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:: Make This! An Age Before Beauty Blanket!

January 2, 2015

 

This blanket is super colourful and snazzy right? It’s such a good beginner’s project (and even though I am not a beginner, I loved making this too!) It’s fast to make and best of all it’s got a cute twist. Let me tell you more…

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How To Make An Age Before Beauty Blanket

You will need:

+ Balls of yarn (I used a mixture of acrylic yarns and pure wool, because that’s what I had on hand).
+ A 4.5mm crochet hook – don’t go too fine, this is a speedy project and we don’t want you to be fiddling about too much
+ Scissors and a yarn needle with a big eye to sew it together at the end

Stitches you need to know:
Chain Stitch and Treble Stitch (I use AUSTRALIAN crochet terms not US terms so make sure you are trebling like an Australian! Australian TREBLE stitch is the same as American DC)

(These videos show you how to get started with crochet, if you haven’t tried yet).

How to make it:

We’re going to make several long strips (like scarves) and sew them together at the end to make our blanket!

Let’s make the first strip…
Chain the same number of stitches as YOUR AGE. If you are 25, chain 25. If you are 40, chain 40.
Now chain an EXTRA 3 stitches (so you’ll have your age PLUS 3 chains!)
Skip the first two chain stitches closest to the hook and treble once into the next (third from hook) chain stitch.
Treble once into every chain stitch until you’ve got a full row (be sure to treble into the very last stitch, won’t you?!)
*Chain ‘up’ three (this counts as the first treble in the next row). Turn your work around so the other side is facing you.
Treble once into every stitch in the row below.*
Repeat until you have as many rows as you like and have a nice square or rectangle then fasten off.
Change your yarn colour (I just tie on a new colour and start crocheting!)
Treble once into each stitch in the row below once more, adding rows until it looks nice to you.

How long should you make each strip?
It should reach from your chin to your toes for extra cosiness! Lie the strip on top of you to see.

How many strips will I need?
+ If you stretch your arms out wide – that will give you the ideal blanket width for you!
+ The number of strips will depend on your age, too! You might have SIX strips… or SEVEN… or just THREE!

Why is this such a cute idea?
Because it really is! Everyone will be using the same instructions with different results which are special to them!

What should I do when I’ve got enough strips finished?
Make sure they are all the same length. Then use the yarn needle to sew them together neatly with small stitches (don’t pull your stitches too tight though! Your seams will pucker!)

What next?
Give yourself a big YAY!

Extra notes
+ Sew the strips together by placing them ‘best or right’ sides together and neatly stitching the edge. I used yarn that matched – changing colours as I went along. This keeps your stitched edges neater.
+ Make sure all your stitching together is done on one side of the blanket – the other side can be the SUPER neat side!
+ Weave your yarn ends in by threading them onto your yarn needle and weaving under and over into the same coloured part of your blanket a few times. Then snip them close to your work and they will disappear.
+ When you change colour – leave a nice long tail (about 20cm) so you can easily weave it in later – or just crochet over it.

Yarn notes
I used odds and ends that I had lying around so it’s hard to remember the exact details of what is what, but here goes! (I know people HATE acrylic, but I love the colours and the softness of acrylic yarns!)

+ Neon yellow from Spotlight – can’t remember the brand but they have neon pink too! (acrylic)
+ Pale pink, gold and blue are from Spotlight – just their cheap-ish $3 DK type yarn (acrylic – super soft!)
+ White is from Lincraft – $3 a ball DK yarn (acrylic – super soft!)
+ Magenta-ish colour, lavender and turquoise from a $2 shop at Northland (great colours – acrylic)
+ Paler turquoise and coral pink from Bendigo Woollen Mills (wool)

Let me know if you make one of these this year, okay? I would love to see!  I made this between Christmas and today, and did little bit by little bit. It didn’t take long at all. I am sure you would like to try too?!

Hope you are having nice, crafty times!

x Pip

19 Comments

  • Reply Anne-Maria April 29, 2016 at 2:55 PM

    My mother made blankets similar to these in the 1960’s ,we each had one on our beds , my mother made then so they were single bed blanket sizes ( in the days before duvets) .. So they were long enough to tuck in under the mattress at the sides ) But she made hers by knitting in double knitting stitch . I think each row was around 12 inches wide ( 30cm) She used to call them the “Joseph’s” as in Joseph and his coat of many colours. The ‘Joseph’s’ are still around today … My sisters still have them !

  • Reply Jill April 10, 2016 at 10:19 AM

    Such a gorgeous blanket! Do you think I’d be able to mix up the yarn weights? I have lots of 10ply I’d love to use, but also heaps of 4ply. I was thinking about doing some 10 ply, and then crocheting with 2 yarns at once using 4 ply. Would this work? Any tips to make it work?

  • Reply Lynn April 30, 2015 at 3:36 AM

    Is there a knit version??????

  • Reply Sally January 12, 2015 at 3:01 AM

    I’ve done several blankets similar to this, one for each son in his school colors and another to use up leftovers. I found it was easy to relax with such an easy pattern and easy to take along to work on the go, too. I have one caution: if you mix types of yarn (acrylic and wool), pay attention when you wash it. Unfortunately I now have a blanket with SOME smaller, shrunken strips because it was put in the dryer after washing. If you keep to one type of yarn, you’ll have less opportunity for that kind of mistake to happen. Oh, and Color Catchers are a god-send! Just some thoughts from someone who learned the hard way…..

    • Reply Meet Me At Mikes January 12, 2015 at 10:26 AM

      Oh no! THE DRYER?! You poor thing! x

  • Reply Andrea January 3, 2015 at 8:51 PM

    Pip! I can’t find a 4.5mm anywhere, can I use 4mm or 5mm?
    Thanks so much! xx

    • Reply Meet Me At Mikes January 3, 2015 at 8:55 PM

      Yes! For sure! x

  • Reply Jojo January 3, 2015 at 9:53 AM

    Please Pip, where did you get such gorgeous yarn? My only yarn retailer near me is Spotlight and there yarn selection is not fabulous. I love this blanket!

    • Reply Meet Me At Mikes January 3, 2015 at 10:55 AM

      Hah! SO… the yarn is a real mixture:

      Neon yellow from Spotlight – can’t remember the brand but they have neon pink too! (acrylic)
      Pale pink, gold and blue are from Spotlight – just their cheap-ish DK type yarn (acrylic – super soft!)
      White is from Lincraft – DK yarn (acrylic – super soft!)
      Magenta-ish colour, lavender and turquoise from a $2 shop at Northland (great colours – acrylic)_
      Paler turquoise and coral pink from Bendigo Woollen Mills (wool)

      Hope that helps. I know a lot of people HATE acrylic, but you just can’t beat the colours and it’s often softer than wool too!

  • Reply Erin January 3, 2015 at 9:33 AM

    Wow pip! This is amazing. You’ve got such an eye for colour. I always struggle combining colours!

    • Reply Meet Me At Mikes January 3, 2015 at 11:12 AM

      I just choose the colours I love at the yarn shop. Then I throw them together! Bingo! Thanks for your kind words about my blanket! x

  • Reply Clare January 3, 2015 at 2:21 AM

    What a lovely idea to include your age in this blanket! My favourite measuring technique ever to get the length! Maybe this can be my first crochet project (I have only been trying to learn crochet for a year…..). Thanks Pip x

    • Reply Meet Me At Mikes January 3, 2015 at 11:13 AM

      This is a good one to start with – you just need to learn TWO stitches! (NB I cried when I learnt to crochet. I found it SO HARD… and then BAM! I got it! No more tears from me now! LOL!)

  • Reply Rebecca Jee January 2, 2015 at 11:06 PM

    Such a sweet idea, Pip! I love it. This will definitely be my next blankie, after I finish the ripple blankie (which I’m going to give away). This one will be just for me!

    • Reply Meet Me At Mikes January 3, 2015 at 11:13 AM

      Aw that sounds ace to me!

  • Reply K January 2, 2015 at 10:07 PM

    This is very cool I love it will have to give it a whirl 🙂

  • Reply Catherine January 2, 2015 at 8:45 PM

    This is SUCH an adorable idea! I turn 25 on January 10th, so I’ll think I’ll make it one of my first projects for 2015 🙂
    Where did you get all these fabulous colours? Particularly love the minty green, purple and bright pink 🙂

  • Reply tracie @ beets+birch January 2, 2015 at 8:23 PM

    what a cute idea!
    i haven’t crocheted in years this could be a good project to get me stitching again.

  • Reply Alyson January 2, 2015 at 6:02 PM

    one of my goals for 2015 is to bloody well learn to crotchet, it seems I might have more success with only one needle! This is definitely on my starter list, you awesome lady! X

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