Sweet Home Chicago Baby Blanket

This has to be one of the easiest blankets I've made, and also the most popular.  I made my first one a few months ago while planning to make a collection to sell at a store in Chicago.  As I got busier and busier studying, then working, all while searching and applying for a full-time nursing position I didn't seem to be accumulating as many items to sell as I had hoped.  Between giving items to loved ones and making presents for the holidays I didn't seem to have extra time and yarn to spare for my little collection.

So a few weeks ago I decided that someone should be appreciating it either way and gave it to my dear friend and Chicago-native, Stacey.  She absolutely loved it and posted a picture to Facebook.  This led to a commission for a friend of hers to give as a baby gift.  And while exchanging the blanket in a nearby Starbucks, the woman next to us asked for my information to order one as well.  This baby is taking off!  

And of course it's a popular one, Chicago is a very unique place.  Although every city has love for their home and pride in the struggles and accomplishments of their home, Chicago has a fierceness in their loyalty.  You only need to watch two minutes of the local news to realize it's not the easiest place to grow up.  The weather is hot and muggy in the summer, cold and snowy in the winter.  It's not particularly forgiving. But for all those negatives, it forms strong and powerful communities.  

For us, it's been through Joe's rugby team.  They are as diverse a group as you can get- in age, race, occupation, and financial situation.  Yet not only do they come together to play as a team, they invest in their community by coaching local high school teams, helping each other find jobs, and encouraging their success.  They help and look out for not just each other, but their community as a whole.  It's amazing to be a part of this team. 

And though I would love to say that we are exceptional as a group, I don't think that's true.  I think you can find this community commitment throughout Chicago, whether you live North, West, or South.  We have only lived here for 2 years, but we've been welcomed into our community in so many ways- by rugby, by our neighbors at block parties, by friends we met through school.  Chicago has truly become a home.

Not to mention, Chicago brought us to our favorite Chicago-born dog.

Let's take a look at what that flag represents.  The white bars are the North, West, and South sides.  The blue stripes represent Lake Michigan and the north branch of the river for the top, and the south branch of the river and the canal for the bottom.  Each star represents a historical event in Chicago:  For Dearborn, the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, the World's Colombian Exposition in 1893, and the Century of Progress Exposition in 1933-1934. Within each of those stars, the six points also denote a point of pride related to the star's focus, ranging from their Latin motto "urbs in horto" (city in a garden) to values like Justice and Beneficence.

Keep reading to find the patten to make your very own Chicago blanket, or buy one here from my Etsy store!

The Pattern:

For the base blanket, I chained the desired width of the blanket.  The stitching is just a single crochet in each stitch, with a chain at the end of each row when you turn.  Super easy!  You can always shake it up by using a different stitch to make a more interesting pattern.

Dimensions: 

Each blue stripe is 1/6 of the height of the blanket, the middle white stripe is the height of two blue stripes.  I made my blanket about 36 inches wide and 24 inches high, making it a 2:3 ratio of height to width.  If you make yours a different size, just take your width as you crochet it, divide by 3 and multiply by 2 to get your full height.  Divide that by 6 to get your ideal stripe height.  For a 36" wide blanket, the stripes are 4" high.

The Stars:

Ch 6 into a magic ring to start.  

Round 1:  make 2 sc in each stitch, sl st into last stitch (12).  

Round 2:  Ch7, sc into 2nd stitch from hook.  In next five stitches, sc, hdc, hdc, dc, dc.  Sl st into 2nd stitch from where chain began, skipping one of the stitches.  Repeat until you have 6 points. Bind off.


Make 8 of these stars.  Evenly space 4 on each side and tack top and bottom point in place.  Line up the remaining four stars and tack in place on the opposite side.  I did this using a piece of yarn that I tied through both sides, and then removed once I stitched.  You could also tack with a permanent knot or temporarily with a marker.  Then stitch around perimeter of star, lining up both sides.

I hope you enjoy this pattern!  You can find it on Ravelry here.

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The Granny Square Rectangular Blanket

After years of crocheting, I finally started getting into the granny style lately.  I recently posted a granny striped blanket I made for mom, but I hadn't posted anything with the classic granny square yet.  And then I finally made a granny square baby blanket only to give it away before taking my pictures.  So when I found myself in a pinch recently thinking of what to make for a lovely little boy I finally got to make something, take pictures of it, AND post it.  And that miracle comes to you today in the form of this granny square child's blanket.

Several months ago I was commissioned to make an American Flag Blanket for a newborn baby.  It took me longer than expected, and then after anticipating a few trips back to Ohio that didn't happen I ended up not sending it promptly at all leaving me feeling terrible about it.  I figured the way to fix this was to make them something extra to make up for the delay.  

the American flag blanket I ended up making (quite different from my original)

The little baby mentioned above has an older brother, so I figured he could certainly use a blanket as well.  Plus then he won't feel snubbed about not getting such a lovely surprise.  This blanket I thought should be big enough that a preschooler could curl up in it on the couch and be cozily tucked in- bigger than a lap blanket, but smaller than a throw.

What ended up was that the square I made got as wide as I wanted it to be, but I thought it should be a little bit longer so that his little toes wouldn't get cold.  I added some extra stripes to both end to lengthen it out without ruining the look.  

Of course, before we get to something that big we have to start with your basic little granny square.  For a helpful step-by-step on granny squares, I like this one by Bunny Mummy that is chock full of pictures.  Extra info for the stripes comes from here at Attic24, the source of my inspiration.

To Start:

Ch6, sl st into first stitch to make a ring.

Ch3, 2dc, ch2, (3dc, ch2)x3.  slip stitch into top of the chain to finish row.

This will give you that first inner row of four clusters.

Round 2:

To change colors I bound off at the end of each row and started my initial ch3 by slip stitching around one of the bars between clusters.  There are a number of ways to change colors and work in your ends, so feel free to experiment or use your own go-to method.

Sl st around bar, ch2, 2dc, ch2, 3dc.

In each of the other 3 bars, (3dc, ch2, 3dc). Sl st into top of initial chain.

Round 3:

Sl st into space on side (i.e. not a corner).  Ch3, 2dc.
In corner spaces, 3dc, ch2, 3dc. On flat side spaces 3dc.  After final cluster, sl st into top of initial chain.

Repeat round 3 for the remainder of your square, making a cluster in each side space, and 2 clusters separated by a 2 chains in the corners.

So you're ready to make it a rectangle:

With your next color, sl st into the right corner with the blanket side up.  Ch 3, dc into corner.

In each of the spaces along that side make a cluster of 3dc.

In the leftmost corner, make 2 dc.

With next color, start again on the right side.  Sl st between chain and dc in previous row, ch3. 

Make clusters of 3 dc in each space across the row, and at the end make 1 dc between the last 2 treble stitches.

Continue these two rows in alternating colors as long as you like.  Repeat on other end.  

Be sure to have your final row in the stripes be the same color as your last row in the square.

Final Touches:

Make a border around the entire blanket using the same pattern as the original granny square (clusters of 3dc in each side space, 3dc-2ch-3dc in each of the corner spaces.

When it comes to making clusters over the granny stripes portions, I stitched around the color I made the single dc with on each end (the color of your second stripe).

Finally, I did a row of dc in each stitch to give is a more solid edge.  There are many ways to edge a blanket so feel free to do a little googling or improvise!

I hope you enjoy this pattern!  

FYI: I used a size J/10/ 6mm hook and Loops & Threads Impeccable yarn,  but granny patterns are extremely flexible , so play around with whatever you like!  

As always, thank you for reading and sharing.  Feel free to check out Charm Hour on Facebook to see more updates on my various projects and adventures!

Karen's Striped Granny Blanket

One on the foundations of crochet is the granny square.  It's a motif made of clumps of double crochet that can be made into just about anything- the most simple being either a quilt of small squares or one gigantic square blanket.

granny square via Purl Bee

via EmpowerNetwork

Because of it's simplicity, it's also very versatile to being modified to make either elaborate squares, or as with this blanket, a more abstracted form.

I fell in love with the simplicity and sleekness of this blanket when I came across it on the Purl Bee.  Although I don't shy away from the cute or quirky, my mom has a much more classic sense of style.   She also likes things to match in a way I've never mastered.  We often joke that things have to be in "her colors"- dark brown, black, and gold usually.

Because of this blankets simplicity and sleekness, I thought it would be perfect.  Swap out that delicate alpaca yarn for a very sturdy yarn (Loops and Threads: Impeccable Solids), and you get something warm enough to survive my parents freezing air conditioning that also matches their decor.


p.s.  After all this talk about matching, let me just say that these pictures are taken on my couch, not my parents.  These couches have given up on matching and instead mean I can put basically anything in my living room and call it matching.

Ta-da!  Plus Oy very nicely modeled for me.

The basic premise is that the wider and taller granny stitch is interspersed with rows of single crochet in a contrast color.  I did my stripes at random intervals, but you could also make them evenly spaced, like in the original.

American Flag Blanket

This project has been underway for a little while, but Memorial Day seems a good day as any to finally post it.

In art, I sometimes would pick a theme and create pieces within it. It gave me an opportunity to explore a concept from a few different angles and experiment with new things.  After my recent post about how my work might as well be art, I figured why not pursue it like art?  I got out my sketchbook and started brainstorming some new projects.  My plan is to create a mini portfolio of projects and hopefully start selling some, so why not create a little series?

I've been wanting to make an American flag blanket for a little while now, and I had all the yarn already, so that seemed like the perfect focal piece.  From there, I started working on some ideas with sports teams that fell flat, and then ended up at stuffed animals.  As a biologist, I loved ecology best- studying animals, ecosystems, and how interrelated nature can be.  I especially love insects.  My personal faves are dung beetles and safari ants.  One of my favorite quotes is by biologist J.B.S. Haldane, who said that "if He exists, God has an inordinate fondness for beetles".  There are over 300,000 different species of beetles on Earth (in comparison, there are only 10,000 species of mammals).  So at least the big dude in the sky and I have our love of beetles in common.  

I started my stuffed animals with two very large (probably a foot and a half long and wide) dragon flies.  Green Darners, to be precise.  A male and female with as accurate coloration and proportions as can be expected with yarn and a crochet hook. I also just finished up an octopus squid (octopoteuthis deletron) that is super adorable, and will hopefully be posted on soon.  Both of these species are native to America.  I'll fill in some more information on them once they're done, but suffice it to say- they're sweet.  Next up:  giant carrion beetle. 

Before I get more distracted, here's the blanket:

I tried to make the sides as wavy as the ripples- as if it was actually blowing in the wind.  Plus it's less boring than a flat one.

I made my ripples by doing 8 stitches, increase one, 4 stitches, increase one, 8 stitches, decrease one, 4 stitches, decrease one. Every other row was sc across to keep it from bubbling up.

For the blue section I followed the ripple pattern with blue yarn, and added the stars afterwards.  I just embroidered them with a tapestry needle as if I was drawing a star.

There actually are 50 start, all in the same pattern as they are on the real thing.

And then for some pictures with my obligatory model- Oy the American Pit Bull Terrier.  He even has his matching flag collar on today!

Happy Memorial Day everyone!  Remember that while you're out spending time with family and friends it's important to honor those in the armed services.  

We're the real deal, baby!

So I am very very pleased to announce that I will be making my very first commissioned work!  A very sweet little bitty baby in New York City will soon be the recipient of an American flag baby blanket of my creation.

  still a work in progress!

Hopefully this is the first of many projects that can help to bring in a little bit of extra funds to our humble little household.

Knit Hexagons

I have this thing where I don't buy knitting or crocheting patterns.  I don't understand why I should pay for one when there are so many amazing patterns for free on the internet.  I get really irritated when I find an adorable picture, click on it, and find out they want me to pay $5 for it on Etsy or Ravelry.  It usually ends up in a little bit of cursing like a sailor as I attempt to peruse the World Wide Web for a comparable version that's free. And 9 times out of 10 I find one.  Or at least one I can alter enough to make it work.

It's not just that I'm cheap.  And for Pete's sake I'm in graduate school and am living off of loan money so I seriously need to be cheap. It's also that I don't understand why a PDF should cost that much money.

Those 1 out of 10 times when there is no better alternative I get super disappointed.  But I haven't given in yet and I am damn stubborn, so I'm thinking I'll hold out until my pattern-making skills catch up to my desires.  My inner biologist is obsessed with realistic animal stuffed animals (like this iguana) on PlanetJune and by jove one day I will make my own.

Just this week I was riding home from school and sat next to a lady knitting something itty bitty, so I asked what she was making.  She told me all about these little stuffed hexagons (or "hexipuffs") she was making from scraps and how they very neatly get put together to make a puffy little quilt.  I have tons of scraps! and I love projects I can do in class or on the train! Perfect!


But then I came home and found it on Ravelry and realized that the very cute Beekeeper's Quilt pattern costs $5.50.  I got very grumpy and spent two days mulling over whether it was worth buying it.  Was this pattern really worth caving in for?  And seriously, over $5?!  It's very small and simple.  Plus from what I read on the few blog posts I read (there are hundreds) many people ended up modifying the cast on, the increase/decrease, or the bind off.  I'm definitely not paying it if I'm going to have to change it anyways.

So my decision was made- I was going to make it up.  And if I'm  making it up then I can change it!  So I made mine a little bigger so that I can make fewer of them. Because 450 of those little buggers for just a lap blanket is insanity.  It should be easily changeable for those who want to make it smaller or bigger.

Modern Bobble Baby Blanket

I was hooked on baby blankets this past winter.  This one was actually made a few months ago for one of the cutest babies around, and I have finally found time to post it.   This ended up being more long and skinny than I intended, because I ran out of yarn, but I'm still pretty happy with the final product.

Also, this is not my original pattern, just one that I found online and loved.  It came from Moogly Blog, and was called Blackberry Salad Striped Afghan, for the bright colors they alternated between.

For my version I opted to do a more modern take and use high contrast colors.  The yarn is Loops & Threads Impeccable Solids in Chocolate and Aran.

Plus, all those little bobbles seem fun for little grabby baby hands.

The Simple Ripple Blanket

My grandmother is the queen of these blankets.  Each grandchild gets a full-size blanket in their college colors before they start their freshman year.  I've still got my red and white one in my bedroom here in Illinois.

I wanted to try out a new pattern for the baby of a friend of mine, and it seemed like the perfect one to try since it means so much to me. I found some similar patterns but they were annoyingly complicated.  I decided to make up my own pattern where there's only one pattern to remember that's the same for every line.  It's also really easy to adapt to the size you want to make.

Crochet Edged Fleece Blanket

This project is a super simple project that ends up looking fantastic.  All it requires is some crochet thread, some fleece, and a small sized crochet hook.

 I was inspired by a purlbee pattern for flannel receiving blankets.  purlbee manages to constantly be posting modern patterns based on traditional techniques that I find incredibly endearing.  This one is crochet edged flannel baby blankets.  I don't have a baby, but I do have a very drafty apartment.  I have some knit afghans but was hoping to make something a little warmer and fuzzier.  So after a little bit of internet research I found out that it is very doable to make this with fleece instead.  I picked out a cute midwestern patten for Oy and a basic heather grey for Joe and I.  I used Aunt Lydia's Fashion 3 Crochet Thread (but a thin yarn also works fine) with a 1.90 mm/ size 5 hook.

Fabric Prep: 


This part depends on the supplies you have, how much time you want to invest, and how particular you are.  The first step is to cut the edges to straighten them out and take off that weird not-fuzzy edge.  I also cut my corners to be rounded out of personal preference.

If you're very neat, you could fold the edges under twice, sew them there, and use what I believe is called a rotary punch or a hole puncher of some sort to cut holes about 1/2 an inch apart.

If you're not that fussy, so you can follow that I did, or pick and choose the parts you want to follow.  I pinned the edges as I went (folded over twice to the back of the work).

showing the back of the work, it if folded over twice and pinned

Constellation Baby Blanket

In the spirit of free hand crochet items, I thought I'd also post my very first attempt at totally making things up: a constellation baby blanket!

A friend of mine in nursing school is having a baby!  And given he frequency with which he wears space-themed shirts, I thought this would be the perfect plan.  I looked up a constellation map online, and found a portion that would be somewhat square.  I also wanted it to include my favorite constellation (Cassiopeia) and a famous one (the little dipper).  I happened to use August 2012.

Here's the final result:

And a closer look at eat of the constellations:

Cepheus 

Freestyle Van Gogh Blanket

I love Vincent Van Gogh.  I think his art is amazing, and his personal history is intriguing.  You can only imagine how thoroughly excited I was to discover the Doctor Who episode Vincent and the Doctor.  Holy Moly. Yes, I know I'm a huge nerd for that admission.

My brother is also a lover of art.  He is by far my superior in skill, creativity, and sense of humor; he just rarely actually does it.  His ceramics and cartoons blow me out of the water and he barely even tries. So when I didn't get a birthday present done in time I knew I had to bring my A game for christmas.  I am a fast worker, but I started this months in advance and still didn't finish it quite in time for christmas.

Without further ado, here is the painting that acted as my inspiration:

I tried to pick a painting that I could simplify to a few colors and more simplistic shapes. I wanted it to be recognizable. So I ended up with this lovely painting of a wheat field with cypresses. I printed it out and broke it up into color shapes.  Basically a color-by-number kind of deal.