Ta-da! Here's the ripple blanket so far. This is actually the second blanket I've started as I decided the first one was far too wide. Better to abandon early than commit myself to crocheting umpteen too-wide rows, I figured. I've now come to the conclusion that this second blanket is also a bit wider than I had intended, but it roughly fits in with recommended baby blanket sizes I have seen online, so I am sticking with it. I can now crochet at high speed and it feels great! I'm going to continue this on my lunch break tonight and will probably just carry it about with me wherever I go for the next wee while. Crochet's portability is another point to crochet in the great knitting vs. crochet debate, which crochet is still winning.
Here is the blanket in progress on our coffee table to give you an idea of the size. I'm thinking it should have been two zigzags less. Hmm... Any baby blanket owners reading this who would care to give me their thoughts? If I am going to have to start again, I'd rather know now, though I do reserve the right to ignore you and carry on regardless!
To be honest, this blanket is less than perfect in a couple of other areas too. The edge of the blanket has no stretch, so it goes in at the bottom and lies a bit furled up/wavy. I'm guessing this is because I cheated when crocheting into the foundation chain? But if I hadn't cheated, this blanket would still be nothing more than a foundation chain now, so I can live with that. I think I was also starting rows in the wrong chain at the beginning, which adds to the sloping-out edges at one side and makes the blanket more of a parallelogram than a rectangle. It seems to be going straighter now that I am starting in what I think is the right chain. I really don't mind these imperfections (and I'm sure they could be passed off as a design feature, making the blanket easier to tuck in at the toes or something) so we'll just have to hope the blanket's recipients are not too fussy either. I know this attitude would horrify the hardened crochet perfectionists of the world, but it certainly makes crafting more fun to me. All in all, this is a selfishly made blanket, chosen as a gift purely because it allows me to learn to crochet and made imperfectly because it makes the making more fun. Do people even want blankets for babies? I have no idea.
More updates to follow, though it will basically be the same blanket with additional stripes, so feel free to ignore!
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You could try blocking it once it is finished. not being a crocheter/knitter I understand that it involves pinning it into place and spraying it with water. I think Lucy at Attic 24 has done a post about it in the past. It seems to stop it curling up/being out of shape.
ReplyDeleteOh and yes - people will always want blankets for babies :)
ReplyDeleteLooks fab to me!
ReplyDeleteI don't own a baby blanket - surely though a bit big is better than too small :-)
Thanks, both. I feel much better now! Just as well, since the blanket is a whole three stripes longer already :)
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