Wednesday 12 April 2017

Granny Stripe Rainbow Cloud Blanket

I was thrilled to hear our daughter is expecting a baby due August 17th. After a miscarriage in October plus facing challenges with this pregnancy, she waited longer than usual to make the announcement. 

Our daughter was encouraged by the appearance of a beautiful iridescent rainbow cloud on the day she announced she was expecting her 'rainbow baby'. She took it as a good omen.
I immediately started to think about what sort of blanket I could make for this baby. I thought this little one should have something extra special. 
When she sent me this photo of her iridescent rainbow cloud, I decided to incorporate the colours into my design. I chose yarn to mirror the colours in the clouds: aqua, light fern, lilac, soft red, vintage lace, and baby grey.
Our daughter likes neutral greys and whites. I love colour. This blanket is a compromise. The base is neutral soft grey incorporating a colourful stripe spaced every 6" plus a colourful rainbow-striped border. 
 

I love the finished look. A special Granny Stripe Rainbow Cloud Blanket for a special new addition to our family.
The blanket is folded and ready to go. We will take it with us when we visit Boulder this September to meet our new grandchild. 

To make this blanket, I followed free instructions for a Granny Stripe Blanket posted by blogger Lucy at Attic24. I love Lucy's colourful crochet blankets. Her brilliant colour combinations continue to inspire me.

For this blanket, I wanted to make a granny stripe with a different sort of look. Instead of changing colours every second row, I worked 15 rows in grey with one row in colour; essentially creating grey bands separated by pops of colour.

I designed the border to represent a cloud surrounded by rainbow stripes. 
  • For Round 1 (use Vintage Lace yarn), I followed Lucy's instructions for her border base on her Granny Stripe Blanket.
  • Round 2 (use Soft Red yarn) - single crochet back loop only (sc-blo) around, 3 sc-blo in each corner space, finish off and weave in ends
  • Round 3 (use Lilac yarn) - sc-blo around, 3 sc-blo in each corner stitch (2nd of 3 sc-blo in each corner space from R2), finish off and weave in ends
  • Round 4 (use Soft Fern yarn) - repeat R3
  • Round 5 (use Aqua yarn) - repeat R3 
Technical details for this Granny Stripe Rainbow Cloud Blanket are listed below for the crocheters out there who might like to make one too. 

Starting Chain - 163
Finished Size - 44"x62" (large crib blanket)
162 rows
Border - 5 rounds
Time to Complete - Approximately 30 hours (10 mins per row + border)
Hook size - 4 mm

Yarn Used (Light #3 weight):
  • Patons Beehive Baby Sport (100 g/3.5 oz)
    • Baby Grey (7 balls)
    • Vintage Lace (1 ball)
  • Bernat Softee Baby (140 g/5 oz)
    • Soft Fern (1 ball)
    • Aqua (1 ball)
    • Soft Red (1 ball)
  • Red Heart Baby Hugs (127 g/4.5 oz)
    • Lilac (1 ball)
Using yarn left over from this project, I have started on a smaller, more colourful blanket suitable for a stroller or car seat. As always, I will be sure to share photos when finished. 


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2 comments:

  1. It is a beautiful blanket Beth, you are a very talented woman.

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  2. Lovely blanket - great way to incorporate rainbow colours..

    ReplyDelete