hearts and stripes blanket Archives

Here is a Rainbows and Hearts version of my hearts and stripes blanket. I didn’t design the original blanket this way deliberately but when I realised the striped squares have seven bars of colour I HAD to make a rainbow version 🙂

One of the issues with using more colours is having more ends to finish off. I have to confess I actually shelved the project at one point because tying off all these ends in REALLY thick yarn was pretty grim. However, I have found the most AMAZING gadget to help.

This is probably old news to lots of you but I hadn’t found these before. A ‘Wool needle’ made by Knit Pro. This needle has a blunt end like a tapestry needle. It also has a big loop (rather than an eye) to make threading easy. I love it!! When I am more organised I will put a link to Amazon in here. Until then, all you have to do is search on ‘knit pro wool needle’ to find them. Like all great inventions I am wondering why it took this long to be available. It seems such an obvious design and perfect for the job when you use it.

I will make a PDF of this pattern for sale on my Etsy store when I get chance. I didn’t want to hold up posting because it does take me a while to scrape the time together sometimes. The pattern for the blocks and advice on joining etc is available for free here:

This is the link that takes you to the heart block pattern

Here is the link to the striped block pattern

Finally this link takes you to the instructions for making up and border pattern. For the rainbow version I kept the border very simple. For UK instructions work one round of DC in White. One round of HTR in black. For US instructions make that one round of SC in white. One round of HDC in black.

Sorry if that is a bit clunky – I will produce the PDF as soon as I can. When I produce the PDF I will do a colour chart. If you want to make a start here is a full picture of the blanket laid out flat. Hopefully you can take your colour instructions from this!

I am already onto the next project. I have decided to make a cushion with the left-over yarn. Pattern and pics to follow.

Happy crocheting!

Annie 🙂

Hello 🙂here is my latest project – Hearts and Stripes Blanket. This pattern is based on the heart motif I created last year. For this project I wanted to produce a solid version of the heart square. To make a heavy duty lap blanket quickly! I used super chunky yarn and a 9mm hook. With this yarn I can easily make one of these blankets in a week or two.

Here is the finished blanket worked up in red white and blue yarn. You can use the blocks to make a blanket of any size. If you use a lighter weight yarn you will probably want to put in more blocks. I went for a seven by five block layout as that worked best for the quantity of yarn I had. The finished blanket measures about 34 inches by 48 inches or 85cm by 125cm in metric.

This pattern would also work very well as a stash-buster project. The yarn required for each area of colour is quite small. I salvage quite a lot of yarn and often end up with a large number of smaller balls of yarn. You can read my top tips for yarn salvage here.

The pattern took four 100g balls of the navy and 3 of each of the red and white.

The blanket pattern is made up of striped squares and full heart blocks. The pattern for the heart block in both UK and US terms are available here

The instructions for the striped block are here again in both UK and US terms.

Joining the Blocks to make the blanket

The blanket is made up of these two blocks worked in a seven by five alternating pattern. The join I used for this blanket is one that has minimal finishing off. The technique makes a feature of the joining thread.

Line up two squares edge to edge with the right side of the work facing up.

Place the yarn you are using for the join behind the work. Always keep the joining yarn behind the squares. Pick up stitches from the back of each of the two edges, as shown below.

Joining instructions 1 - Hearts and Stripes Blanket

Wrap the yarn round the hook working from behind. You need to keep the yarn behind the work at all times.

Joining instructions 2 - Hearts and Stripes Blanket

Pull the yarn through the two stitches you picked up to give you two loops on the hook.

Joining instructions 3 - Hearts and Stripes Blanket

Finally pull the yarn through the loop on the hook to form a slip stitch. From the picture above this means pulling the first loop nearest the end of the hook through the second loop on the hook. The result should look like the picture below.

Design choice – pick a highlight colour for the join and make it a feature. Or use the same colour as the borders of the squares. Using the same colour would make the join less visible.

Hearts and Stripes Blanket – Border

The border for this blanket is very simple and echos the stripes in the squares.

UK terms

First round – Join in yarn in the colour you used to join the blocks and work one round of DC working 1DC, 2CH, 1DC into each corner. For the design shown here yarn colour white.

Second round – Join in yarn A (red for the design shown here) and work a round of HTR working 1HTR, 2CH, 1HTR into each corner.

Third round – Join in the first yarn again (white) and repeat the first round.

Fourth round – for the final round use the border colour (Navy) and again repeat the first round above.

US terms

First round – Join in yarn in the colour you used to join the blocks and work one round of SC working 1SC, 2CH, 1SC into each corner. For the design shown here yarn colour white.

Second round – Join in yarn A (red for the design shown here) and work a round of HDC working 1HDC, 2CH, 1HDC into each corner.

Third round – Join in the first yarn again (white) and repeat the first round.

Fourth round – for the final round use the border colour (Navy) and again repeat the first round above.

Finish off your ends and there you have it – one Hearts and Stripes Blanket. Hope you like it!

Annie 🙂

Rainbows and Hearts crochet blanket