Color Block Baby Blanket

Apparently October is my productive month. Here is yet another pattern for you to enjoy. I have many more in the works. Keep an eye out for more!

One of the things I love to do is make baby blankets for family and friends. I have made many blankets, many of which have followed patterns. This one took inspiration from a pattern I found in a book at the craft store, but I don’t like to pay for patterns I could make myself for find for free. This one was simple: squares of 3 colors sewn together.

A simple color block baby blanket. Here you can see the finished product.

I like this pattern because it is simple and there are infinite possibilities if you mix different colors of yarn. It was also easy to do while watching TV. ( I watched a lot of movies while working on this one.).

Since this was a baby blanket I used BERNAT Softee Baby. This is the first time I have used this yarn, but I really like the feel and how it works.

• Color 1 is called Princess and is a nice variegated pattern. You will need 2 skeins.
• Color 2 is called Flannel and is a nice gray. You will only need 1 skein.
• Color 3 is called Soft Red and is more pink that red in my opinion.  Again, only 1 skein is needed.

**Just a reminder, don’t do what I did and not buy enough yarn. Always be sure to get enough to make sure you have the same dye lot and the colors match. Sometimes this doesn’t matter, like in this case, because this pattern calls for squares. You can hide the subtle color differences easier than in single color or non-square patterns. But it is always a good idea to get enough yarn to start so you don’t have to run around to different stores trying to find another skein. **

The squares are made as follows:

With a size G hook

• Ch 32, turn, dc in third chain from hook, dc in each ch across. (30 stitches)
• Ch 1, turn, dc in each dc across. (30 stitches)
• Repeat 14 more times for a total of 15 rows. Finish.

The finished squares are approximately 8″x8″.

A basic layout of the squares for this pattern. It can be expanded for larger sizes. Light pink represents the Princess color, dark pink is Soft Red and grey is Flannel

Make 8 squares  of color 1 and 4 each of color 2 and 3 for the size blanket I made (4×4 squares). You could expand the pattern for a larger blanket such as a 5×5 blanket (13 of 1, 6 of both 2 & 3). You will need more yarn if you are making a larger blanket. For reference, 1 skein of yarn makes about 5 squares.

Then you just stitch your squares together in the correct order. Depending on the size of the blanket you can lay the squares out on the floor or table and stitch them together. Sometimes for smaller blankets like this one I will stack the squares by row and work on sewing them together one by one. This works well so you can be seated. I have spent hours on my hands and knees stitching larger blankets and I usually end up with a sore back.

Finally, you can add a nice border to the blanket.  A border always cleans up the look of a project, especially when using squares. There are a lot of options for a border. Usually I don’t plan ahead for borders and I decide on what kind to do when I have finished attaching the squares.  For this one I went with a simple design. I added two sc rows of the grey around the edge, adding 3 sc in each corner stitch. Then I added one more row of the pick in sc and then a reverse sc row to add a corded edge. Since I was going with a clean and straight line look I wanted a simple border. This was my first time using the reverse sc and I have to say, it turned out amazing looking.

Simple, corded edging made using a reverse single crochet stitch.

Overall I am very happy with the result. I only wish I had finished it much sooner. The only thing I might change is working on the squares as a whole and not as individual squares. Basically just keep crocheting the squares off of one another so I don’t have to spend two hours stitching them together. I’m not sure if the lines will be as neat though. Maybe I will try it if I make this kind of blanket again.

You can find a pdf version of this pattern here.

So, what do you think? Is the pattern worth a try? Let me know what you think or what you would like to see next!