Here is the finished blanket! As you can see it very long and narrow. Also on the bottom left corner it looks a bit off. This is because it is where I started and I originally inserted my last double crochet of the row into the wrong spot. But I fixed this problem so the rest of the edges don't look as bad. I really love the colour and am extremely happy with it.
I finally finished my blanket! I only ended up using one more ball of yarn (5 in total) and it is still a bit long and narrow but I think it looks better. I am very excited to finally be done.
Here are the steps I used to make this blanket:
1. I started with a slip know and then chained 90 stitches. On the video she chained 42 but I wanted to make mine bigger so I did 90 which was way to long. I would suggest choosing something around 66 stitches. You can chain as many as you want but you must make sure it is a multiple of 6 (not to sure why but that is what the instructions I followed said).
2. When you are finished your chain place 2 double crochets in the 4th chain from the hook/
3. Skip a chain and place 2 double crochets. Continue like this all the way down the foundation chain.
4. When you reach the end only place 1 double crochet in the last chain.
5. Chain 3 and then flip your work*
6. Place 1 double crochet in the first chain, skip 1 chain, and place 2 double crochets and repeat all the way down the row. The 2 double crochets should be in between the "v" stitches which means they are in the bigger holes (see video for a visual).
7. End with a slip knot and weave in or cut off all ends that are sticking out.
*flipping your work just means you turn your project around because you always want to be working from right to left
This seems like a lot of instructions and steps but when you follow along with the video and master the double crochet stitch it isn't hard at all. Jen sent me another video for this project as well to follow along with.
Here is the video:
This blanket actually was not hard to make at all, just took a lot of time. One mistake I made was making the foundation chain way to long which made my blanket very long and narrow. I really enjoyed making this blanket because it was a big project and when it started to get bigger it kept me warm as I was crocheting :) It was a fun project that I will definitely try again sometime in the future.
To make this blanket I used a double crochet stitch (dc). I started with a foundation chain as my first row and then used a double crochet stitch for the rest of the blanket.
Here is an example of me doing a double crochet stitch:
Double Crochet Stitch:
yarn over, insert hook into next stitch, yarn over, pull through first two loops only, yarn over, pull through both loops on hook
So I have finished my four balls of my yarn and sadly it isn't finished. I originally made the blanket too long with my foundation chain. What I am doing now is making the blanket longer width wise and after four balls it is still too long and narrow. I went to Michael's Craft Store again and bought another ball and I will re-evaluate if I will need yet another one when I am finished this fifth ball.
Here is a picture of the blanket after the first four balls of yarn:
For my second project I decided I am going to make a blanket. This is what I originally wanted to make. I went to Michael's Craft Store again with Jen to get my yarn. I got four balls of the Bernat Blanket yarn. I chose a burgundy colour which I think will look really nice. I have already started my project and have finished one ball of yarn. It is starting to look really good. I didn't realize how long it would take me but I am determined and excited to see the finished product. I am actually happy that I made a scarf first because it was a lot faster than a blanket and it was a great way to practice for my blanket which I hope turns out a bit better.
Here are the simple steps I used to make this infinity scarf:
1. Start with a slip knot then chain about 70 stitches (adjustable to how long you want your scarf to be).
2. Connect the chain into a circle using a slip stitch. Be careful not to twist it while doing this.
3. Use a half double crochet in the next stitch and in each stitch all the way around.
4. Continue around until you have reached desired width (about 6-8 rows).
5. Finish it off and weave in all end pieces sticking out.
This scarf was actually quite simple to make once I learned how to chain and how to do a half double crochet. It was fairly easy to learn and to catch on to. Jen sent me a video to follow along with that I referred to when I was stuck or needed help.
Here is the video that she sent me and that I referred to:
You will be able to see all the videos I use throughout this project on my Resources page.
For the most part making this scarf wasn't that difficult but I did make a few mistakes and learned some things that I will need to be aware of and fix for future projects. When I was done with this scarf it was quite heavy because it was thicker yarn that was initially meant for a blanket so when using this yarn to make a scarf it turned out fairly heavy. Another thing I realized was that I tend to make my stitches very tight which causes problems for me later because when I try to insert into the stitch again it is harder to do so. One more problem I had was that when I connected my foundation chain to make it into a circle it ended up being twisted which made the scarf now twisted. That is something I will have to pay more attention to and be aware of if I make an infinity scarf again.
The stitch used for making my scarf was a half double crochet stitch (hdc). I started this stitch for my second row after I connected my scarf at the ends to make an infinity scarf. I used the half double crochet stitch for the rest of the scarf as well.
Here is an example of me doing a half double crochet stitch:
Half double crochet stitch:
yarn over, insert hook into next stitch, yarn over, pull through first loop only, yarn over, pull through all 3 loops on hook
For my first project I decided to make a scarf. To start off making any project you must start by chaining to create a foundation chain. This gives you a base row to start your stitches from.
Here is an example of me chaining:
To chain you will start with a slip knot. Adjust it so that is fits to your hook. Then you will begin chaining by putting the yarn over the hook and pulling it through the loop. Continue doing this until you have the desired length of the scarf.
My passion project this year is crocheting. I chose this for my project because about a month ago my cousin Jen, who is my mentor for my project, started teaching herself how to crochet and from seeing her projects I was interested in it and thought it would be cool to learn. Right away I knew it would be something I could do for my passion project.
I started off my project by going to Michaels Craft Store to get some yarn and a hook so I could start my first project. Jen told me they have a large selection of yarn, and she was right! I did not expect to see as much yarn as I did. There was all different sizes and colours and I was shocked at all the rows of it all. I bought four balls of "Bernat Mega Bulky" yarn and a size 11 hook (see hook sizes on my Hooks page). After I bought the yarn I went to visit Jen. She was planning on teaching me how to make a blanket so that is what we started off doing. We ended up using a whole ball of yarn after just two rows and we realized that we would need A LOT more yarn if we wanted to make a decent sized blanket so we decided to take it all apart and make a scarf instead. It was pretty discouraging taking apart my work because I was very slow and the two rows took me about and hour to do. I realized that we would need thicker yarn to make a blanket. She then helped me start off the scarf and now that is what I am currently working on. One other thing I learned while making the blanket was that I made my stitches a bit to tight to start so it made it difficult later on when I had to go through those stitches again. So that is something I will have to keep in mind as I make this scarf.
There are a few different stitches that I learned that I will post videos of me doing soon.
