Ombré "Soft-Chevron" Blanket

One reason I decided to start this blog was to motivate me to finish projects that I start. If you don't know me personally & know this about me already...I have a bad, baaaad habit of letting projects go unfinished for years. Yes, years! I get super excited about one project but halfway through I'll lose steam & get super excited about the next one...all the while, convincing myself that I'll just "take a break & come back". While I was working on my first blog post, I dug up 3 (of many) projects that have been sitting aside for over a year & started finishing them up. They'll be posted on the blog soon. Current status: 2 down, 1 to go! 

This blanket is one of my yet-to-be-finished projects:

I had it stowed away ever so neatly into our awesome suitcase side table that was handmade & gifted to us for our wedding by one of my best friends, Niresha. Yes, I know, I'm spoiled! It's one of my few treasured belongings.

Even though the blanket was sitting in the same room as me for most of my time at home, being out of sight really kept it out of my mind. It silently slid off the ever-growing TO DO LIST in my head...until Steph, the genius crochet blogger behind All About Ami, mentioned it at church last Sunday & threw it back onto my list! Oh hello, blanket!

So how did this project begin? I was browsing through Ravelry & the name of a pattern stood out to me: ripples of happiness. I love that! I marked the pattern as a favourite but couldn't decide on which colours to use. Shortly after, I discovered Crochet in Colour's blog through Steph's post on Chunky Crocheted Baskets, which led me to the inspiration for the colours I chose. Right when I saw the post for this crocheted basket, I knew I had found the colour combo. That ombré colour palette was perfect for the ripples of happiness blanket!

I sat down with my first two colours in hand, ready to start Le Monde de Sucrette's ripple of happiness pattern but after reading the whole post once through, I chose to go with the pattern she based hers off of. I liked the pattern that Lucy at Attic 24 developed better because I preferred the look of the "soft-chevron" rather than the more pointy look. Now that I had the colour scheme & the pattern, I naïvely committed to a massive (in size AND cost) project: a coverlet for our future *hopefully* king-size bed.

Here are a few progress pictures I found from 2012, when I started this blanket:

It's interesting how some memories automatically attach themselves to a project that I'm working on, especially since I have a terrible memory to begin with! This project kept me company in Calgary when I was there in my last year of pharmacy, living with a lady who didn't seem to believe in having her home be any warmer than 16°C. It reminds me of the how fun it was to explore somewhat living one our own with Jamila. Like finding new recipes to try out to satisfy our sweet tooths (teeth? haha), snuggling in one bed to watch The Mindy Project so we wouldn't freeze alone, & painfully studying oncology and HIV together with tons of Goldfish snacks on hand. 

So where's the blanket now? The massive blanket measures at 58½ x 81 inches & we DO own a king-size bed. I'm currently working on finishing the grey section & am on the hunt for a darker grey that will work best to transition between grey & black. My new goal is to finish this before we move next spring....wish me luck!

Ombré Soft-Chevron Blanket, adapted from Attic 24's Neat Ripple Pattern

Pattern notes: I used a 6.50mm hook & medium weight yarn. For a thicker & stiffer blanket, you can use a heavier/thicker yarn OR a smaller hook & crochet tighter stitches. For a lighter, airier blanket, try a larger hook size. As you go along, check that the hills & valleys of the chevron align with the row below to ensure that you're not missing or adding stitches!

1/  Loosely chain a multiple of 14 to desired blanket width. This is your foundation chain.

2/  Ch 3. Starting from the fourth chain from hook (ie. the end of the foundation chain for the first time; the same stitch as ch 3 for the remainder of the blanket), 1 dc into each of the next 5 chains.

3/  2 dc2tog the next 4 chains. This creates the lower points of the chevron.

4/  1 dc into each of the next 4 chains.

5/  2 dc into each of the next 2 chains. This creates the higher points of the chevron.

6/  1 dc into each of the next 4 chains.

7/  Repeat steps 3 to 6 until you reach the end of the row. You'll end with 2 dc in the last chain. Turn.

8/  Ch 3. 1 dc into each of the next 5 chains, the first one going into the same stitch as the ch 3 (ie. the end chain of that row).

9/  2 dc into each of the next 2 chains.

10/  1 dc into each of the next 4 chains.

11/  2 dc2tog the next 4 chains.

12/  1 dc into each of the next 4 chains.

13/  Repeat steps 9 to 12 until you reach the end of the row. You'll end with 2 dc into the top chain of the ch 3 from the previous row.

14/  Repeat steps 2 to 13 twice so that you have a total of 6 rows. Switch to next desired colour by attaching with a slip knot to the last chain of previous row before ch 3. Cover the loose ends of both colours by crocheting around them; hold them along the chains and cover with your stitches.

15/ Repeat, as needed until desired length of blanket is reached.

*For detailed step-by-step instructions with pictures, check out Attic 24's Neat Ripple Pattern linked above - her explanation is precise & complete with pictures. She even draws out a diagram for you visual learners! The above pattern is specific to how I crocheted my blanket.