)  because I want a big blanket for our bed, but you can chain as many as you like to suit your own wants.  Because of all the different stitch patterns, there will probably be a bit of adjusting of each row, depending on which pattern is being used; they all have various stitch repeats, if you get what I mean.  As long as we keep the same number of stitches in each row, we should end up with a fairly straight sided piece.  There is a bit of improvising inthids project, so please bear with me!

So the first few rows are of hdcs (htr), just to give us a nice firm base to start with,  I am going to do a couple more before moving on to a different pattern.

Stay tuned, I will try and update this blanket whenever I have made a pattern change, but that's enough to get us started!   

Have a great day!

Crochet along update .....

It looks a bit crooked, but I think it will be fine with some blocking!

Hello!

So I have done a bit more of the mixed stripe blanket.

I finished the 5 rows of hdc, and then decided to do the granny stripes in red and pink.

I know you all probably know how to do the granny stripe pattern, but I will try and explain it just in case you are starting out and are not sure. It is really only the start and end of the rows that are a tiny bit tricky...

( Sc = dc, dc = tr, tr = dtr, )

Granny stripes:

Row 1 : Ch 3, then 3dc in next st,  skip 2sts,  3dc in next st, skip 2sts, 3dc in next st ......and so on to the end of the row. Bind off.( My row did not finish off evenly so I did 2dc in the second last st, and then 1dc in the last stitch, to make a straighter edge)

 Row 2 :Join pink to red 3rd chain, and chain 3, 1dc in gap between the chain stitches and the 3dc clusters, then 3dc between each cluster of the first row till the end of the row . Bind off.

( To finish, I did my last dc into the last st of the row and made sure the stitch count stayed the same to avoid the blanket gaining stitches overall) 

Row 3 : Join red to pink 3rd ch, chain 3, and then 3dc in the gaps between the clusters of the previous row, continue till the end of the row, and finish with 3 dc in the last gap.

here are the ends of each row

After the 3 granny stripe rows, I did 2 rows of hdc.  In the dark blue row, every third stitch I did into the gap between the previous rows clusters. The pale blue row is just hdcs straight across.

Next I am doing a bit of a chevron type stitch.

Pattern: 

(On wrong side) Ch 1,  *1hdc into next st, 1dc into next st, 3tr into next st, 1dc into next st, 1hdc into next st, 1sc into next st ; rep from * to end.......turn.

Change colour for 2nd row..1ch, skip1 st, 1sc into next st (counts as sc2tog), 1sc into each of next 2 sts,  *3sc into next st, 1sc into each of of next 2 sts, over next 3 sts work sc3tog, 

1sc into each of next 2 sts; rep from*.........

....till the last 5sts, 3sc into next st, 1sc into each of next 2 sts, over last 2 sts work sc2tog, turn.

3rd row : as 2nd row.

how to do sc3tog, draw up the first loop of the next 3 stitches...... 

....then yarn over and draw through all  4  loops on hook, decreasing 3sts to 1.

So this is where I am up to at the moment, on the 3rd row of the chevron pattern, next I am going to use the green again to fill in the dips of the chevrons and make it flat again.

Sorry I haven't done that yet to complete this little pattern segment.  I will edit this post and add it in when I am up to that bit!

Of course you can do more granny stripes if you like, (and in your own colours!) or leave them out  completely, but they are one of the patterns that I will be repeating throughout this blanket, and I am liking the chevron wave too, so will be doing more of these too!  

I think once I have done one patch of all the patterns I am going to use, these posts will get shorter as I won't repeat all the detailed instructions, so sorry for this long winded post!  

Anyway, how is your blanket going, are you having fun ?

A few people have been a bit concerned about how the blanket stays straight with all the different patterns, but I think just remember to keep the same number of stitches in each row and it will all work out in the end. ( ie, if we decrease in one row, in the next we increase the same number to keep it all square, hope you get what I mean!)  I am sure it will all be fine!

Ok, I am going to go and hook a few stitches before bed!

Have a great day!

Edited to add:

4th row of chevron pattern:

Join the green wool, ch 4, skip 1 st, 1tr into next st (counts as tr2tog), *1dc into next st, 1hdc into next st, 1sc into next st, 1hdc into next st, 1dc into next st, over next 3 sts work tr3tog ; rep from * for rest of row.

Crochet Along Update #2.....

Hello!

So here is the next bit of the crochet along!

I think last time I had finished the chevron stripe pattern, so after that section I have added rows of sc in 3 colours. 

Starting with the right side facing, I have done 1row of sc in dark blue, then turned and gone back, so ending up with a double row of sc. Then I've repeated this in pale pink, and mid blue.

4dc cluster pattern

Next, I have done a row of 4dc clusters, with 3 sts skipped between them (this keeps the stitch count even overall).  The first cluster is made of 3chs and 1dc, then the rest are 4dcs.

Next, a row of sc in lime.

Next, another row of 4dc clusters in blue.

Next, a double row of sc in green ( 1 row, turn, second row)

Bobble Pattern

Next I am setting up for my bobble row with 1 row of dcs in pale blue.

The middle row of the bobble section is where you do the bobbles . 

There is a great tutorial over at Tales from Cuckoo Land here that shows you exactly how to do the bobbles in another colour, which is how I learnt how to do it, have a look over there to find out how to do this part.

Then I did another row of dcs in pale blue to finish off this bit.

Next another double row of sc in green.

(I am going to call this next 3 rows Outlined Cluster Pattern in future)

Next, one row of sc in red.

Next, one row of 4tr clusters in turquoise, made the same way as the 4dc clusters, but with trs instead.

Next row, ch1(counts as 1st st), 1sc in next stitch, then 2trtog into centre skipped st of the first row of sc in red, *then 3sc across top of cluster sts, then 2trtog into centre skipped st of first row of sc in red*, and repeat to end of row. (hope that's not too confusing!)

Next, I row of hdc in blue.

Okay that's where I'm up to at the moment, I am pretty happy with how it is working out, I have decided not to use any white in this blanket, so I hope the colours keep looking good together.

I am going to try and work a bit of Catherine Wheel pattern in soon, so hope that works out ok, then it might be time for some repeating of the chevron stripe and granny stripes, I'll have to wait and see!

How are you going with this blanket? 

Still having fun?

Getting frustrated with my slow posting? (Sorry!)

Are you doing your own bit of winging it crochet?

Have a great day, and happy hooking!

Crochet along Update #3

Hello.

How are you going today?

I have got the next bit of the crochet along for you today, so here what I've done:

After the aqua and red outlined cluster pattern, and the 1 row of blue hdc, 

I turned the work and went back with another row of blue hdc.

Next was a row of pale pink hdc, then turn the work and go back, so you end up with a double row of pale pink hdc.

Next is a 4 row pattern called Catherine Wheel.

Special Abbreviation CL (Cluster) : work [yo, insert hook, yo, draw loop through, yo, draw through 2 loops] over the number of sts indicated, yo, draw through all loops on hook.

Row 1(wrong side) : In red, join and make 1ch in first st (counts as first st), 1sc in next st, * skip 3sts, 7dc into next st, skip 3 sts, 1sc into each of next 3sts; rep from * to lats 4 sts, skip 3sts, 4dc into last st,  turn.

Row 2 (right side) : In pink, join to first st and  make 1ch, 1sc into first st, 1sc into next st, *3ch, 1CL over next 7sts, 3ch, 1sc into each of next 3 sts; rep from * to last 4 sts, 3ch, !cl over last 4 sts, skip tch, turn.

Row 3 (wrong side) : still with pink, 3ch, 3dc into first st, * skip 3ch, 1sc into each of the next 3scs, skip 3ch, 7dcs into the loop that closed next CL; rep from *to end, finishing with skip 3ch, 1sc into each of last 2sc, skip tch, turn

Row 4 (right side) :In red, join and 3ch (counts as 1dc), skip first st, 1CL over next 3 sts, * 3ch, isc into each of next 3 sts, 3ch, 1CL over next 7sts; rep from* finishing with 3ch, 1sc into next st,1sc into top of tch, turn.

This pattern can be a bit tricky at the start and end of rows, depending on how many stitches are in your blanket, so here is the graphic pattern to help you work out your ends and starts.  Just adjust your ends and starts to keep your sides straight, according to where you are in the pattern repeat.

(sorry it's a bit blurry, it's getting late here!)

Of course you can do this pattern in whatever colours you like!

Catherine Wheel Stitch Pattern, from Basic Crochet Stitches , edited by Erika Knight.

Next is a chunk of sc rows.

Row 1 : (Right side) Lime green, sc across the row, doing 10sc evenly across each pattern repeat of the Catherine Wheel row below to ensure the stitch count stays the same. Turn.

Row 2 : (Wrong side) 1ch, skip first st, sc in each st across row.

Row 3 : (RS) Mid green, Sc in each st across row, turn.

Row 4 : (WS) 1ch, skip first st, sc in eachst across row.

Rows 5 -11 : Sc across the row, doing one row of each colour, working all on the right side.  

Colour sequence that I used :

Light blue, 

red, 

dark blue,

red, 

dark blue, 

red,

 light blue.

Next is a chunk of Granny stripe pattern  (see earlier pattern notes) in watermelon, spearmint green, and mid blue.  You can add more or less granny stripes if you would like.  I think I will add a couple more to this chunk, but I haven't quite got to that yet. 

Ok that's all I have for you at the moment, school holidays are coming up next week, so I might have a bit more time to devote to this while the boys have their holiday sleep ins, so there hopefully won't be quite as big a wait for the next instalment!  Sorry for my slowness, but this is a huge blanket and each row is taking ages!

Just a note on the yarns I am using, I am using quite a few different Australian brands, (to get a good colour range), mainly Heirloom Colorworks 8ply and Cleckheaton Country 8ply, with some stash bits and pieces as well.  I think they are DK equivalent.  They are probably hard to find overseas (although Cleckheaton is very common here), so you can use any dk weight yarn that takes your fancy, I like to work with wool, but I am sure it would be just as nice in any yarn you choose.

Have a great day!

Hello ladies, here is the latest bit of my mixed stripey blanket! 

Once again, apologies for slowness of my progress, I am doing my best, but crochet time is short at the moment.

Anyway, heres what I have done,

I finished my block of 5 rows of granny stripe.  

The colours,  watermelon, mint, blue, mint, watermelon. 

Next row in light blue, sc across, with every 3rd st sc into the space between watermelon clusters.

Next row,  in pink, (on right side), hdc in each st across, turn, ch2 (count as as 1st st),  (on wrong side), hdc in each st across.

Next row in light blue, sc each st across.

Next I did a section of chevron stripe in dark blue with an aqua stripe.

After the chevron stripe section I did a chunk of 5 double rows of sc (10 rows in all) in the colour sequence red, mid green, pale pink, pale blue and lime.  

If you prefer, you could do double rows of hdc or dc if you want thicker stripes, and you could do more rows if you like, or less!

So that is where I am at right now, slowly growing!

You might also like:

Crochet along update #5

Hello!

Ok, so here's the next bit I have finished :

After the double row of lime sc, I did one more double row of sc in aqua.

Next, I did another chunk of a bobble row

(1 row of dc in red, 1 row of dc and bobbles in red and blue,  1 row of dc in red)

Next, a double row of sc in aqua again

Next, 1 row of 4dc cluster pattern in pink, 

then 1 row of sc in blue,

then 1 row of 4dc cluster pattern in light pink,

then 1 row of sc in blue .

Next is a double row of sc in mid green.

Next is a stripe of Catherine Wheel pattern in Pale blue and lime.

So that is where I am up to at the moment! 

Happy crocheting:)

Crochet Along Update #6

Well I have been busy crocheting away on my big blanket recently, so I thought it was time for a new bit of the crochet along, in case anyone is still persevering with this on going project!

I have put the next 2 photos close together so you can see what I have done in a bit more detail, there is a bit of overlap, but I hope you can see what I mean.

Ok, here's what I have added :

After the lime and pale blue Catherine Wheel section comes

2 rows of sc in light aqua, (up and back),

Catherine Wheel section in salmon and mid blue,

2 rows of sc in mid green, (up and back),

4 single rows of sc alternating dark blue and mid green,

3 rows of tr clusters granny stripes in red, lime, and red again,

2 rows of sc (up and back) in each of the following colours, mid green, pale blue, spearmint, watermelon, and dark blue,

a section of outline cluster pattern in pink and light aqua, (see earlier update for this pattern)

....and that's where I'm up to at the moment!

I measured my progress so far and it is around 75 cm long so far, so I'm about a third of the way through.

How is your blanket growing?

Would you like me to organise a little linky thing so we can all share our blanket progress?

I will add this post to the bottom of the Crochet along Page so it is easier to find all these updates.

Talk soon!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

So here is the new bit I have made since the last update:

UPDATE #7

After the pink and light aqua outline cluster pattern, 

in mint, starting on right side, 2 rows sc (up and back), then

in light blue 1 row 4dc cluster pattern, then

in dark blue 2 rows sc (up and back), then

a section of chevron stripe in red and light pink, then

in pale blue 2 rows sc, then

a section of bobbles in green and mid blue, then

4 x 2rows of sc in pale blue, celery,red and light aqua, then

3 rows of granny stripes in flamingo, pale pink and flamingo again.

So that is where I am up to at the moment!