How To Crochet A Blanket Step By Step

How To Crochet A Blanket From Scratch

If you are new to crochet or have not crocheted a blanket from scratch without a pattern before, you might be curious about how to turn a crochet stitch pattern into a blanket.

I wish there were a straightforward answer, but the reality is, that there is no fixed standard for the amount of yarn or the hook size needed when crocheting a blanket pattern. 

It all hinges on various factors such as the stitch pattern, yarn weight, hook size, your crochet tension, and the desired blanket size.

Nevertheless, I will take you through the process of how to crochet a blanket step by step from scratch.

Step One - Find A Crochet Stitch Pattern

Consider who you are making a crochet blanket for: will it be for a woman, a man, a child, a baby, or a pet?

Then choose a crochet stitch pattern that will be suitable for the intended recipient. For example: 

• For baby blankets consider closed stitches such as the Even Moss Stitch to prevent fingers or toes from getting tangled. For special events like baptisms or newborn photo sessions, a fancy open stitch like the Crochet Bead Stitch may be a suitable option.
• For pets, avoid stitch patterns with too many holes to prevent potential issues with their paws or claws. The Interlocking Block Stitch could be a suitable option.
• Also, take into consideration the recipient's preferences; for example, if they dislike lacy or frilly designs, opt for simple stitch patterns like the Box Block Stitch, which may be more appealing.

Step Two - Choose A Blanket Size

Next, consider the size of the blanket you want to make. Will it be a baby blanket, a bed blanket for a single bed, a king bed, or another size bed, or perhaps for someone in a wheelchair?

Here is a list of suggested blanket sizes to help you get started. Feel free to use these as a guide and tweak the dimensions to fit the recipient's preferences. Measurements are in both inches and centimeters for your convenience.

Step Three - Choose a Yarn Weight 

Now, it is time to decide on the type of yarn you want to use for your blanket. 

When choosing your yarn, consider various factors, such as your selected crochet stitch pattern, the recipient's preferences, and the time frame you have to make it.

• If your chosen stitch pattern features a delicate, lacy design, consider using fine-weight #2 (sports, baby) or light-weight #3 (DK, light worsted) yarns. For chunkier-looking blankets, you could opt for #4 medium worsted or #5 bulky yarns.
• Next, consider the recipient's needs, including any potential allergies they may have, and choose a suitable alternative. For example, if they are allergic to wool, you could use 100% cotton or acrylic yarn.
• Consider the time you have crochet the blanket in your chosen yarn weight. For instance, crocheting a large blanket with a lighter weight #2 yarn will require more time compared to using a heavier yarn weight like #4 worsted or heavier yarn for the same project.

Step Four - Calculate The Amount Of Yarn

Working out how much yarn you need for a project is not that easy. There are so many things you need to take into consideration. As you can see from the chart below, yarn weight makes a big difference to the amount of yarn you need to make a project.

Also, certain crochet stitches, often termed "yarn eaters," consume more yarn than others.

So, how do you calculate the amount of yarn you need for a project?

Here is the way I like to calculate the amount of yarn needed for a project.

First, I will purchase one ball (skein) of my chosen yarn, ensuring that the yarn label includes the yardage or meterage and hook size because you will need this information later.

I will then confirm the weight of the yarn without its label using my kitchen scales in grams and take note of the weight. 

Next, I will crochet a swatch in my chosen stitch pattern in the yarn I purchased using the recommended hook size. 

The swatch size I make is usually about 9 inches (22cm) square - this size is large enough not only to assess the look, but it is also large enough to see how well the crochet fabric drapes. 

If I am not satisfied with how the stitches look or how the crochet fabric drapes, I will unravel it and create another swatch or swatches using different hook sizes until I achieve the desired look and feel. 

Once you have a crochet swatch you are happy with record the number of chains you made in the foundation, the hook size you used, and the number of rows you crocheted.

Then you can go on to calculate the approximate amount of yarn needed for your project.

Here's how to work it out: 

To do the calculations you will need the following information:

• Skein weight - How many grams does your unused yarn ball (skein) weigh? Refer to the yarn label (and confirm with your kitchen scales) the total number of grams. For this example, our ball weighs 100 grams.
• Skein length - How many yards or meters are stated on the yarn label? For this example, our skein has 295 yards or 270 meters of yarn.
• Swatch Weight -  How many ounces or grams does your sample swatch weigh? For this example, our swatch weighs 23 grams or 8.11 ounces.
• Swatch Size - How big does your swatch measure? This can be in inches or centimeters. For this example, the swatch I made measured 9 inches (22cm) square.

Swatch Yardage

To calculate the yardage or meterage used in your swatch, you will need to divide the skein length by the total skein weight and multiply it by the swatch weight to get the yardage/meterage of the swatch. For example: 

• Yards = (295 yards / 100 grams) x 23 grams = 67.85 yards, then round up to a whole number, making it 68 yards.
• Meters = (270 yards / 100 grams) x 23 grams = 62.1 meters, then round up to a whole number, making it 63 meters.

With this information, you can now estimate how much yarn you will need to make a blanket in any size using the dimensions of the swatch.

For example, if you wanted to make a 36" x 36" (89 x 89cm) baby blanket, you would need an equivalent of sixteen 9" x 9" inches (22 x 22 cm) swatches to make this size blanket. Or four rows of four swatches to make 36" (89cm) square.

To do the math, you would need to multiply the number of swatches (16) by 68 yards or 63 meters

• 16 x 68 yards = 1088 yards
• 16 x 63 meters = 1008 meters

From here, you can work out the number of skeins you need to make a blanket this size. 

To do this, divide the total length (yards or meters) required to make the blanket with the skein length (yards or meters).

• 1088 yards / 295 yards = 3.6 skeins, round up to 4 skeins. Then add 1 more (just in case you run a little short) for a total of 5 skeins.
• 1008 meters / 270 meters = 3.7 skiens, round up to 4 skiens. Then add 1 more (just in case you run a little short) for a total of 5 skeins.

You can use these calculations to work the yardage for any sized crochet blanket.

Keep in mind these calculations do not include the yardage needed for a border. 

So if you are planning on adding a border around the blanket consider purchasing a few extra skeins, so you can complete the blanket in the same dye lot.

Step Five - Starting The Blanket

Now that you have your yarn and hook size sorted it is time to start the blanket.

To get started, you need to estimate the number of stitches for your foundation chain. I usually estimate this from the sample swatch I made.

For example, let's keep working on the 36" x 36" (89 x 89cm) baby blanket made in half double crochet stitches and a swatch size of 9" (22cm), with a foundation chain of 32.

Divide 36" (89cm) by 9" (22cm), and you get 4. So the foundation chain you need to crochet is 4 x 32 chains or a total of 128 chains and you will need to add an extra 2 chains to start the first row of half double crochet stitches.

For me, this length usually ends up about 2 - 3 inches shorter than required, but after crocheting 2-3 rows it stretches. Depending on my tension I find that it could be close to the correct length or slightly longer.

If it ends up half or one inch shorter, I will continue with the pattern. However, if it ends up longer than required, I will unravel the yarn, crochet a slightly shorter foundation chain, and measure again after 2-3 rows.

You do not want the measurement after the first 2-3 rows to be larger than the finished blanket width because you will end up using more yarn than you estimated.

However, it is safe to continue with a slightly smaller width because you will use less yarn.

How Many Rows To Crochet

Once you have achieved the correct width, you can go ahead and crochet as many rows as needed to get your desired length, which in this case is 36 inches. 

You can roughly estimate the number of rows you will need to complete the blanket from the swatch you made earlier. 

For example - Based on my swatch size of 9" (22cm) square, we would need 4 rows of 4 swatches to make a blanket size of 36" (89cm) square.

If there are 17 rows in my swatch, multiply 17 by 4 to estimate the number of rows needed to complete the pattern, in this case it would be about 68 rows plus a few extra depending on your tension.

Tips

Keeping Pattern Repeats Correct

When working with crochet patterns that have stitch multiples, which are patterns repeated over a certain amount of stitches, such as 2, 3, 4, 5, and so on, make sure to end up with a complete multiple, because if you don't the pattern will be incorrect.

Stitch multiples can have a plus (+) number at the end. For example, a stitch multiple could look like this:

• 3 + 2 - This means you chain in multiples of 3 until you reach your desired length, then crochet 2 extra chains.
• 5 + 4 This means you chain in multiples of 5 until you reach your desired length, then crochet 4 extra chains.

Width Not Quite Right

When designing a crochet blanket you don't always get the width right from the start. 

So, be prepared to unravel the work several times after measuring the width of the blanket after the first 2-3 rows or until you get it correct.

Count Your Stitches

Always take note of the number of stitches you made in the first row, and use this to check your stitch count as you crochet the blanket to keep the pattern correct.

Bottom of the Blanket Curving In

If you find that the bottom edge of your blanket is curving down, this is an indication that your foundation chain is too tight.

Rip it out and crochet a loose foundation chain using a hook one size larger than what you will crochet your blanket with.

Keep Count Of Your Rows

Keeping count of your rows is not so important with 1-row repeat crochet patterns, but it is when repeating different stitches in different rows to achieve a certain pattern. 

It just makes it easier to pick up where you left off. Keeping count can be as simple as recording on a piece of paper.

I hope you enjoyed this information on How to crochet a blanket step by step, and I can't wait to see what you made!

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