Summer if fast approaching, you guys! And what says summer more than a fun picnic blanket? Nothin’, I tell ya!
This easy afghan is made of Lion Brand’s new 24/7 Cotton yarn (scroll to the bottom of this post for a giveaway ending 5/8/16). It is much more durable for outdoor play at the park, beach, or anywhere! I loved working with this yarn, it has wonderful rich color and is probably the softest cotton I’ve worked with yet. I think you’ll be seeing more of this yarn on the blog!
In order to achieve the gingham look I worked lots of small squares using the C2C or corner to corner crochet method, then sewed them together. It was a bit time consuming, but so well worth the end result – I know my family will enjoy lunching on this baby for years to come!
My blanket measures about 45″ wide by about 30″ long, so I’m calling this a baby or kids size. Using this same method you could make a blanket as big or small as you like!
Below I have a quick technique tutorial video on the C2C method of crochet if you are unfamiliar – watch this first if you’ve never tried this method of stitching! It’s so so fun and works up so fast (teaser: I’ll be releasing a big summer project using this method, so learn it now!)
PATTERN:
- Get the ad-free, large print, printable PDF pattern from Etsy HERE.
- PIN this pattern to your Pinterest boards for later HERE.
- Add this pattern to your Ravelry queue HERE.
Materials:
–Lion brand 24/7 Cotton yarn (3 skeins each of Denim, Navy, Sky, and 4 skeins of White)
–Size H 5mm crochet hook
–Tapestry needle
Shop all my favorite tools & materials HERE!
The Squares:
Using the C2C crochet method, create squares that are 6 blocks by 6 blocks of C2C stitches. If you are used to following graphs with this method, the graph for our gingham squares would look like this:
Go ahead and make 20 each of these 6×6 squares in sky, denim, navy, and white. You should have 80 individual squares total at this point.
{I’ll wait while you go crochet your little heart out – Be sure to bookmark or pin to your favorite board on pinterest now so that you don’t lose it!}
Assembly:
After you have all those squares done, it is time to lay out your gingham pattern. Each row will have 10 squares.
- Rows 1, 3, 5, and 7 will be made up of alternating Navy and Denim squares (5 of each, for a 10 square row)
- Rows 2, 4, 6, and 8 will be made up of alternating Sky and White squares (5 of each, for a 10 square row)
Now, for the giveaway!Enter via the rafflecopter widget below to win all the yarn you need to make this project. Also be sure to head on over to the Lion Brand website – 24/7 Cotton is 20% off til the end of May!
This crochet picnic blanket is fun and simple, just the perfect thing for summer fun! I could also see this making an adorable summer gift wrapped up nicely in a picnic basket with a yummy lunch all ready to go!