A Rainbow Baby Blanket

I really did enjoy making this little blanket - choosing the yarn, watching the piles of squares add up, crocheting them together - but not as much as I enjoyed seeing it wrapped around a delicious, smiley twelve week old baby girl. What I like about making gifts is how much I think about the person it is intended for while I'm making it. And it saves money too - after all, my passion for crafting was born when I stopped work and we were suddenly on an extremely tight budget.

I used the Summer Garden Granny Square pattern from Lucy's Attic24 blog. It really is the most joyful blog - colourful, happy and full of an impressive array of inspiring patterns and clear tutorials. I joined my squares "on the go" which I find much quicker than sewing or crocheting them together, and you can find a tutorial here. 

Here is the blanket before the border...

and after.

I crocheted one row all the way round of treble stitch clusters, as you would in a granny square, but followed Jacquie's method of decreasing stitches for a non-ripply border, details of which can be found here. Jacquie's blog is also a wonderful place, packed full of her love of crochet and craft and enjoying the outdoors. Isn't blogland just the most fantastic resource of information and advice? Anyway, the border...I then worked another round of granny square clusters, followed by a round of triple stitches crocheted into the top of each stitch, and finished with a little row of double stitches in pink cotton. I think my favourite part is the neat (ish) row of pale pink stitches around the edge. I wanted a simple border because it's a busy pattern, and I am happy with how it turned out.

But the border was an experiment and not without it's mistakes...I wasn't sure how by much to increase the stitches in each corner, so just added a couple more in the corner points where I though they were needed. It is still a little rippled but after I took this photo I blocked it and it looked a whole lot neater after that. 

It measures 50 cm or 20 inches by 60 cm or 24 inches, so it is small. It is quite lightweight and weighs just under 200g, and it is all made from cotton yarn.

While I was fretting over the border, John said "Gill, it's a baby blanket, it will soon be covered in sick", and bless him for his blunt Northern perspective, for he is totally right. It is a blanket to be used everyday, to go in and out of the washing machine and tumble dryer, to be pegged on the washing line and blown about by the wind, to be thrown over car seats, prams and cots, to be dragged in and out of the house and tossed into the boot of the car.

And, judging by the photos I snapped on my phone, baby seemed happy with it.

I hope you are all well. We are currently staying with my parents on the South coast. We've been having a rather lovely time, catching up with friends and family, eating, walking on the beach, flying kites and relaxing by the woodburning stove in the evening. Thanks as always for dropping by and a big, warm hello there to my new followers - it's good to have you here.