Shell Grid Baby Blanket

So, a while ago, I started to make a shell baby blanket, and got bored with it early on.  So I decided to experiment a little with having a little bit of a built in border.  I worked shell stitches on the top and bottom and edges of the blanket, then simply made a grid for the interior.  At the edges I did 3 dc and a sc.  If it was sc, 3 dc, then the height of the grid for that row was a dc; in the other case, where it was 3 dc, sc, then the height fo the grid for that row was a sc.  The gird therefore alternates in height, producing, I think, a more interesting effect than a plane grid.  In any case, I had made the body entirely out of white, and I wanted it to be an Aggie blanket, so I did a wider than normal border (7 rounds instead of 4) in maroon to balance out the white. 

I am quite pleased with the result of my little experiment.  However, I would caution anyone considering doing a built in border that they are much more complicated than a traditional border.  Much more thought and planning must occur.  One of the reasons I prefer crocheting to knitting is that crocheting is more free form and requires much less planning.  This undoes that a little bit.  If you only do a built in border, the final width of your project is set when  you make your chain, and you have to start and finish with the appropriate rows.  The most difficult part of this project was figuring out how to do the last couple of rows. 

Stitch Definitions:
Half of a double crochet: YO, pull up a loop, pull through 2 loops on hook

Reverse Shell: pull up a loop through dc, work half a dc around the ch 3, work half of a dc in sc, work half of a dc around ch 3, pull up a loop through dc, pull through all 6 loops on hook

Here's the pattern:
Body: (white)
Chain 98
Row 1: sc in 2nd chain from hook, (sk 2, 5 dc in next ch, sk 2, sc) across
Row 2: ch 3, turn, 2 dc in sc, sk 2, sc in dc, (ch 2, sk 2, dc in sc, ch 2, sk 2, sc in dc) across, sk 2, 3 dc in last sc
Row 3: ch 1, turn, sc in first dc, sk 2, 3 dc in sc, (ch 2, dc in dc, ch 2, dc in sc) across, 3 dc in last sc, sk 2, sc in last dc
Row 4: ch 3, turn, 2 dc in sc, sk 2, sc in dc, (ch 2, sc in dc) across, sk 2, 3 dc in last sc
Row 5: ch 1, turn, sc in first dc, sk 2, 3 dc in sc, (ch 2, dc in sc) across, 3 dc in last sc, sk 2, sc in last dc

Repeat Rows 4 and 5 until work is square

2nd to last row: ch 3, turn, 2 dc in sc, sk 2, sc in dc, (ch 3, sc in dc, ch 3, dc in dc) across, sk 2, 3 dc in last sc
Last Row: ch 1, turn, sc in first dc, (ch 2, Reverse Shell, ch 2, sc) across

Border: (maroon)
Round 1: sc around, 3 sc in corner
Round 2: dc around, 5 dc in corner
Round 3: sc around, 3 sc in corner
Round 4: (dc, ch 1, sk 1) around, (dc, ch 1, dc, ch 1, dc) in corner
Round 5: sc around, 3 sc in corner
Round 6: dc around, 5 dc in corner
Round 7: sc around, 3 sc in corner


I made this using Bernat Satin Bordeaux and Snow and a J hook.