We are a society of multitaskers. We can hardly stand still for three minutes without having something in our hands. This is probably why we are addicted to our cell phones and computers.
This winter I plan to pass my idle time away from my Twitter feed and do something a little more productive. I’m going to crochet a chevron blanket.
My mom taught me how to do this one. I know instructions you find online sometimes aren’t simple enough for beginners, but hopefully I can take you step-by-step on how to make a chevron pattern blanket.
Starting the blanket
I’m using a 5.00mm hook with medium (4) thick yarn.
To start the blanket you need to make a slip knot. Place the string over your index finger, and loop the string around your finger once. Then loosen the loop closest to your nail, bring the back loop under and then bring the first loop back under.
Pull on the first loop to tighten. This can be done with your fingers or with the help of your hook. Try not to tighten too much that you will not be able to stick your hook inside the knot.
First row
The first row of this blanket is going to be made entirely of basic or simple chain. To do this you are going to put your hook inside your slip knot, holding it with the hand you are most comfortable with. With your other hand, you will use your index finger to support the new string.
You are going to grab new string from underneath the yarn and then pull it through the knot to make a simple chain.
You will need to make about 250 simple chains for your first row.
The rest of the blanket
For the rest of the blanket you will use double chains and simple chains to create the pattern. First turn your simple chain around to start from the end. Then skip three chains for height.
On the fourth chain, you are going to grab yarn from your finger, then push through the knot. Grab yarn from your finger again and pull back out of the knot again, and grab more string from your finger.
Now you’re going to pull through two of the four loops you made with your yarn. There should still be two loops left. Grab more string from your finger and pull it all the way to the end. When you have only one loop on your hook, you have made a double chain.
You are going to repeat these steps for five more double chains and then, on the sixth chain (or ninth chain counting the ones you skipped at the beginning) you are going to make three double knots in the same chain. This will make the top tip of the triangle.
On the next five chains, you will do only one double knot per chain. After five chains, skip two chains to make the bottom tip of the triangle.
Repeat this pattern until the end of the row.
New levels and colors
For the next level, make three simple chains, then skip two chains before starting the pattern again. The first line of chains before the first top tip in every row should only be four chains; the rest will be five. Keep this pattern until you decide to change colors.
When changing colors, make a slip knot with new color and put the hook through it and the loop for the previous color. Grab string from your finger and make a simple chain with both colors. Pull loose ends tight to secure and make three more chains to start next level.
You can make as many levels as you want and use as many colors as you want. You can make all the colors the same width or switch them up. Just remember to take hand rest breaks every once in a while to let me know if this tutorial helped.
old@new 