Crochet blanket - where to start

[Almahart]

I would like to make a beautiful crochet blanket.

I'm a good knitter but have never crocheted. I know I could scour Ravelry and order yarn and so on but to be honest, I quite fancy buying a kit.

I've looked at Janie Crowther and all her beautiful things but I think I fancy something a bit simpler.

Any ideas?

Practice a bit first. Look at c2c blankets, they grow quickly and are satisfactory. Lots of granny square ones about.

YouTube videos walk you through it step by step

Attic 24 have free patterns for blankets, I started with the Hydrangea blanket when I first started crocheting 2 years ago. The kits, including all the yarn you need and written, easy to follow instructions, are sold on the Wool Warehouse website.

I've just ordered the attic 24 dahlia crochet blanket yarn pack. Lucy at attic 24 does crochet alongs and all the info is on her website. The dahlia is for my daughter who liked the vibrant colours. I would like to make the sweetpea blanket as well

Crochet help please http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/artsandd_crafts/3889363-Crochet-help-please

I've made several blankets from the Attic24 blog, she has links to a store selling the yarn in kits, its not too expensive and the patterns are easy to follow. attic24.typepad.com/weblog/

Wool Warehouse sells yarn packs for Attic 24 blankets. A good starting point without breaking the bank

e.g.
attic24.typepad.com/weblog/moorland-stripe-blanket.html

attic24.typepad.com/weblog/woodland-blanket.html

Another vote for Attic 24. I learnt to crochet from her blog. The wool watehouse packs that match her patterns are great too

Another easier option and good for practise especially if you have DC or GDC is to make a poncho. DD begs me to make one every year as it's like wearing a blanket. I use this pattern. Its very easy to make, only needs 2 different stitches, good for using up odd amounts of yarn and is much quicker than making a full blown blanket.

Attic24’s instructions are really clear and she’s brilliant with colour choices. Her Cosy blanket was the first pattern I’ve ever made without tweaking anything at all, because I love it exactly the way she made it.
If you’ve got yarn already or you’d like something with a bit more of a variety of different stitches to learn, Coastalcrochet has a Seaside Stashbuster blanket that has good clear instructions. I’m finding it less of a slog than ploughing through a whole blanket in one stitch and I’m enjoying learning lots of new stuff.

I'm a knitter but recently learned to crochet. This book is really good. www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0715321412/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_i_3yuPEb31VDNF8?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

It's got loads of patterns for different granny squares, categorised by difficulty level, instructions in the back on how to do the different stitches, plus suggested designs to help you choose how to arrange your squares to make a blanket. The designs are stunning, and you can start with the most basic squares and work your way up to the more complicated ones as you learn.

Attic24 is irritatingly twee but the patterns and instructions are good. I have made several smaller versions of the cosy blanket pattern for baby blankets. I’m also mid way through a hydrangea blanket. You can easily swap the colour choices between patterns.

Top tip: if you’re doing a striped pattern (cosy, neat ripple, hydrangea) sew in your ends as you go. I’m dreading mine

I also taught myself using Attic24’s blog and another one called Little Tin Bird. Start with basic squares and go from there. I never could knit but love to crochet!

I'm a fairly new crocheter (useless knitter! ). I was first inspired by Attic 24 and the gorgeous colour combinations so in a rush of enthusiasm I bought the yarn pack for her Moorland blanket. But after doing some preliminary practice with some random charity shop oddments to make a cushion cover I realised that I was going to get VERY bored doing row after row of the same pattern albeit in beautiful colours. And I wouldn't learn any new stitch combinations.

So instead I'm doing Coastal Crochet's Seaside Stashbuster which was posted as a CAL a couple of years ago.

coastalcrochet.com/2018/01/19/this-is-exciting-im-hosting-a-crochet-along-part-1/

I've learnt LOADS. Waves, shells, bobbles, popcorns, stars. It's designed to use up a stash, which you probably have as a knitter, but lots of people have done more considered colour combinations and the results posted in the Facebook group are very different, personal and absolutely gorgeous!

If you are keen to do something with a yarn pack it's now been released as a design without the stashbusting part with an accompanying yarn pack and printed pattern. coastalcrochet.com/2019/09/19/seaside-blanket/

Oops, just seen a PP has also recommended the seaside stashbuster for exactly the same reasons.

That coastal crochet thing looks great! I'm really tempted to have a go .

Wow, that granny square book you recommended looks fab, lazylinguist! Really interesting patterns.

But is anyone else filled with gloom at the thought of stitching granny squares together, however lovely they are? I know they are recommended for beginners but it's the reason I've avoided them so far. I think for me any granny square project will end up as a zillion coasters instead of a blanket. Does anyone have tips for mentally or practically getting over that barrier? Or is it just me?

I hate hooking squares together 😂😂 Doesn't stop me volunteering to do it for Woolly Hugs though. What I've learnt from that is that it's worth it for the magic moment your pile of squares becomes a blanket. It's not even when it's finished, it is at some point where it is more together than not and suddenly it's magically a blanket.

Does anyone have tips for mentally or practically getting over that barrier? Or is it just me?

Is it the thought of sewing or just joining in general? I've used this method for crocheting granny squares together

arnecarlos.com/how-to-join-granny-squares/

Volunteer to join a blanket for Woolly Hugs with a deadline! That's a good motivator. I quite like joining them now.

CrochetyCrochet - I try not to think about the sewing together part. I only seem to crochet in brief bursts of enthusiasm, make 3 granny squares, admire them a lot and then don't do any more for about 4 months, so it will be looong time before I have enough to make a blanket! The rest of the time I knit. You could make a cushion cover though - a bit less intimidating than a blanket!

Ooh thanks everyone this is really helpful.

What is a c2c blanket?!

And I love the look of Attic24's hydrangea blanket but won't it take hours because it is so dense?

www.woolwarehouse.co.uk/attic24/attic24-harmony-stylecraft-special-dk

I do like this - would I be mad to dive straight in with it?

C2C is corner to corner, it's worked diagonally so you start at a point, increase every row building a giant triangle then decrease each row again to do the second half.

I tried the hydrangea pattern and failed . Not sure what I did wrong but used the yarn for another blanket, I should try again. I really like the sweet pea pattern, I find that very easy.

I reckon I can do one hydrangea stripe (i.e. two rows) in an hour or so. Just depends how long you want to spend on it!

I like the one you've chosen, and the pattern is actually fairly straightforward but just prepare yourself for the number of ends you'll have to sew in!

Bella Coco, on YouTube, does really good tutorials.

I have only ever done blankets made from squares - the African flower granny square is lovely as a blanket - Bella Coco has some nice granny squares, and so does Attic 24.

I like granny square blankets because each square doesn’t take long to do, so you get little moments of achievement to keep you going. You do end up with a lot of pesky ends to sew in, though.