Baptism Blanket - free crochet pattern

I had a request last night for the pattern for this blanket:

Truth is, I made it up and used my KAL (knit-a-long) creation skills to create the image. (eh - I'm not a big knitter -it takes me forever and I make a lot of mistakes - but I have fun with washclothes with pictures on them). Instead of the purl replacing a knit stitch, I used a ch1 space to draw the picture, dot matrix style.

I make this rectangular. Typical sizes I get asked to create are 24x30 (baby) and 32x40 (toddler)

So here's the pattern:

generally, I use a 5.5 mm hook with sport weight yarn (my fave - knit picks shine sport).

Row 1: dc foundation chain row (how to HERE) made to the desired width minus double the height of a dc (that's the trim)

Pause -
1-Since gauge is not that big of a deal for this pattern, count your stitches here - it just needs to be an even number. I make various sizes of this blanket and have never written down the number of stitches. The toddler blanket shown has about 100 stitches across. My gauge is generally around around 3-4 stitches per inch.
2- Grab some graph paper. Using your number of stitches, draw out your image using 1 square across = 2 stitches (double crochet) and 1 square down = 1 row. For the toddler blanket, I use 10 holes (20 stitches) as the width of the vertical portion of my cross (width of stipes) centered on the blanket, 10 holes (10 rows) including the top row down to the patibulum (crossbar), the patibulum is a total of 56 stitches wide (10 holes out on each side including the last hole that makes up the stipes). The stipes continues down an additional 19 holes/rows for a a total of 38 rows down. Yours doesn't have to be the same as mine.

Row 2 & 3: ch2 turn, dc in the same stitch, dc across, dc, ch2 turn
Row 4: assuming 100 stitches (use your graph if you got something different or have a wider or narrower stipes), dc in same stitch as the ch-turn, dc 39, *ch1, skip a stitch, dc in the next stitch* repeat from * to * 9 times, dc 40, ch2 turn
Row 5-12: dc in the same stitch as the ch-turn, dc 39, ch1, dc 18, ch1, dc 40, ch2 turn
Row 13: dc in the same stitch as the ch-turn, dc 20, *ch1, skip a stitch, dc in the next stitch* repeat from * to * 9 times (the last ch1 should be under the ch1 space), dc 18. *ch1, skip a stitch, dc in the next stitch* repeat from * to * 9 times (the first ch1 space should be under the ch1 space in the row above), dc 21, ch2 turn
Row 14-21: dc in the same stitch as the ch-turn, dc 20, ch1, dc 56, ch1, dc 21, ch2 turn
Row 22: dc in the same stitch as the ch-turn, dc 20, *ch1, skip a stitch, dc in the next stitch* repeat from * to * 9 times (the last ch1 should be under the ch1 space), dc 18. *ch1, skip a stitch, dc in the next stitch* repeat from * to * 9 times, dc 21, ch2 turn
Row 23-40: dc in the same stitch as the ch-turn, dc 39, ch1, dc 18, ch1, dc 40, ch2 turn
Row 41: dc in same stitch as the ch-turn, dc 39, *ch1, skip a stitch, dc in the next stitch* repeat from * to * 9 times, dc 40, ch2 turn
Row 42 & 43: ch2 turn, dc in the same stitch, dc across, dc, ch2 turn
Row 44: ch2 turn, dc in the same stitch, dc across, dc, ch2 do not turn

Pause -
Starting trim rounds here - you can do any trim you want. I kept this one simple with 3 rounds. You can pick a different one that you like better if you want.

ROUND 1- turn the blanket so that you are working down the side of the blanket, sc in the same stitch as the turning chain, sc down the side putting 2 stitches in the side of every dc. At the corner, ch1 and sc in same stitch. sc across; at the next corner, ch1, sc in same stitch, sc 2x in the side of each dc; last corner now, ch1, sc in the same stitch, sc across except the final stitch where the ch 2 is. Join with a slst in the ch2 space. ch4  do not turn
ROUND 2 - dc in same stitch as chain, working down the side of the blanket, *ch1, skip a stitch, dc in next stitch* across. At the corners, ch2 and dc in the same ch1 space. join with a slst when you get around. ch1, do not turn.
ROUND 3 - In the ch2 space, sc-ch1-sc2. sc in each dc and ch1 space. In the ch2 space of the corners, sc2-ch1-sc2. join with an invisible join slst bind-off.

I don't write a lot of patterns. Please let me know if you have any trouble with it or find a mistake. Thanks!

Don't want to make it? I can make it for you! Check me out on Etsy!

update: I was asked for a pattern for a throw-sized blanket. I use math to expand this so I don't know if it works quite right but here's the throw sized version: 

the typical size of a throw blanket is 50”x70”

If you’re using the same materials I used and about the same gauge, doing the oh-so-fun ratio math, your blanket will be 156 stitches wide x 90 rows long which is a little longer than a traditional throw but it makes for some easy math with the cross!

to turn all these rows, I ch2 and the first stitch was in the same stitch as the ch2

R1 - foundation chain dc 156 stitches 
R2-5 - dc across 
R6 - dc 58 stitches, ch 1, skip 1, dc in the next stitch 20 times (40 stitches), dc 57 stitches (156) 
R7 - dc 58 stitches, ch 1, skip one (will be directly under the first ch-space), dc in the next stitch, dc in the ch-space, dc in the next stitch until you have one ch-space left, ch 1, skip one, dc in the next stitch, dc 57 (156) 
R8-24 - dc 58 stitches, ch 1, skip one (will be directly under the first ch-space), dc until you are at the ch-space, ch 1, skip one, dc in the next stitch, dc 57 (156) 
R25 - dc 10, ch 1, skip 1, dc in the next stitch 24 times (48 stitches, the last ch-space will be under the previous row’s ch-space), dc 37, ch 1, skip 1 (the ch-space), dc in the next stitch, ch 1, skip 1, dc in the next stitch 23 more times (24 ch-spaces total), dc 10 (156) 
R26 - dc 10 stitches, ch 1, skip 1 (will be directly under the first ch-space), dc in the next stitch, dc in the ch-space, dc in the next stitch until reach the center section, dc in each stitch until you read the next ch-space, dc in the ch-space, dc in the next stitch until you have one ch-space left, ch 1, skip one, dc in the next stitch, dc 9 (156) 
R27-44 - dc 10 stitches, ch 1, skip 1 (will be directly under the ch-space), dc until you reach the ch-space, ch 1, skip one, dc in the next stitch, dc 9 (156) 
R45 -dc 10, ch 1, skip 1, dc in the next stitch 24 times (48 stitches, this will line up with the top ch-space), dc 37, ch 1, skip 1, dc in the next stitch 24 times, dc 10 (156) 
R46 - dc 58 stitches, ch 1, skip 1 (will be directly under the last ch-space), dc in the next stitch, dc in the ch-space, dc in the next stitch until you reach the next ch-space left, ch 1, skip one, dc in the next stitch, dc 57 (156) 
R47-84 - dc 58 stitches, ch 1, skip one (will be directly under the first ch-space), dc until you are at the ch-space, ch 1, skip one, dc in the next stitch, dc 57 (156) 
R85 - dc 58 stitches, ch 1, skip 1, dc in the next stitch 20 times (40 stitches), dc 57 stitches (156) 
R86 - dc across with a dc in the ch-spaces (156) 
R87-90 - dc across

I like to add a border but you don’t have to. There are whole books written on different blanket border patterns! The one pictured is a simple border: sc around once then ch 1, skip 1, dc in the next stitch and then sc around again. A picot would also look nice or something more elaborate like pineapples would also look great!

Bunny ears crochet pattern

I had the opportunity to make a fuzzy bunny hat for a photographer recently. I found some really great bulky fuzzy yarn (Yarn Bee Cameo) - it's soft, it has fluff and fuzz - it's great except...it's super bulky (6)...I love sport weight yarn and often use it (with a size larger hook) when worsted weight is called for. It's light and lacy. But bulky and then some? Yes, it works up faster but it's just so big! No problem though, I'll have to find a pattern that calls for bulky yarn. um... yeah... so...

Well, a beanie hat isn't hard to make. I loosely followed Red Heart's Bunny Hat pattern for the beanie - I love the dc row amid the primarily sc rows. Granted, the pattern was written for a worsted weight (4) so I had to make modifications - I switched to my largest hook (M) and cut down on number of rows. but even then the ears didn't really work - they were too stiff with the bulky yarn.

I went looking for another pattern. I couldn't really find one that would work with bulky yarn or gave me the look I was going for so I made up my own!

Inner ear (crochet 2)
with sport or worsted weight yarn (I did white with the pink hat and cream with the tan hat) and a I hook, leave a longer tail and ch 21.
R1: sc in the second ch from hook, sc 18; in the last ch, 5sc. working on the other side of the ch, sc 19 to the end, do not join, ch1 turn (43)
R2: sc in the same sc as the ch1, sc 18, 2sc in each of the 5 turning stitches, sc 19, ch1 turn (48)
R3: sc in the same sc as the ch1, sc 7, hdc 3, dc 10, hdc, 2sc, sc-ch-sc, 2sc, hdc, dc 10, hdc 3, sc 9, ch1 turn (52 including sc-ch-sc)
R4: slst in the first stitch, slst 5, sc 19, in the ch1 space, sc-ch-sc, ,sc 19, slst 6, bind off leaving long tail (53 inclusing sc-ch-sc).
using the longer starting tail, sew up any gap made by crocheting on both sides of the ch.

Fuzzy Outer Ear (crochet 2)
using the super bulky yarn and the M hook, ch 13.
R1: sc in the second ch from the hook, sc 10, sc 5 in the last ch, working on the other side of the ch, sc 11, ch1 turn (27)
R2: sc in the same stitch as the ch 1, sc 10, 2sc in each of the 5 turning stitches, sc 11, ch1 turn (32)
R3: sc in the same stitch as the ch 1, sc 10, hdc, dc, 2dc, dc, 2dc, dc-ch1-dc, 2dc, dc, 2dc, dc, hdc, sc 10, ch turn (38 including dc-ch-dc) do not bind off
weave in the starting tail

*here come the tricky part - joining the inner and outer ears together. You'll notice that they aren't the same size and don't have the same number of finishing stitches and that the M hook will not fit in the I hook space. I switch to a J hook. I use 3 removable stitch markers (safety pins) to hold them together temporarily. The first one is placed in the ch space at the turn for both inner and outer ear. The other 2 attach to the top of the ear for both parts of the ears. As the next row is worked, there's a bit of "easing in" that goes on - the stitches with stitch markers are the only ones that have to match up.
R4: holding both part of the ear together, insert the hook with the fuzzy working yarn still looped under the first slst of the inner ear and thru the same stitch as the ch1 of the outer ear, draw a loop through both pieces and make a sc. Do the same for the rest of the slst and the sc on the inner ear (24 st) to the next stitch marker - some of the outer ear stitches will have 2 stitches in each stitch but not all of them (this is the easing in part). In the ch spaces, sc-ch-sc. sc in each of the inner ear sc attaching it to the outer ear - remember, some of the outer ear stitches will hold 2 of the sc - use your best judgement. bind off leaving a long tail.

tuck the starting tail of the inner ear between the layers and use the long tail of the inner ear to sew the top closed with a whip stitch, I knot it and weave in ends. Using long tail of the fuzzy yarn, sew the ears on the hat where and how you like them. Weave in the ends of the fuzzy yarn, put hat on a baby - adorable!

Hopping Down The Bunny Trail fuzzy bunny hat at hamburke.com

A crochet pattern: Heart Face Scrubbie Pads

This week, I'm being featured over at Violet's Buds and it's given me a bit of confidence and incentive to write and write early!

I don't write many patterns but this is my first go at sharing one and I'd love some feedback! This pattern is worked in rounds.

Yarn: Kitchen Cotton - I use Lily Sugar'n Cream worsted
Hook: H (5.5 mm)
Yarn Needle

Gauge: not important to this pattern

Abbreviations:
ch - chain
slst - slip stitch
sc - single crochet
hdc - half double crochet
dc - double crochet

Make 2:
R1: magic loop (tutorial here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNeiPIL41M4), 11 sc in the loop, slst join in the first stitch (11 stitches)

R2: in the next stitch, sc hdc,
in the next stitch, hdc dc
in the next stitch, dc hdc
in the next stitch, 2 hdc
in the next stitch, 2 sc
in the next stitch, dc ch1 dc
in the next stitch, 2 sc
in the next stitch, 2 hdc
in the next stitch, hdc dc
in the next stitch, dc hdc
in the last stitch, hdc slst
(23 stitches including ch1 and slst)

R3: slst in the next stitch,
in the next stitch, hdc
in the next stitch, 2 hdc
in the next stitch, hdc
in the next stitch, 2 hdc
in the next stitch, 2 sc
sc in the next 4 stitches,
2 sc ch1 2 sc in the ch1 space,
sc in the next 4 stitches
in the next stitch, 2 sc
in the next stitch, 2 hdc
in the next stitch, hdc
in the next stitch, 2 hdc
in the next stitch, hdc
slst in the next 2 stitches
(28 stitches including ch1 and slst)
Bind off the yarn on the first one and weave in ends, do not bind off the second one but weave in the center

R4 (crochet hearts together): hold both hearts with wrong sides facing. With that last unbound loop on the hook, insert the hook through the first stitch in both hearts (photo) and slst

The hook is through the loop and through the first stitch on both hearts

*sc in the next stitch of both hearts* repeat 2 times
2sc in the next stitch of both hearts
sc in next 10 stitches of both hearts
2sc ch1 2 sc in both ch1 spaces

This photo is half way around the outer round (R4)

sc in the next 10 stitches of both hearts
2 sc in the next stitch of both hearts
*sc in the next stitch of both hearts* repeat 2 times
bind off and weave in end

TA DA!

I've got a bunch of new hats in my shop too! Come see!

EDITED TO ADD: Order the finished product here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/168020820/double-thick-cotton-crochet-face