Mar
Making a V Stitch Blanket When You Actually Need It
So I made one of these in spring 2022 when I was basically living on my couch and needed something repetitive to do with my hands. The V stitch blanket is honestly one of those patterns where you can zone out completely and still end up with something that looks like you knew what you were doing.
The V stitch is just double crochet, chain one, double crochet all in the same stitch. That’s it. You’re making little V shapes across the row. Then when you come back on the next row, you put your next V into the chain-1 space from the previous row. It creates this really open, lacey kind of texture that works up fast because there’s literally holes everywhere.
What You Actually Need
I used Red Heart Super Saver for mine because I was broke and needed like 2000 yards of yarn. Got it in that Soft White color which looked more cream than white honestly. You could use anything though—I’ve seen people make these with Caron One Pound or Lion Brand Pound of Love if you want maximum yardage for minimum money. The spring 2022 one I did was probably around 50×60 inches and ate through about 6 skeins.
Hook size depends on your yarn but I used a 6mm (J hook) with the worsted weight. You want it kinda loose and drapey, not stiff. If your tension is tight naturally you might wanna go up a hook size or you’re gonna have a blanket that feels like cardboard.
Starting Chain Math That Nobody Explains Right
Okay so here’s the annoying part that drove me crazy for like three blankets before I figured it out—the starting chain has to be a multiple of 3, plus 2 extra. So if you want a blanket that’s about 45 inches wide and you’re getting like 4 stitches per inch with your hook and yarn combo, you need roughly 180 stitches. Divide that by 3… you get 60. Multiply back: 60 x 3 = 180, then add 2 = 182 chains.
But honestly I never measure that precisely. I just chain until it looks about the width I want, count the chains, then adjust to the nearest multiple of 3 plus 2. You can fudge it a little bit and nobody’s gonna notice once it’s done.
Actually Crocheting The Thing
Row 1 is your setup row. Skip the first 3 chains (those count as your first dc), then dc in the 4th chain from hook. That’s your first V but it’s only half of one technically. Then you’re gonna skip 2 chains, and in the next chain you do: dc, chain 1, dc. That’s your first real V. Keep doing that—skip 2 chains, V stitch in the next—all the way across. At the end you’ll have 2 chains left probably, skip one and dc in the last chain.
I was watching some true crime thing on Netflix while doing this part and kept losing count. You kinda have to pay attention on row 1 or you’ll end up with weird edges.
Row 2 is where it gets easy. Chain 3 (counts as first dc), turn your work. You’re gonna put a V stitch into each chain-1 space from the previous row. Like you literally just look for those little holes and stick your hook in there, then dc-ch1-dc. The chain spaces stack on top of each other row after row which is why this pattern is so mindless.
End of row 2, you dc into the top of the turning chain from row 1. That gives you a solid edge on both sides instead of having it all wonky.
Row 3 and every row after: same as row 2. Chain 3, turn, V stitch in each chain space across, dc in top of turning chain. That’s the whole pattern.
The Thing That Made Me Want To Quit
The edges on this pattern are weirdly floppy and don’t always line up perfect. Like you think you’re doing it right but then one side is tighter than the other or the blanket starts getting wider as you go. For me it was tension—I crochet looser when I’m tired so if I worked on it at night vs morning, the rows looked different.
I tried to always do the turning chain the same tightness and that helped some. Also making sure that last dc at the end of each row goes into the actual 3rd chain of the turning chain, not into some random stitch nearby. It’s easy to miss and then your stitch count is off and everything goes sideways.
How Long This Actually Takes
Spring 2022 blanket took me maybe three weeks? But I wasn’t working on it every day. More like I’d do 10-15 rows while watching TV, then ignore it for two days, then do another chunk. Each row once you get going takes like 5 minutes maybe, depending on width. So if you’re making a 50-inch blanket you might need like 120 rows or something to get decent length.
The open stitch pattern means it grows fast though compared to something tight like single crochet. You can actually see progress which is motivating when you’re like… why am I making a blanket when I could just buy one. But then you keep going because you already invested 8 hours into it.
Color Changes If You Want Stripes
I didn’t do this on my first one but I’ve seen it done and it looks good. You just change colors at the end of a row—finish your last dc with the new color coming through on the final yarn over. Then your turning chain is already the new color.
If you use Red Heart Super Saver in different colors the texture stays consistent which is nice. I’ve mixed brands before and it’s usually fine but sometimes one yarn is stretchier or fuzzier and you can tell where the switch happened.
Stripes hide any tension issues too because the eye gets distracted by the color changes instead of noticing that your 47th row is slightly wider than row 23 or whatever.
Fixing Mistakes Without Ripping Out Everything
If you lose a stitch or gain one somehow, you’ll notice because the V stitches won’t line up with the row below. This happened to me probably five times on that spring 2022 blanket. What I did was just fudge it—like if I had an extra chain space I’d skip it and put two Vs in the next space to get back on track. Is this the “right” way? No. Did it work and is the blanket fine? Yeah.
You can rip back if you want but honestly with this pattern it’s hard to see individual stitches when you’re frogging because of all the chains. I’d rather just adjust on the next row and keep moving forward.
Yarn Amounts And Why They Lie On Labels
Red Heart says one skein is like 364 yards. For a blanket you’re gonna need a lot more than you think. I always do this thing where I calculate like “oh it’ll be 5 skeins” and then it’s actually 7. The V stitch uses less yarn than solid stitches because of the spaces, but it’s still a blanket which means it’s still a lot of yarn.
My dog kept trying to lay on the blanket while I was making it which was annoying because then I’d have to shoo her off and she’d look all offended… anyway if you’re making this as a gift or something, budget for at least 1500-2000 yards for a throw size. Bigger blankets obviously need more.
I bought all my yarn at once in the same dyelot because I didn’t want color variations. Even with neutrals like grey or white, different dyelots can look noticeably different when they’re next to each other in a blanket.
Border Or No Border
I didn’t put a border on mine and it’s fine. The edges are a little ruffly but it doesn’t bother me. If you want it more finished-looking you could do like 2-3 rounds of single crochet around the whole thing. The tricky part is the sides (the row ends) because they’re bumpy from all the turning chains.
What some people do is single crochet evenly spaced along the sides—like maybe 2 sc for every row or something so it lays flat. The top and bottom edges where your starting chain and last row are, those are easier. Just sc in each stitch across.
Corners you’d do 3 sc in the same spot so it turns without puckering. Then keep going around. I might add a border to mine eventually but it’s been two years so probably not gonna happen.
Washing And Blocking
I threw mine in the washing machine on cold, delicate cycle, with regular detergent. Red Heart Super Saver is acrylic so it’s pretty indestructible. Came out fine. I dried it on low heat for like 20 minutes then laid it flat to finish drying because I was paranoid about it getting weird in the dryer.
It actually softened up a lot after washing which was nice because Super Saver is kinda scratchy when it’s new. Some people say to wash it before crocheting but I never do that because it seems like extra work.
Blocking… I didn’t block it. You could if you want it perfectly rectangular but the V stitch is supposed to be drapey and relaxed anyway so I don’t think it matters much. If your edges are really wavy you could pin it out while it’s damp and let it dry that way.
What I’d Do Different Next Time
Use a lighter color probably. The white shows every piece of lint and my dog’s hair sticks to it like crazy. A medium grey or tan would’ve been smarter. Also maybe go up a hook size because even though the fabric is open, it’s still got some stiffness to it that I don’t love.
I might try it with a cotton blend yarn instead of straight acrylic, something like Caron Cotton Cakes or I Love This Cotton from Hobby Lobby. Cotton has better drape and feels nicer in warm weather. The acrylic one is kinda hot for summer even with all the holes in the stitch pattern.
Starting chain I’d probably make a little narrower because 50 inches is big for a lap blanket but small for a bed blanket. It’s in this awkward middle size where it doesn’t quite work for either purpose perfectly. Like 40 inches would be better for couch use, or go all the way to 60+ for a bed.
Is It Actually Easy Though
Yeah. If you can chain and do a double crochet you can make this blanket. The repetitive part is actually what makes it good for beginners because you do the same thing like 500 times so you get really comfortable with the motion. By row 20 you’re not even thinking about it anymore.
The hardest parts are keeping your tension consistent and not losing stitches at the edges. But even if you mess up a little it’s not that noticeable in the final blanket. The lacey texture hides a lot of imperfections.
It’s a good pattern for using up yarn stash too if you have a bunch of partial skeins in similar colors. Just stripe them or do a gradient or whatever. As long as the yarn weight is consistent it’ll work.
I’d recommend it if you want something that looks more complex than it actually is. People see the V stitches and think you did something fancy but really you just did the same stitch over and over while watching TV for three weeks.
