New Project Spotlight: The Study of Texture crochet blanket
Today’s New Project Spotlight shines the light on The Study of Texture designed by Mikey from The Crochet Crowd. Mikey does an excellent job of providing both written instruction, graphs, as well as video tutorials so he covers several, if not all, of the learning options. I usually use the written instructions and only if I get unusually stuck somewhere do I head for his videos.
Crocheting blankets that have a variety of stitches has been of interest to me lately. One, because I like learning new stitches, or even just brushing up on stitches I haven’t used in a while, but two, it keeps me interested in the blanket. Yes, it does require being tethered to the instructions a bit more than working the same stitch or same combo of stitches but the bigger the blanket becomes, the longer it takes to get through a particular round of stitches. And by the time you’re back to where you started, you’re ready for the next stitch.
What You’ll Need (or what I used for The Study of Texture crochet blanket)
- 5 Caron Big Cakes yarn (603 yards/skein; 4-weight) in the colorway Cake Roll (The pattern called for 10 balls of Bernat POP! yarn at 280 yards each (2800 yards total). I had 4 skeins of Caron Big Cakes at 603 yards each (2,412 yards total) in the colorway Cake Roll. You’ll notice the yardage difference of about 400 yards that I was short. But I took a chance and…….lost. Well, not really, but I did have to remove 2 of the last rounds before jumping to the finishing round. It’s okay though. I recommend 5 skeins instead of the 4 I used).
- US-I hook
- Yarn Needle
- Scissors
- Mikey’s pattern instructions (over at the Crochet Crowd)
Matching yarn colors?!?!
Let’s just get this out of the way. Once I realized I was going to lose at yarn chicken, I tried to match a coordinating yarn and looked through my stash for a pink. Nope. How hard could it be to match a white or cream, right? Out of about 10 different brands (a few were even from my mom’s stash) I couldn’t find a match. And I didn’t want to buy any yarn for this project. I was on a mission to use up what I had.
I was however, shocked that I could not match a white or cream!! The Caron Big Cake yarn has a matte-like finish to it and so many of my other yarns had just enough sheen or gloss to it that it stuck out like a sore thumb. You could tell it didn’t belong in the blanket. Trust me, I tried stitching up a few different times with the different yarns, but alas, I decided to skip 2 of the last repeats instead. And I’m actually glad I did. Read on…
Increased hook size
The Caron Big Cakes are a decently sized 4-weight yarn. They are definitely not skimpy on the yarn girth. As a result I increased my hook size from an H (as indicated on the skein) to a J hook. Personal commentary here: who uses an H on this yarn?!?!? Holy yarn cakes that would be a workout.
My Pattern Notes for The Study of Texture
One lesson I learned on this blanket was that I had to pay extra close attention to where I placed the FIRST stitch of each row. Because this is worked in the round, if the prior row started with a chain-3, then it was counted as a stitch and needed to be stitched into on the current row. If it was a chain-1, then it was not considered a stitch and was not to be stitched into on the current row. I’m not used to keeping track of that, but just a head’s up.
When I was making this blanket it was so interesting to see how the self-striping yarn would play out. That is one of the beauties of working with self-striping yarn. The colors of Cake Roll are shades of pink, cream, white, and a couple shades of brown. Perfect for a baby blanket. And well, I had the serendipitous opportunity to gift this blanket as a baby shower present. I had no idea when I was making it who or where it would end up. And it even sat for a little bit needing the ends tucked (of course!).
When I received the baby shower invitation for one of my nephews and his budding family, I thought about how my mom started the tradition of crocheting a baby blanket for each of her nieces/nephews (ie. My cousins) for their babies. And I decided I would continue the tradition. So this baby is off to meet it’s new family.
What’s on your hook? Any traditions you have that incorporate crochet? Leave a comment below!
Final Thoughts on The Study of Texture crochet blanket
As with any of Mikey’s patterns, this one was easy to follow. Go look him up at The Crochet Crowd. He’s amazing! Thank you to Mikey for sharing The Study of Texture crochet blanket.
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Did you like today’s New Project Spotlight? If so, check out these other projects:
Wanna learn more about this series? Read my New Project Spotlight series welcome article.
Have a pattern you’d like to see featured? Drop me a note in the comments!
