Attic24 rainbow blanket - what advice do you have for me?

[IDugUpADiamond]

I am only just starting to learn to crochet but I've already bought the whole Attic24 rainbow set and I want to crochet the basic stripe blanket. If the double sized blanket calls for 240 chains, would I just need 120 for a single? Do you have any do's and don'ts before I start? TIA!

Is it the granny stripe or the ripple you are planning?

I did a chain of 227 or thereabouts for my large single sized ripple, I'm now doing another ripple with a chain of 214 ish for another ripple for the dses. That's with the stylecraft pack plus some other colours I've got kicking about. I would say a chain of 120 wouldn't be enough for a single.

Tips!
Count your chain carefully. I make a list of the total in 20's and tick them off as I go.
Don't be disheartened if your first row goes wrong. I never manage it first time, my current ripple was the third attempt!
I recommend a wood hook for wool and a metal hook for acrylic but that may just mean I'm very peculiar

Go for it! Crochet is addictive and the repeating pattern of a large blanket is very meditative.

Thank you Doyou! I'm ever so excited about starting it, I keep arranging the balls of yarn in different patterns but always go back to the Attic24 rainbow set because I don't trust myself . I was however thinking that I would add some stripes of white every 5 rows or so. Do you think that will look good or silly? It is the plain granny stripe I want to make; I figure it's the most simple but also the one I like best.

So how can I find out how many chains I should do for a single bed?

I think a row of white would look lovely, kind of separates different groups of colour. I did that with my last ripple and I love it.

Lucy at Attic24's chain was 240 for 150 cm wide. I guess for a single bed size you'd want it about a third less than that so I'd say about 160 for the starting chain, longer if you want it to hang down the side of the bed.

I'm not at all scientific about my measurements, I just go for what I think will be about right and hope for the best

Do the chain and drape it over the bed and see is it long enough, it won't be exact when it's finished, probably will sag a bit with the weight, but it's a good guide.

I did a starting chain of 160 for a scarf today with a fairly chunky yarn and I wouldn't have thought it was long enough for a single bed blanket. Definitely go with Sal's plan.

Marking place. :D

Okay thank you ladies
And what's the Rolls Royce of crochet hooks? If I'm going to be spending so much time with 'it', I want it to be good!!

I use safety pins to mark every 20 chains ( after double checking I actually did 20!)

I just used the grey hook the wool shop stocked - there was lovely ones with highly decorated handles but tbh, I like my simple grey metal one just fine.

Do take plenty of breaks though and rotate your wrists etc. I think I may be developing carpal tunnel syndrome from it ( though pregnancy may have sped it up)

I find it useful to take a bit if cardboard and punching holes in it ( one per colour) knotting on a small piece of each and writing beside each what colour it is, plus the name of project, date started, how many chains I started with, etc on it. I also make notes in pencil re where I've gotten to.

I did the ripple one a few months ago and its do easy to spot when you have made a mistake, once you get used to it, but count/check often as nothing more frustrating as getting g to the end of a line then noticing you made a mistake at the start if the line, an hour ago!)

When you are a confident Hooker, it's well worth learning how to do a chainless foundation row. I learnt from You Tube videos and rarely start a blanket off with a foundation chain now - it's particularly good for a Ripple (but a bit more complicated than a standard chainless foundation)

Soupy how do you do the chain less foundation with the decreasing stitches of the ripple?

I fancy learning how to do it because I have nightmares with the starting chain but I can't quite work it out.

I am really fussy about my hooks. I like the knitpro symfonie wood hooks for merino wool or other wool based yarns but I find the ergonomically shaped addis metal hook smoother and quicker for acrylic. Has a plastic handle which is shaped to fit in your hand nicely.

By concentrating hard!

It's just the same as you would do it normally really. When I am doing a chainless foundation, I am constantly thinking one for the chain and now the stitch... one for the chain and now for the stitch...

With the increases and decreases, you just need to think about whether:

1. the stitch would normally be going into a chain of its own, in which case you make a "chain" and then compete the stitch as normal. So, for a decrease, you'd half finish the previous TC as you normally would, make a chain for the next stitch and compete the decrease as normal.

2. the stitch would be normally going into the previous chain in which case you omit the "make a chain" part and just TC into the previous chain (increase) and then carry on with make a chain, then the stitch..

It make sense when you are doing it or seeing it done!

Oh thanks, you're a star! That was very quick

I'm going to give it a go later, will report back sometime next year

It's well worth mastering :) As well as not having to count chains, you get a better bottom edge with more stretch than a normal chain.

Thanks so much Soupy, your instructions make so much sense now I'm doing it!

It's very slow progress but my first ripple row is growing, and I'm getting a bit quicker.

How are you getting on IDugUp?

Yay! :)

Hello!! So far I just keep arranging and re-arranging the yarn. I am waiting for delivery of my crochet hook, the one that's going to make everything possible, and then I'll make a start. I hope you'll all be there to hold my hand .

I liked your advice Bluecarrot by the way, thank you.

If we hold your hand, you can't crochet! :o

If we hold your hand, you can't crochet!

Oh yeah, doh! So much to learn still...

I like the gold addi hooks as they are good and slippery with the acrylic yarn. If it comes out a bit small you can always make a thicker border. It is very pretty.

I have made a couple of blankets using the Attic 24 pattern.

The first one I did was in Patons Smoothie, which is thicker than the stylecraft DK. It is double bed width (but no overhang) and I would guess just less than half the length of the bed. It would work for a single bed if you used it lengthwise instead of widthwise IYSWIM.

The second one I made was in stylecraft yarn and was coming out smaller both width- and lengthwise than the smoothie, so I ended up doing 150 rows instead of 120 (75 stripes instead of 60). It was a gift so I no longer have it, so unfortunately can't measure for you (and we all have slightly different tension anyway so your might not be the same in any case )

OhOne, thanks for that. How long did it take you to crochet the stylecraft one? I was thinking of using 4.5mm throughout and 8mm for the chain. Is that wise? Still unsure as to how many chains I'm going to do...

Diamond - I started it in March, and finished it in September, but was picking it up/putting it down a lot . I got a big chunk done while on holiday in August.

I used a 4.5 throughout, and as someone said above the base chain is a bit tighter than the other edges. So your idea of going up a bit is a good one!

I have worked my way through most of my lucy pack over the year making all sorts of things and am about to order a new one to make a rainbow blanket. Good luck with yours!