Beneath The Blankey Round 2: The Classic

In this year of first retirements, I’ve crocheted 4 baby blankets for friends.  It’s been a very welcome place of joy in a very strange 9 months.  I find that I fall in love with each piece over the course of its making.  This week, I’m sharing each of the 7 baby blankets I’ve ever made, here and on Instagram.  May it be a place of rest and joy for you, too, in this year we call 2020.

• Made: 2013
• Finished B.B. (before baby): I can’t remember, so 50/50? Fun fact – this was my first international baby, sent to a friend in the UK.
• Relative difficulty & PITA: Solid 5/10. Pattern-wise, this was all very straightforward. But an ever-expanding granny square means every round takes longer than the last. Think “99 bottles of beer on the wall” but every verse gets exponentially longer.
• Pattern Used: No real pattern for the body; it’s just one big granny square with a few color changes. I can’t find the original link for the border anymore, but it’s a take on simplified pineapple stitch lace.

Well.  After that first blankey, I had learned a few things.

1. I loved making baby blankets!
   • They provide the satisfaction of a whole blanket, at a fraction of the size!
   • They’re made for other people, so when you’re done with them, they graciously leave your house – so polite!
   • When it comes to babies, people are hardwired to ooh and aah and generally show (or at least feign) interest.  Carrying crochet work around and replying “I’m making a baby blanket” is a pretty reliable ego boost.
   • Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

So, this was all good news. However, I also knew that:

2. I needed to find something simpler and quicker than THE HEIRLOOM if I was going to keep this up.
   • This really comes down to the time investment – it just takes too damn long. And – it’s best to be honest with yourself – I am not fast enough or motivated enough to follow through.  (In fact, these days I just rule out these kinds of patterns.  To get something like this from me now, we need to have BEEN THROUGH SOME SHIT.)

Additionally…

3. It is ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL to keep key details like the pattern (or even that you’re doing anything at all) a secret from the family-to-be.  That way you can change your mind and let yourself off the hook (see what I did there) to your heart’s content.

Armed with this knowledge, I decided on one big granny square.  Which is the thing they teach every kid who learns to crochet.  And even if you know nothing about crochet, granny squares are probably the pattern you think of as the classic crochet blanket on the back of every grandma’s couch.

For a great pop culture history of the granny square in American TV, check out this article on Slate.

This appealed to me, since it meant there’d be no pesky joining-up stage after getting to blanket size.  (Full disclosure: I have a traditional granny square project in my WIP basket that I started 7 years ago. I’m still not excited about putting it together.)

I used a lighter weight yarn and smaller hook this time around –  more delicate than anything I’d worked with before.  And despite the staid, geometric-ness of it, I also found it light and ethereal and lovely.

In fact, the only downside of this project was that it got boring.  After all, you’re doing the same stitch, over and over…and over.  And because the rounds get successively bigger, the longer you work on it, the less you have to show for any individual crochet session.

But hey!  That just gave me plenty of time to consider border ideas.  Blanket borders are like fashion accessories – there’s something for everyone and the entire look of a blanket can change dramatically depending on the choice you make. I was excited to try something *fancy* to pair with the super organized look of the square body.  I’ve lost the link to the free pattern in the mists of time, but it’s essentially a riff on a simplified pineapple stitch.

Of all the blankets I’ve made, this one feels the most quintessentially “handmade baby blanket” to me.  And I like its chameleon-like ability to be at home anywhere – fancy enough for a christening, casual and unstuffy enough for tummy time.  Not forced into pink or blue, but still with a pop of personality.  The Audrey Hepburn or Coco Chanel of blankeys.  Just.  Classic.

Next time on Beneath the Blankey: join me as we fly through years of job and life changes before returning to steady hooking in 2019.