Easy Crochet Blanket: Gentle Stripes and Textures

Today I’m sharing an easy crochet blanket pattern as part of the Preemie Crochet Challenge. The Gentle Stripes and Textures Baby Blanket is available in 6 sizes from micro preemie blanket through child blanket. This beginner-friendly pattern combines a simple stitch with self-striping yarn to make the colorwork easy. I’ve even included four helpful video tutorials to guide newbie crocheters through the project!

This post contains affiliate links. I may receive compensation (at no added cost to you) if you make a purchase using these links. I’m a King Cole Brand Ambassador and this post is part of our ongoing collaboration. All opinions and thoughts are my own. Additional supplies for this project were generously provided by Nelsonwood.

I was born early myself, and several of my friends have brought premature babies into the world, so when I heard about the Preemie Crochet Challenge with Sunflower Cottage Crochet, I knew I wanted to participate. A lot of crocheters enter the charity crochet realm with preemie projects. Preemie projects are small, usually easy to make, and bring a lot of joy to the parents of these very small humans. (If you like to crochet for charity, check out my Charity Spotlight series of free patterns for organizations that accept handmade donations.)

Because preemies are so tiny, their little fingers and toes can get caught in hole-y projects. For the Gentle Stripes and Textures Blanket, I wanted to design an easy crochet blanket. Single crochet is perfect for preemie projects because it’s relatively dense and not lacy at all.

When I was working on this blanket, King Cole had sent me two new yarns to try out. Baby Stripe DK is a mostly white, self-striping yarn available in a variety of pastel colors. Baby Safe DK is an everfresh acrylic. What does everfresh acrylic mean, you ask? (I did, too. It’s ok!) It’s a yarn made without harmful chemicals in a way that minimizes the use of natural resources, and it has antimicrobial properties. It’s super soft, too! Both are available at your local yarn shop, or you can find King Cole Baby Stripe DK online at LoveCrafts | Wool Warehouse UK and King Cole Baby Safe DK yarn online at Wool Warehouse UK. The Micro Preemie Blanket shown in the pictures uses just one skein in each yarn and it folds up to fit in your hand.

If you plan to donate your Gentle Stripes and Textures Baby Blanket, do check with the organization about their size requirements. I’ve included 6 sizes in the pattern, from Micro Preemie Blanket up through a Child Size Blanket.

As I mentioned earlier, this pattern is part of the Preemie Crochet Challenge. Everyday in August, 2021, a preemie crochet pattern will be available for free as a PDF download in exchange for your pledge to make that project to donate to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) or another organization helping preemies.

Scroll down for the Gentle Stripes and Textures Blanket pattern. Visit this post on Sunflower Cottage Crochet through August 31, 2021 to get a new coupon code for the ad-free PDF of a preemie pattern each day.

If you make your own Gentle Stripes and Textures Blanket, I’d love to see it! Share your progress and questions by tagging me on Facebook as @Underground Crafter, Instragram as @ucrafter, or Twitter as @ucrafter. You can also share a picture in the Underground Crafters Facebook group. Sign up for my weekly newsletter and get a coupon code for your choice of one of my premium patterns and private access to my vault of subscriber goodies. Plus, you’ll never miss one of my free patterns again!

Add the Gentle Stripes and Textures Blanket to your favorites or queue, or buy the ad-free PDF on Ravelry.

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Gentle Stripes and Textures Blanket

Easy Crochet Blanket Pattern by Underground Crafter

This easy crochet blanket pattern combines a simple stitch with self- striping yarn to make the colorwork easy. Available in 6 sizes from micro preemie through child. This pattern was designed as part of the Preemie Crochet Challenge with Sunflower Cottage Crochet.

Finished Sizes

  • Micro Preemie Blanket (Small Preemie Blanket, Preemie/Car Seat Blanket, Stroller Blanket, Baby Blanket, Child Blanket). Photographed sample is Micro Preemie Blanket.
    • Micro Preemie Blanket: 15” (38 cm) x 15” (38 cm).
    • Small Preemie Blanket: 20” (51 cm) x 20” (51 cm).
    • Preemie/Car Seat Blanket: 25” (63.5 cm) x 30” (76 cm).
    • Stroller Blanket: 30” (76 cm) x 35” (89 cm).
    • Baby Blanket: 35” (89 cm) x 40” (101.5 cm).
    • Child Blanket: 45” (114.5 cm) x 50” (127 cm).

Materials

  • King Cole Baby Stripe DK yarn (100% acrylic, 3.5 oz/100 g/320 yd/290 m) in 3605 Baby Pink (CA) – 1 (2, 3, 4, 6, 9) skein(s), or approximately 279 yd (496 yd, 930 yd, 1,280 yd, 1,736 yd, 2,790 yd)/255 m (453.5 m, 850.5 m, 1,170.5 m, 1,587.5 m, 2,551 m) in CA in any self-striping, light weight yarn.
  • King Cole Baby Safe DK yarn (100% everfresh acrylic, 3.5 oz/100 g/284 yd/260 m) in 5301 Pale Pink (CB) – 1 (1, 2, 2, 3, 4) skein(s), or approximately 126 yd (224 yd, 420 yd, 588 yd, 784 yd, 1,260 yd)/115 m (205 m, 384 m, 537.5 m, 717 m, 1,152 m) in CB in any light weight yarn.
  • Nelsonwood US Size F-5/3.75 mm crochet hook, or size needed to obtain gauge.
  • Yarn needle.

Gauge

  • Block = 5” (12.5 cm) square. Exact fit is not critical for this project.

Abbreviations Used in This Pattern

  • BL – back loop only – Fiber Flux has a helpful video tutorial for identifying the back loop here.
  • CA – Color A
  • CB – Color B
  • ch – chain
  • sc – single crochet
  • sl st – slip stitch
  • sp – space
  • st(s) – stitch(es)
  • yo – yarn over
  • *Repeat instructions after asterisk as indicated.
  • [] Repeat instructions between brackets as indicated.
  • () Work stitches between parentheses into same stitch or space.

Pattern Notes

  • Ch 1 at beginning of row or round and sl st at end of rounds DO NOT count as stitches.
  • Blocks are crocheted flat in rows in CA, changing to CB in final yo of last row. An edging in CB is added in the round. Blocks are joined with single crochet seam. A border is worked around the finished blanket in the round.
  • Fiber Flux has a helpful video tutorial for identifying the back loop here.
  • All other video tutorials are embedded within the pattern.

Pattern Instructions

Block – Make 9 (16, 30, 42, 56, 90)

  • With CA, ch 21.
  • Row 1: Turn, skip first ch, sc in next 20 ch. (20 sts)
  • Row 2: Turn, ch 1, sc in first st and each st across.
  • Repeat Row 2 until piece is square. See video below for determining whether piece is square. It is more important to make the Block square and the same size as other Blocks than it is for the the Block to be a specific size.
  • If you can’t see the video above, click here to watch How To Crochet a Square Flat in Rows on Instagram.
  • Change to CB in last yo of final sc in last repeat of final repeat of Row 2 (see video below for changing color in single crochet). Fasten off CA.
  • If you can’t see the video above, click here to watch How To Change Colors and Crochet Over Yarn Tails In Single Crochet on Facebook.
  • Begin crocheting in the round.
  • Edging Round 1: (Right Side) Turn, ch 1, sc in first st and each st across, *turn to work along edge, ch 2, evenly crochet 20 sc across edge (see video tutorial below for crocheting along edge),** turn to work along foundation chain, ch 2, sc in next 20 sts, repeat from * to **, turn to first side, ch 2, join with sl st to top of first sc. Fasten off CB.
  • If you can’t see the video above, click here to watch How To Single Crochet Around the Side of Your Project on YouTube.

Assembly

  • Following assembly diagrams below, position squares so that adjoining squares are perpendicular to each other (so that stripes move in different directions).
  • Using CB, join Blocks with single crochet seam on Right Side (see video below for seaming with single crochet) as follows.
    • Micro Preemie Blanket (3 Blocks each x 3 Rows);
    • Small Preemie Blanket (4 Blocks each x 4 Rows);
    • Preemie/Car Seat Blanket (5 Blocks each x 6 Rows);
    • Stroller Blanket (6 Blocks each x 7 Rows);
    • Baby Blanket (7 Blocks each x 8 Rows);
    • Child Blanket (9 Blocks each x 10 Rows).
  • If you can’t see the video above, click here to watch How To Join with a Single Crochet Seam on Instagram.
  • To join Blocks into Rows, join CB with sl st to corner ch-2 sp through both Blocks, ch 1, working through both layers, join with sc in next 20 sts, sc in ch-2 sp, fasten off.
  • Then, join Rows to each other as follows. Join CB with sl st to corner ch-2 sp through both Blocks, ch 1, [*working through both layers, join with sc in next 20 sts,** sc in next 2 ch-2 sp], across to last Block, repeat from * to **, sc in next ch-2 sp, fasten off CB.
  • After assembling Blocks, add border as follows.
  • Border Round 1: Join CB with sl st to any ch-2 corner space, ch 1, 2 sc in same ch-2 sp, *[scBL in next 20 sts across next Block, sc in next 2 ch-2 sp] across to last Block on side, scBL in next 20 sts across next Block,** (2 sc, ch 2, 2 sc) in corner ch-2 sp; repeat from * around, ending last repeat after **, 2 sc in first corner ch-2 sp, ch 2, join with sl st to top of first sc. Fasten off CB.
  • With yarn needle, weave in ends on wrong side of blanket.

This pattern is featured in 40+ Quick and Easy Crochet Baby Blanket Patterns via AllFreeCrochetAfghanPatterns. See the other featured patterns HERE.

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