Making a blanket?

[DearMrDilkington]

Has anyone on here made a blanket before and would be kind enough to tell me how?

Do you knit one or make it some other way? I'm not even sure how to knit, I'm a complete newbie to anything like this so maybe a blanket wouldn't be the easiest thing to try first..

I really want to give it a go, but as you can tell I'm completely clueless about it all.

[MamehaSan]

If you have to learn from scratch then I would personally go for crochet rather than knitting. It's easier to make large items imo, as with knitting you have to have the whole width of the blanket bunched up on your needle. With crochet you can make things as big as you like. If you're new to it, there are really good tutorials on the Attic24 website (can't link as on my phone, but google it) - lots of pictures and step by step instructions, though it would help if you've mastered the basic stiches before. Most of the Attic24 blankets use just the double crochet stich so are really easy to pick up. HTH. Good luck and have fun!

[Theweasleytwins]

I make giant granny square blankets from crochet which are super easy. I do follow Th Crochet Crowd on Facebook who do lots of videos, just to watch as I can't do anything like that😓

[MamehaSan]

Also, I've just spotted another thread at the top of "Arts and Crafts" asking for links to crochet tutorials - might be worth having a squiz there to see if there are any useful links for learning the basics before you tackle the blanket.

[Jennie1978]

I agree, I find crochet quicker and easier. Attic 24 and YouTube videos are really useful. These are my most recent blankets.

[LemonRedwood]

I used to knit when I was younger but nothing ever seemed to turn out right. Have recently discovered crochet (just before Christmas) and have already made a blanket, a basket and a shawl!

Go for a nice chunky yarn and a large hook and you'll have a blanket in no time. This is mine; I'm curled up underneath it on my sofa at the moment

[DearMrDilkington]

Thank you all!

Will give it a go and let you know how it turns out.

[DearMrDilkington]

I can't crochet! It just doesn't seem to be making anything or connecting! aghhhh

[Yddraigoldragon]

Hop over to the woolly hugs threads, try making some small squares? Lots of advice and posters available to help newbies

[DearMrDilkington]

My search still isn't working so I can't find it.
Sorry to be a pain in the arse but, would you be able to tag me in the thread or link it for me?

[LemonRedwood]

Woolly hugs sub forum here

Also, search for Bella Coco on YouTube. Nice, clear instructions and easy to see what she's doing in the videos. Loads of helpful videos on YouTube in general but I found her easiest to follow. Uses uk terms as well, so I found her less confusing.

[DearMrDilkington]

Thank you

[yaela123]

I finished my first ever knitting project a few months ago and it was a blanket.

I used DK wool (although I would recommend something bulkier) with 5mm needles (again I would recommend bigger) and just knit lots of different coloured squares, each about 15cm:

Cast on 25 stitches
Knit in garter stitch (knit every stitch of every row)
Bind off
Repeat for as many squares as you want.

Then sew all the squares together. If you leave long tails of yarn when you cast on/bind off then you can just use this to sew together.

Here are some good videos (I think): knitfreedom.com/knitting-videos

I haven't tried crochet so can't comment on that.

Good luck!

[DearMrDilkington]

Oh dear, it's really quite bad! I''ve only done two small squares on it, but it's still pretty poor.

On the positive side, the squares are staying together, but they don't seem very flat!!

[LemonRedwood]

You can block the squares before you join them which will make it flatter. If it's a heavy wool then as the blanket grows the weight kind of helps everything stay flat. If it's a lighter weight wool then it might curl a bit and blocking will help.

To block, soak each square in water and then squeeze all the excess out (try not to wring, just squeeze as much as you can). Lay each square out on a towel to dry completely. You can stretch them so they are the same size whilst they're damp (use tape measure and rust proof pins). When completely dry, they'll maintain the shape you stretched them into and then you can join them.

It took until about halfway through my blanket before the squares started looking uniform but the good thing is, now they're all joined, you can't really tell

Don't give up! (Oh, and pictures please!)

[user1487281103]

Good luck love!!!

[SparklyGlitterPants]

I'm currently in the middle of knitting a blanket for a double bed (I say middle but no where near half way through), I'm just doing it in squares with 10 by 3 repeats of the pattern (feather and fan with rib). Once I have each square done I'm just stitching them together. Although it is taking me a while do them between the completion of one square and starting the next one.

[Losgunna]

I made this for my ds recently, it's a bunch of crochet squares stitched together and then a pretty simple border.
It took me quite a while but I'm slow and it's pretty big.
Agree with pp crochet is easier than knitting or quilting too.

[FurryLittleTwerp]

I'm crocheting a bedspread for my DS - he already has a small blanket that he uses to keep his feet warm when watching television I know most people use socks & slippers

This one will be huge - king-size probably. It's just an enormous granny square, as I hate joining small blocks together & made in a cotton/bamboo yarn. I just pick it up & do a bit most days - main problem is it's getting very large & hot to have on my knee!

I'll post a picture of the finished one later.

[FurryLittleTwerp]

pic

[LoveMyLittleSuperhero]

I learnt to crochet about 6 weeks ago. I've just finished this blanket for my DD! I can't knit, I'm awful at it, and crocheting grows much quicker, especially if you use a big hook and chunky wool.

[Ohyesiam]

Jennie you are my blanket hero! I'm sooooo going to do that next. Thank you.