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The Cozy Posy Throw

July 3, 2019

A while back, I was able to purchase some Mandala Ombre yarn while it was still a rather new product. There were several colorways that caught my eye, but I was envisioning a baby blanket, so I went with the pastels of “Balance”.

Perhaps you saw my Instagram post from the other day, in which I shared a sneak peak of what this beautifully soft yarn was becoming. This yarn is so soft and lovely to work with, and I couldn’t help but share a progress photo!

I decided to work up a simple stitch pattern that allowed the yarn to speak for itself and wanted to add some small flower embellishments to give it a little flair. With the initial thought that this would be a baby blanket, I did not want to implement add-on pieces, so I worked the flowers right into the rows of the blanket. And what a relief it was to reach the end of the project knowing there wasn’t going to be an endless amount of sewing and end-weaving in store!

I added a slightly ridged, easy to stitch edging in a light gray, and I am pleased with the end result!

You can add this pattern to your Ravelry queue here or Pin It for later here.

Finished size: 36 ½”  x 44”

My Materials:

  • Weight 4 yarn
    • For blanket: Mandala Ombre, Balance (4 cakes, a total of 1,376 yds)
    • For edging: I Love This Yarn, Light Gray (partial skein)
  • Hook I (5.5 mm)
  • tapestry needle

Abbreviations:

  • ch – chain
  • sc – single crochet
  • dc – double crochet
  • st – stitch
  • sl st – slip stitch
  • * – work directions between the 2 * on repeat, as stated for that round

Special Stitches:

  • Flower: Ch 6, sl st in second chain made, *ch 4, sl st in same chain as the previous sl st,* repeat 3 more times (5 petals formed), sl st in first ch made at the very start of the flower (the unworked chain remaining between the flower and the blanket stitches)
  • Leaf: Ch 6, sl st in second ch from hook, sc in next, hdc in next, dc in next, hdc in last

Notes:

  • Ch 1 at the beginning of each sc row does NOT count as a stitch.
  • Ch 2 at the beginning of each dc row DOES count as the first stitch. This means that the first stitch of the previous sc row should be skipped to compensate.
  • When working the dc rows, make sure that the flowers are all pushed to the same side of the blanket.
  • The colorway I used includes two shades of green. When working with the green lengths of yarn, I worked a leaf rather than a flower. If you choose to do the same, substitute a leaf in for the section of the pattern that directs you to “work a flower”. Directions for both the flower and the leaf are included in the “Special Stitches” section above.
  • When working the edging, you will be directed to “sc around” to complete the first row. In each st along the top and bottom, you will work one sc. Along the sides, you will work a sc at the end of each sc row and 2 sc at the end of each dc row. This will give you 166 sc along each side and 125 sc along the top and along the bottom.

The Pattern

Blanket:

Ch 126

Row 1: sc in the second chain from hook and each remaining chain across (125 sc)

Row 2: Ch 2, turn, dc in second st and each remaining st across (125 dc)

Row 3: Ch 1, turn, sc in first 3 stitches, work a flower, sc in each remaining st across, working the last sc into the top of the previous row’s turning ch (125 sc, 1 flower)

Row 4: Ch 2, turn, dc in second st and each remaining st across (125 dc)

Row 5: Ch 1, turn, sc in first 122 stitches, work a flower, sc in last 3 stitches, working the last sc into the top of the previous row’s turning ch (125 sc, 1 flower)

Row 6: Ch 2, turn, dc in second st and across (125 dc)

Rows 7-110: Repeat rows 3-6, ending on a row 6 repeat

Row 111: Sc across (125 sc)

DO NOT fasten off.

Edging:

Switch to light gray yarn.

Row 1: Ch 1, Sc around (working down the side first, along the bottom second, back up the other side, and across the top last), sl st in the first sc of the row

Row 2: ch 2, sl st in same sc, ch 2, *sl st in next 2, ch 2* around, sl st in the first sl st of the row

Fasten off and weave in any ends.

Yarnfully Yours,

How many stitches are in this project?

  • Blanket with 111 rows, 36 flowers, and 18 leaves = 15,207 stitches
  • Edging = 1,746 stitches
  • Total = 16,953 stitches

The Bubbly Bobble Baby Blanket – Free Crochet Pattern

The Bubbly Bobble Baby Blanket

July 18, 2018

As a school teacher, I find that the summer months are a wonderful opportunity to catch up on aspects of life that don’t revolve around classroom activities and responsibilities. And, as such, I decided to take this summer to get ahead on things in my crochet world. That included stocking up on some baby shower gifts so that I would be prepared if the need would arise during the school year.

I started by stocking up on Lion Brand’s Mandala yarn in preparation for some baby blanket creations. When I got my hands on some of the Wood Nymph colorway, I couldn’t wait to get to work! The colors in this yarn are gorgeous, and I love the way they blend with each other as the colors change!

I decided to stay simple with the stitching and let the yarn work its magic. By adding some bobbles along the way, this sweet blanket worked up quickly and beautifully with a little texture to travel along with the color changes.

You can add this pattern to your Ravelry queue here or Pin It for later here.

Finished size: approximately 30” x 39”

My Materials:

  • weight 3 yarn: Mandala (Wood Nymph), 2 cakes – Color A
  • DIYarn (Cream), 1 skein – Color B (optional)
  • Hook H (5.00 mm), for blanket
  • Hook I (5.5 mm), for edging
  • tapestry needle

Abbreviations:

  • ch – chain
  • sc – single crochet
  • hdc – half double crochet
  • * – work directions between the 2 * on repeat, as stated for that round

Notes:

  • Here is the Bobble Stitch used in this pattern: *Yarn over, insert hook into the next stitch, yarn over, pull up loop, yarn over, pull through 2 loops on hook*, repeat 2 more times until there are 4 loops on hook, yarn over and pull through all 4 loops
  • When creating this blanket, I used 2 cakes of the same colorway of Lion Brand’s Mandala yarn. When purchasing the cakes, I bought 2 that were very similar in color changes, checking to make sure they began and ended with the same colors. I used the first cake as I usually do. However, when starting to use the second cake, I began it from the opposite end so that the coloring resulted in a mirrored effect rather than a repeated effect.

 

The Pattern

Blanket:

Using color A, ch 116

Row 1: Hdc in second chain and each remaining chain (115 hdc)

Row 2: ch 1, turn, hdc in the first stitch, *bobble stitch in the next stitch, hdc in the next 3 stitches*, repeat to the last 2 stitches, bobble stitch, hdc (86 hdc, 29 puffs)

Row 3: ch 1, turn, hdc across (115 hdc)

Row 4: ch 1, turn, hdc across (115 hdc)

Row 5: ch 1, turn, hdc in the first stitch, bobble stitch in the next, hdc across until 2 stitches remained, bobble stitch in the next, hdc in the last (113 hdc, 2 puffs)

Rows 6-119: Repeat rows 3-5

Row 120-121: Repeat rows 3-4

Row 122: Repeat row 2

Row 123: Repeat row 3

Finish off and tie in any ends.

Edging:

Using an I hook, attach color B (optional – you can use any remaining yarn from color A to work up the edging if you so desire) to any stitch in the middle of the last row worked. Single crochet in each stitch around, working 3 sc in each corner. Finish off and tie in ends.

 

Yarnfully Yours,