Celtic Star Blanket

So, when I originally worked out how to graphically work out the color patterns, I came up with the Featured Color pattern.  I decided to try it out in a full sized afghan with some yarn I wanted to clear out of my stash.  The colors in this blanket look Irish to me, probably because the featured color is Kelly Green, and since the accent row is made up of star stitches, I have dubbed this the Celtic Star Blanket.

So, I knew the yarn, the color pattern, featured color, but had to decide what stitch to use.  I finally decided to keep it fairly simple, and do mostly dc, with accent rows of Star Stitches.  My friend introduced me to this stitch and wrote up a picture tutorial on how to do this star stitch.  I have since labeled this the star lattice stitch pattern.  The star stitch uses more yarn per row than does dc, so you will need more yarn of that color than the other colors.

I really like the thin stripes this color pattern gives.  The star stitch as an accent row gives the blanket at least the look of some texture.  

Here's the color pattern:  (2 rows of gray, 1 row of green, 2 rows of white, 1 row of green) repeated, ending with 2 rows of gray.

Chain 149
Row 1: dc in 4th chain from hook, dc across (gray)
Row 2: ch 3, turn, dc across (gray)
Row 3: ch 3, turn, work star stitch across (green)
Rows 4-5: ch 3, turn dc across (white)
Row 6: ch 3, turn, work star stitch across (green)
Row 7: ch 3, turn dc across (gray)
Repeat Rows 2-7, (ending with row 2) until work reaches desired length.

Border:
Round 1: star stitch around, 5 dc and legs of 2 star stitches in each corner (do a star stitch in each row on the sides)
Round 2: dc around, 5 dc in each corner
Round 3: dc around, 5 dc in each corner
Round 4: star stitch around, 5 dc and legs of 2 star stitches in each corner
Round 5: dc around, 5 dc in each corner
Round 6: dc around, 5 dc in each corner
Round 7: star stitch around, 5 dc and legs of 2 star stitches in each corner
Round 8: dc around, 5 dc in each corner
Round 9: dc around, 5 dc in each corner
Round 10: star stitch around, 5 dc and legs of 2 star stitches in each corner



I made this using Loops and Threads Impeccable yarn in Kelly Green, White, and Clay (gray) with a J hook.

Zipper Blanket

So, another of my buddies is getting married this summer.  I am therefore gifting the couple with one of my crocheted afghans.  This blanket essentially consists of panels of three alternating colors separated by a row of front and back post dc.  This row looks like a zipper to me, so I've thought of this blanket as my Zipper Blanket.  This blanket does not use any of the color patterns that prevent yarn cutting, so there are lots of strings on this blanket.  I would not make another one of these for that very reason. 

Here's how I made this:
Chain 209

Row 1: dc in 4th ch from hook, dc across (yellow)
Row 2-6: ch 3, turn, dc across (yellow)
Row 7: ch 2, turn, (fpdc, bpdc) across, hdc in last stitch (purple)
Row 8: ch 2, turn, (fpdc, bpdc) across, hdc in last stitch (brown)
Repeat rows 2-8 for the pattern, ending with a block of yellow, changing colors in this order (yellow, purple, brown)

Border:
Round 1: (fpdc, bpdc) around, 3 hdc in corner (purple)

I made this blanket with I Love this Yarn in Hot Yellow, Coffee, and Mixed Berry, with a J hook.

Star Lattice Baby Blanket

So, my last post showed you the star lattice stitch pattern.  It's a simple stitch with a little twist.  In variegated yarn it messes up the self striping patterns that tend to develop.  That makes it so that you can actually see the pattern.  Here's a baby blanket I made from it.

Here's how to make it:
Chain 91:
Row 1: dc in 4th chain from hook, dc across
Row 2: ch 3, turn, dc across
Row 3: ch 3, turn, star stitch across
Rows 4-5: ch 3, turn, dc across

Repeat rows 3-5 until work is square.  Add the standard border and you're done:

Round 1: sc around, 3 sc in each corner
Round 2: dc around, 5 dc in each corner
Round 3: sc around, 3 sc in each corner
Round 4: (sc, ch 3, sk 1) around, (sc, ch 3, sc) in corner

I made this with Baby Bee 'Sugar Plum Camo' yarn with a J hook.

Star Lattice Stitch

So today I'm going to talk to you about a stitch pattern I have used several times.  It's really rather simple, but I like the overall effect.  The pattern consists of three rows repeated: a row of star stitches followed by two rows of double crochet stitches.  The row of star stitches is denser and slightly thicker than the rows of dc.  I think of the two rows of dc as the lattice, hence the star lattice stitch pattern.

My friend Nettie taught me the star stitch and has a picture tutorial about it here.  Here's a brief explanation of the star stitch, but you should really check out Nettie's tutorial for help.


Decrease: YO, insert hook in same st as last stitch, YO, pull up a loop, YO, draw through 2 loops on hook, skip next stitch, YO, pull up a loop, YO, draw through 2 loops on hook, YO, draw through all 3 loops on hook.

Anyway, to do the star stitch, you chain 3 (counts as first dc), turn, then work a decrease stitch.  Work a dc in the same stitch as the last leg of the previous decrease stitch.  Then work decrease in the same stitch as the previous dc.  Repeat (dc, decrease) across.  At end of row, dc in last stitch.

Half of the stitches will have three stitches in them, and the other half will have none.  In a normal decrease stitch pattern, you would decrease, ch 1, decrease, ch 1 across.  The star stitch simply has a dc in place of the ch 1 space. 

I once made a scarf entirely out of the star stitch, but became a little frustrated with the number of times I had to pull out rows to fix a mistake.  The scarf turned out beautifully, but my feeling of frustration remained.  Having two rows of dc between each row of star stitches makes it more forgiving.  It is much easier to 'fudge' something at the end of the row this way.

This stitch pattern lends itself to two striping patterns because it has three rows in it.  Thick and Thin and Featured Color stripes work well.

To make something with this pattern:
Chain an odd number
Row 1: dc in 4th chain from hook, dc across
Row 2: ch 3, turn, dc across
Row 3: ch 3, turn, star stitch across
Rows 4-5: ch 3, turn, dc across

Repeat rows 3-5 until work reaches desired length.

And again with the Stitch 28!

Well, I'm continuing to make baby blankets and I really like stitch 28 for making them, especially with variegated yarn.  This stitch is great for baby blankets because it is so simple, fast, and easy.  It also is mostly solid but not overly so.  There are some gaps, giving it a touch of delicacy.  This stitch is lacy strength.  I obviously really like this stitch or I would not have made three baby blankets from it.

I made it exactly like the previous two baby blankets (original and revisited) from this stitch.

Once again, here's the pattern:

Round 1: sc around, 3 sc in each corner
Round 2: dc around, 5 dc in each corner
Round 3: sc around, 3 sc in each corner
Round 4: (sc, ch 3, sk 1) around, (sc, ch 3, sc in same stitch) at corner

I made this using Bernat Baby Coordinates, Candy Baby with a J hook.

Craziness and Awards

So it has been an absolutely insane week.  We had Mother's Day, Prom, my mom's birthday, my graduation, my friend's wedding, and a work retreat this week.  Hence the lack of posting, but things should be getting back to normal now, or as normal as it ever is.  In any case, all the craziness was caused by an overabundance of good things happening at once, so I have no complaints.  I'm just happy that tonight I get a chance to just relax and take a deep breath, maybe watch a movie at home.


When I returned from all of the madness, it was to find that my blog had gotten a Liebster Award for new bloggers.  Thanks to Angie of The Enchanted Ladybug
 for the award.  The purpose of the award is to give good new blogs more exposure.

Rules for receiving your award:

1. Post about your win on your blog.
2. Link back to the blogger who presented you with the award.
3. Copy and past the award button to your blog.
4. Present the Liebster Award to 5 blogs that have fewer than 200 followers that you think deserve to be recognized.
5. Let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.


And the five newest recipients of the Liebster Award are:
1) There's Love in the Stitches: A great source for crochet stitch tutorials
2) Mama Netties Crochet: Crochet patterns using stitches from Love in the Stitches
3) The Curious Country Cook: Inventive ways to make yummy foods
4) Capricious Butterfly: Sewing and knitting craftiness
5) Champagne Maker: Humorous knitting

Stitch 2 Revisited

In an effort to use up my stash of variegated baby yarn, I am going back through the book and picking out stitches that lend themselves to variegation and making more baby blankets.  Stitch 2 is pretty and dramatic with variegated yarn because there is such a change in amount of yarn used per unit length.  There are sc, dc, and stretches of chains.  This means that the colors do not end up in rigid patterns.  There is a riot of color in this blanket.  I used the same yarn for this blanket as I did for the Rainbow Shell baby blanket.  Basically, if you are going to use variegated yarn, embrace the color changes, use it to your advantage.  I think this came out beautifully.


This baby blanket differs from the stitch 2 baby blanket in the yarn that I used and the border. 



Here's the pattern:

Ch 90, then work the stitch until the blanket is square.  Add the standard border and you're done.
Round 1: sc around, 3 sc in each corner
Round 2: dc around, 5 dc in each corner
Round 3: sc around, 3 sc in each corner
Round 4: (sc, ch 3, sk 1) around, (sc, ch 3, sc in same stitch) at corner

I made this with Bernat Baby Coordinates Candy Baby yarn with a J hook.