I’m not crafty (crochet advice)

[Yoloohno]

And I’ve promised to make my dd a blanket to take to uni.

Is it doable and what do I need?

Basically wool and a crochet hook.

Make loads and loads of granny squares and then sew them into a blanket.

Yes, doable.

Granny square style. See you tube for tutorials. It's quick and easy and can be varied by changing colours of yarn.

Double knit yarn is fine. Acrylic. Lots of balls of yarn. (I'm shit at working it out. ) 4mm hook.

You can do small squares sewn together or on large square. Large square is easier and quicker as there are fewer pesky ends of yarn to sew in and new sewing up at the end.

There are really good video tutorials on YouTube, the crochet crowd is one I used when starting but tbh I found the guides at the back of a crochet magazine easier but I don't think that's usually the way. It's much easier than knitting and quicker too. You'll need a hook and yarn, that's all to get started. I'd suggest aran weight yarn and a 6mm hook for the blanket and pick a simple pattern, maybe just rows and not granny squares etc. Best of luck, be careful, I found it addictive and now can't stick down in the evenings without a project to work on. I started with the easiest blanket, a small baby one with just treble crochet (be careful the UK and US call stitches different names) and now I prefer much more complex patterns.

You also need wool needle and scissors.

Thicker Aran yarn and 6mm hook is also possible.

Thank you, I’m hoping for something better than I could knit (can do very basic knitting).

But I’d like her to have a something that reminds her of home.

The advantage of one large granny square is that you can stop at the end of any round if it's driving you demented and have a blanket from knee blanket sized to double bed sized.

You can make it oblong instead of square by adding extra rows top and bottom either at the end or as you go.

The stripy one is similar to what I started with and the other one is the last blanket I finished,like I said be careful, it's addictive

Crochet is the hardest thing in the world. The end.

Crochet is very forgiving - and it grows quickly, as you have a lot of intentional holes.

I made a blanket for my Aunt, which I started as just a basic Granny Square, and just kept going until big enough to use over her knees and legs. I loved the yarn, which was a multi-toned one in seaside shades of brown/beige, cream and blue, and very soft (Hobbycraft I think and a 5mm hook because that's all I use).
I do not pretend to be good at it, and am still very very novice.

The first blanket i did was an attic 24 one bought the pack from woolwarehouse and it had the pattern included (Aria), the attic24 patterns are nice and simple to get you started.
I made the attic24 yuletide blanket too, darker colours but very snuggly, it's the goto blanket in our house (and we have a lot to choose from as crochet is very addictive)!

I also recommend looking at the Attic 24 sets on Wool Warehouse - all the wool, easy instructions... https://www.woolwarehouse.co.uk/attic24

I found Happy Berry you tube videos the best for teaching me how to do the stitches.

Thank you, but I’ve received the basics and being cack handed I don’t understand how I can do it.

How to hold the yarn and hook do seem a bit difficult at first.
A friend showed me in person, and I was still all fingers and thumbs - well maybe not enough fingers and thumbs! It really does seem that we need an extra hand at first.

Find a very very basic Getting Started you tube video, and watch it slowly and pausing all the time. That's what I did when my friend lost patience with me being so slow to catch on.

Magic circles got the better of me for ages - until one day it clicked, and it was from a different you tuber, who showed a far simpler way, that involved laying it down on your leg rather than twisting around the fingers, which always ended up the yarn just looping itself, and dropping off.

Mots of what I make starts with a magic circle now, just hearts and flowers and preemie beanies.