Seven tips you’ll love for making a brilliant crochet blanket

Crochet blanket season is upon is and yarn stashes everywhere are being rummaged through to find the perfect combination. I always think blankets are a longer term project, very rarely worked up quickly, and so it’s easy to make common mistakes with them and end up feeling frustrated. My seven top tips will help you create a crochet blanket to be proud of and allow you to enjoy the process.

1. Create a great foundation for your crochet blanket

When working a crochet blanket in rows, it can be very easy to end up with a curved bottom edge. This is because a lot of crocheters work chains more tightly than their other crochet stitches. There are several ways to combat this. One of my favourites is using a larger hook to make the chain (just 1 size up is normally enough). Then you switch back to the crochet hook you plan to use for the rest of the blanket.

Another way is to work a foundation crochet row. The technique takes a little getting used to, but basically you are working the foundation chain and first row simultaneously. This eliminates any tension differences between the two and looks really neat too. There’s a video tutorial for foundation double crochet here, but you can work a foundation version of other stitches too. If you are working an intricate pattern it might be easier to just use the larger hook method!

2. Check your yarn weights

This is something to consider when making a crochet blanket using yarn from stash, especially if you have lost the ball bands. Different yarn brands can vary by thickness, which affects the overall finished appearance of your crochet blanket. I made this mistake with aran weight yarn. One ball was an awful lot thinner as it was a different brand.

If you hold your yarns together and aren’t sure if once is too thick/thin in comparison, why not try the wraps per inch method of checking. Take a ruler which has inch measurements on it. Then wind yarn around it for an inch, making sure the wraps are touching with no ruler showing, but not bunched up or overlapping. Count the number of times it wraps around, then repeat for any other yarns. There are tables to show how wraps per inch (or WPI) correspond to yarn weights online if you are wanting absolute precision. For me, as long as they are a similar in number it’s ok.

3. Crochet blanket straight sides!

It’s really tricky to add a border to sides that have bumps in them from the starting chains for rows, especially treble crochet (US double crochet). My blog post will help you out with alternatives to chain 3 and give you some techniques to add to your repertoire! Personally I like the stacked double crochet method, which I talk about in the post, but ch2 instead of 3 can be just as effective! If you’ve got lots of colour changes, try to join yarn without creating large knots. When sewing in ends, aim to do it without making too many bumps too.

4. Stick to the same crochet hook

Did you know that changing the type or brand of crochet hook can affect your tension? It’s not just the hook size that matters, different shaped hooks or those made from different materials can change how you crochet too. To avoid any hook related hiccups, the simplest thing to do is to take a photo of your project at the start with the hook in the photo. That way you have something to refer back to if you’ve borrowed the hook for another project!

5. Avoid tension trouble

As well as hooks, your mood can affect your tension too! If you’re really stressed, avoid working on a long term project as you might well find you end up with some odd looking rows. It might be better in those circumstances to pick a project where the tension isn’t critical. Some people even find they get different tension if they’re watching something particularly tense on TV!

6. Trust your instincts!

If whilst crocheting you think your crochet blanket is getting either wider or narrower, lay it flat somewhere and have a look at it. If there is an issue, try to identify the row where it began. Sometimes variations are caused by tension or yarn type. They can also be because of working too many or too few stitches. Placing a stitch marker into the first stitch of a row can help you to avoid issues with stitch counts on row ends.

7. Beautiful crochet blanket borders

The first round of a border can be tricky, especially if you’ve worked in rows and have to crochet in the row ends. Many patterns have the first row worked in double crochet but I prefer half treble crochet as it looks more similar on both sides of the blanket. I also recommend working the first round of the border in the same colour as the main part of the blanket as this covers up an inconsistencies in stitch placement very nicely! If your blanket is striped, consider working those sections of the border in the corresponding stripe colours.

I hope those crochet tips help you to make a crochet blanket you love! If you have some tips, why not share them in the comments?