Baby Blanket Marathon

So as I stated in an earlier post check it out here, I am a baby blanket making machine.  My family and co-workers are clearly fertile and I had four baby blankets to make in a very short time.  I posted the first one I made and you can see it by clicking the link above.  The blanket I am going to post now is one of my favorite blankets I have ever made.  That being said, it was kind of a pain in the ass.

I had this great idea to make a hybrid crochet/fabric quilt...  great idea, lots of work.   HOWEVER, it was awesome and dare I say, worth the effort.  I will give you the basics of how I did it.  I recommend trying it for someone you REALLY love!

Crochet Granny Quilt

What you need:

completed granny squares

matching yarn

fabric (I used 1.5 yards which was not quite enough, but that was all that they had so I made it work)

crochet thread in a coordinating color

What you do:

The first thing I did was make up a square in my desired granny pattern.  Using the dimensions from that square, I decided how big I wanted my blanket and determined how many crochet squares I would need as well as how may fabric squares I would need for the blanket.

Once I knew what I needed, I made all my granny squares.  This was the easy part.

Then, I made fabric squares the same dimension as the granny squares, adding 1" to the width and height to allow for a 1/2"seam allowance all the way around.  Be sure to cut two for each square that you need.  Layer two squares, right sides facing, and sew three sides together.  Clip the corers, turn and press.  Turn in the seam allowance on the fourth side to the inside of the square.  There is no need to stitch this edge, it will be closed in the assembly of the blanket.  Repeat with the remaining squares.

Now for the fun part.  Sewing together the squares.  In case you didn't catch it, that was sarcasm.  This is what sucked.  I did not feel that I could accurately sew them together with a machine, sooooooo, I stitched them together by hand using a thin crochet thread.  I did a basic running stitch, and used a coordinating color.  THIS WILL SHOW ON THE FINISHED PROJECT!  Take your time, it will be worth it.  I also made sure to stitch the corners of the fabric squares together where they meet for added stability.  I also did this with the crochet squares to prevent stretching.

Once the squares are all stitched together, it is time for the edging.  Since the fabric squares do not have holes to get the crochet hook into, you need to blanket stitch across their edges.  I made sure to count how many edge stitches I would get in each granny square and did an equal number of blanket stitches in each fabric square so it would be a smooth transition all the way around.  Use the same color yarn you will be using for the first row of edging when doing the blanket stitches.  I did three rows of border, each a different color, around the blanket.  At the corners, I duplicated the corners of my granny square pattern.

Weave in any loose yarn ends and holy cow you are done.  It is a labor intensive process, but for the right person, a labor of love.  Mine definitely went to a deserving and appreciative recipient.  That is all a girl can ask for.

 

 

***Like this blanket?  Check out my Crochet Backed Quilt or my Quilted Granny Square Blanket .