Jan
Just Pick Your Yarn First
So I made one of these during winter 2023 when I was basically living on my couch watching true crime documentaries and needed something to do with my hands. The blanket turned out fine but honestly the whole thing took way longer than I thought it would.
You’re gonna want to start with picking yarn that isn’t going to make you want to quit halfway through. I used Red Heart Super Saver because it was cheap and I wasn’t sure if I’d actually finish this thing. Got like six skeins in this grey color called Pewter or something. The acrylic yarn gets a bad reputation but look, it’s durable and you can throw it in the washing machine which matters more than people admit.
Some people will tell you to use fancy wool but that’s like—do you really want to spend $80 on yarn for your first blanket? I didn’t think so.
The Hook Size Thing
I used a 6mm hook which is probably a J hook in the American sizing because the sizing system makes no sense across different countries. The bigger the hook the faster it works up but also the more holes you’ll have in your blanket. You gotta find that balance.
Start with a foundation chain that’s as wide as you want the blanket. I did like 150 chains I think? Maybe 160? I lost count twice and just measured it against my couch to see if it looked wide enough. The chain is gonna twist and curl and be annoying, that’s normal. Just keep going.
The Actual Stitching Part
For a simple blanket you can literally just do single crochet back and forth forever. That’s it. That’s the whole pattern.
After your foundation chain, you’re gonna chain one more (that’s your turning chain), then go back into the second chain from your hook. Pull up a loop, yarn over, pull through both loops. That’s one single crochet. Do that in every chain across the row.
When you get to the end of the row, chain one, turn your work around, and go back the other direction. Keep doing this until you run out of yarn or patience, whichever comes first.
The Thing That Really Annoyed Me
The edges. Oh my god the edges. No matter what I did, one side of my blanket kept getting tighter and pulling in while the other side got looser and wavy. I still don’t totally know why this happens but I think it’s because I was tensioning differently depending on which direction I was working.
Some people say to always work into both loops of the stitch, some say just the back loop, some say it doesn’t matter. I worked into both loops because that seemed like the “correct” way but honestly by row 40 I wasn’t really paying attention anymore and just stabbed my hook wherever it seemed right.
Joining New Yarn
You’re gonna run out of yarn before the blanket is done unless you only made like a baby-sized blanket. When you’re getting close to the end of a skein, finish the row you’re on. Then when you start the next row, just start using the new yarn and leave like a 6 inch tail from both the old and new yarn.
You can tie them together if you want but I usually just crochet over the tails as I go and weave them in later. Or sometimes I don’t weave them in and they just live inside the stitches forever. The blanket police haven’t arrested me yet.
How Long This Actually Takes
People always ask how long it takes to make a blanket and the answer is: way longer than you think. I worked on mine for like three weeks, probably an hour or two most evenings. My cat kept trying to lay on it while I was working which didn’t help the timeline.
The beginning goes fast because you’re excited and it’s new. The middle is where you start questioning your life choices. You’re like 60 rows in and it still doesn’t look like a proper blanket, just a weird rectangular scarf thing. This is normal. Keep going.
Around row 80 I switched to watching sitcoms instead of true crime because I needed something less depressing while I did the same stitch over and over.
Tension Issues and Why Your Hands Will Hurt
Your tension is probably gonna be inconsistent and that’s fine. Some rows will be tighter, some looser. From far away no one can tell. Up close it looks a bit wonky but that’s called “character” or whatever.
My hands started cramping after like 45 minutes of crocheting. I was holding the hook wrong probably, gripping it too tight because I was stressed about keeping everything even. You’re supposed to hold it loose and relaxed but when you’re learning or when you’re going through something and stress-crocheting, that doesn’t really happen.
Take breaks. Shake out your hands. I started doing this thing where I’d crochet during one episode of TV then take a break during the next one, except sometimes I’d get into a rhythm and just keep going through like four episodes and then my hand would be completely seized up.
Counting Rows or Not
Some people keep a row counter or mark down every row they complete. I just eyeballed it and held it up against myself periodically to see if it looked blanket-sized yet. Very scientific process.
If you want it to be a specific size you should probably count but I was making a “throw blanket” which is apparently just whatever size happens when you get tired of crocheting.
Fixing Mistakes
You’re gonna make mistakes. You’ll skip a stitch or accidentally add an extra one. Sometimes you won’t notice until like three rows later. The question is: do you rip it out or just keep going?
I kept going probably 90% of the time. If I noticed I skipped a stitch in the row I was currently on, I’d fix it. If I noticed three rows later? That’s just part of the design now.
Ripping out rows is so demoralizing. You worked for an hour and then you have to undo it all and redo it. Sometimes it’s necessary if you really messed up but most of the time minor mistakes just disappear into the overall texture of the blanket.
Different Stitch Options Besides Single Crochet
If single crochet is too boring or too slow, you could do half double crochet instead. It works up faster and has a nicer drape. Yarn over, insert hook, pull up a loop, yarn over, pull through all three loops. Do that across each row.
Double crochet is even faster but then you get a pretty holey blanket which might not be what you want. Unless you live somewhere warm then maybe that’s perfect.
I stuck with single crochet because I wanted it dense and warm and also because I didn’t have to think about it. My brain was occupied with other stuff and single crochet is just muscle memory after the first few rows.
Yarn Choices Beyond Red Heart
If you want to use something besides acrylic, Wool-Ease by Lion Brand is pretty good. It’s a wool blend so it feels nicer than pure acrylic but still machine washable. Caron Simply Soft is another option—really soft and comes in good colors but sometimes it splits when you’re working with it which is annoying.
Bernat Blanket yarn is super bulky and works up really fast but you need like a 10mm or 11mm hook for it and the yarn itself is kind of expensive for what you get. Good if you want a chunky blanket though.
Whatever you pick, buy extra. You always need more than you think. I ran out of the Pewter color and had to go to three different stores to find more because apparently everyone was making grey blankets in 2023.
When to Stop
The blanket is done when it looks big enough to you. I made mine like 50 inches by 60 inches maybe? Big enough to cover my legs on the couch. You could make it bigger for an actual bed but then you’re committing to like 100+ rows and I barely made it to 70 something.
For the last row I just did single crochet all the way across, fastened off, and called it done. You can add a border if you want—go around all four edges doing single crochet—but I didn’t because by that point I was so tired of looking at this blanket.
Weave in your ends with a yarn needle or don’t, I’m not your mom. Mine has several ends just knotted and tucked into the stitches and it’s been fine for over a year now.
