Granny/Crone Square Blanket

These are a dime-a-dozen, I know.  The quintessential crochet project.  But this turned out so gorgeous, I just had to share it.

A certain big craft store was having an end-of-season yarn sale.  I couldn't resist.  Cleckheaton's Country yarns were all half-price!  So I bought some (24 balls), in the loveliest colours.

I ummed and ahhhed over what to make with them, as you do, when you buy yarn without a project in mind.  In the end, the yarn itself was screaming to be made into a blanket.  And with so many colours, I could try something a bit unique.

No two squares are the same.  There are some with the same colour combinations, but with the colours in different orders.  The overall effect is stunning.

I enlisted D, with his programmer's brain, to help me work out all possible combinations.  I remember from high school maths was that you need to use factorials to work out permutations.  That's the limit of what I remember, however.  Seven colours (not including the cream for edging/joining), each square with four rounds, with no repeats of any colour within a square.  The possibilities seemed endless!  Mathematically, of course, there is a limit.  It turns out that the limit was 840 different combinations.  I didn't have enough yarn to make all of those (nor the money to buy more), so I just included as much variety as I could, to try to even it out.  I ended up with 108 squares, so  9 x 12 to make the blanket.  Then each square was edged with cream, before being sewn together with cream.

All 108 squares, laid out according to the outer colour (not the cream, obviously)

One thing that I did was weave in my ends as I went, at the end of each round.  It really didn't take long, and meant that I was much more motivated to finish the blanket, because I knew I wouldn't have to do all the ends, at the end!  I wove in the ends using a darning needle, feeding it through the back loops of the row.  This meant that they were not only woven in, but also stitched in, making them less likely to come out.

Needle through the back loops

Needle through the back loops

Insert yarn through eye of needle

Pull needle through loops

Tail tucked in, neat and ready for the next round of stitches

I used a large cardboard box to do my blocking on.  It was a packing box for large hanging pictures, so really solid (two thick layers of corrugated cardboard).  My fingers got sore from pushing pins through it so many times!  I had to do it in four batches, owing to not having enough pins to do more at once, but I had a lovely sunny day on my side, so I'd pin them on, spray with water, and then out into the yarn in full sunshine for a couple of hours to dry, and voila, all done in one day!

Enjoying the sunshine!

I joined on the top side of the blanket, so it has that nice ridged effect.  I tried something new with the joining as well.  Previously when I've made crone/granny square blankets,I've joined squares one by one, in lines/rows, and then joined those rows together.  This time, I tested out doing a running row of joins - not fastening off between joins, but stitching from the last corners of the first set, straight into the first corners of the next pair.  Hopefully the photos will help you to understand what I mean!  This uses less yarn, means less joins, less ends that can come loose, and I think was quicker overall.

Top two squares were joined as normal, and then bottom two squares placed next to them and continued stitching

This is how it looks once you've joined a few rows in this fashion

Five rows joined, still more to go!

Then, I simply did the same joining method across the blanket, drawing the unjoined sides together.

The second set of joins crosses over the first as you essentially fill in the gaps

Finally, I edged the whole thing with three rounds in cream following the same crone/granny pattern, ending with one round of dc to give it a neat edge.  It probably needs to be blocked as a whole now, to really neaten it up, but I'll save that for another day.  It looks pretty beautiful now just as it is!

The finished product!

It's Spring here, so we may have to wait until next Autumn rolls around to really appreciate this one, but I am looking forward to snuggling under it when the weather is cool.  In the meantime, I just need to keep it out of reach of a certain cat ;)

PS.  In his spare time, D is now working on a version of his program with more features, to help me in my future blanket-planning endeavours!  What a fab man he is <3

Fingerless gloves

I have made a couple of pairs of gloves, for D and for S, from this pattern, and they turned out great.  But I wanted something a little different for myself, and I had this gorgeous 2ply merino/silk blend yarn that I had bought on a whim (which I rarely do).  There was no way I could use that pattern to make gloves for myself...so I altered it.

Mostly, I winged it, actually.  I did, thankfully, have the sense to start writing down what I was doing, part-way through the second glove.  And then once they were made, I tweaked it a bit more, to get the fit a little better, and made a second pair in the same yarn (but a different colour).  This time, you'll be glad to hear, I made the cream-coloured pair from my pattern, to check that it works!

My first pair, in a lovely pale green.  These are not identical to the second pair, as I changed the pattern a little more as I was testing it out & tweaking it.  

The completed second pair, in cream.

So, here it is.  Fingerless gloves in 2ply.

You will need the following: 1 ball of a nice fine 2ply yarn (I used Paton's Embrace 50gm, which is 90% merino/10% silk, 340m), and a 2.5mm hook.  Regarding the yarn, I made a pair of gloves with one ball, but only had a few inches to spare.  If you don't feel like playing yardage chicken, you may want two balls, but you would only use a little of the second ball.  If you make a mistake & have to frog back a bit, it'll stretch your yarn slightly & you may get some extra stitches out of it that way, but it wouldn't be my recommended method!

Please note that all patterns I write use UK/Aus terminology, and adjust accordingly if you're used to US terms!
Turning chains do NOT count as a dc in this pattern. Follow the same pattern for both right and left hands, until you get to the Fingers, which is where it changes. They are only small changes, but they just make each glove a tiny bit more comfortable for each hand, rather than having carbon copies that need to fit around your fingers.
To do a dc2tog, insert yarn into the work, yo, draw the yarn through (2 loops on hook), insert yarn into next stitch in work, yo, draw the yarn through (3 loops on hook), yo & draw through all 3 loops on hook.

Note that on the finished product, the fingers look a bit...wonky.  This is due to the shaping of the fingers.  When they're on your hands, this will not be an issue.

BOTH HANDS
Cuff:
Foundation chain: ch 21
Row 1: Dc in 2nd chain from hook & in each ch to end (20 dc), ch 1, turn.
Row 2-59: Dc in each dc of previous row, working through the back loop only (20 dc), ch 1, turn.
Row 60: DC in each dc of previous row, working through the back loop only (20 dc). Fold the cuff piece so that the starting edge is held next to the working edge, and join along these edges with sl st to form a complete cuff. Turn to RS out. Do not fasten off.

This is what the cuff looks like before joining. Stitching in the back loop only gives a ribbed effect.

Hand:
From here, you will be working in rounds, joining at the end of each round, but then turning and working back in the opposite direction, unless otherwise instructed.
Row 1: Ch 1, 61dc evenly around top of cuff (1 dc in side of every row of cuff plus 1 dc in the join; 61 dc), join with sl st to first dc of this row; ch 1, turn.
Row 2: 19 dc, inc 2dc in next st, 19 dc, inc 2dc in next st, 19 dc, inc 2dc in next st, 1 dc (64 dc), join with sl st to first dc of this row; ch 1, turn.
Row 3-8: Dc in each dc of previous row (64 dc); join with sl st in first dc; ch 1, turn.
Row 9: (Begin opening for thumb) Dc in each dc of previous row (64 dc), do NOT join; ch 1, turn.
Row 10-36: Dc in each dc of previous row (64 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 37: (Close top of thumb opening) Dc in each dc of previous row (64 dc); join with sl st in first dc; ch 1, turn.
Row 38-47: Dc in each dc of previous row (64 dc), join with sl st; ch 1, turn. Do not fasten off.

The beginning of the thumb opening.

Thumb opening closed with slip stitch (Row 37)

A few more rows of dc after the closing of the thumb hole.

RIGHT HAND
Fingers:
Row 48: 24dc, ch 5, skip next 17 dc, 23 dc (47 dc), join with sl st; ch 1, turn.
Row 49: 24dc, 1dc in each ch, 23 dc, join with sl st (52 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 50-51: 52 dc; ch 1, turn.  Do not fasten off.

The 5 chains form the divide between the ring and little fingers (Row 48).  This will become more obvious as you keep working.

Row 48 from another angle.  A gap should be left unworked on the previous row.  You'll come back to this later.

Glove on hand with 5 chains between little & ring fingers.

Index Finger:
Row 1: 10 dc, ch 5, skip next 33 dc, 9 dc (19 dc), join with sl st; ch 1, turn.
Row 2: dc in each st until start of chain, 1 dc in each ch, dc in each st until end of row, join with sl st (24 dc), ch 1, turn.
Row 3: 24 dc, join with sl st; ch 1, turn.
Repeat Row 2 until finger reaches desired length.
Final row: 1 dc, dc2tog, 11dc, dc2tog, 10dc, join with sl st (22 dc). Fasten off.

Row 1 of Index Finger.  Again, 5 chains form the divide between the index and middle fingers.

Middle Finger:
Join yarn with sl st in one of the 5ch between index and middle finger.
Make sure that you are going to be stitching in the correct direction to continue the pattern.
Row 1: Dc in each ch until last, dc2tog (last ch, first dc on hand of glove***), 7 dc, ch 5, skip next 19 dc, 7 dc, dc2tog (last dc on hand of glove***, first ch), dc in each ch back to first dc (19 dc), join with sl st, ch 1, turn.
Row 2: 24 dc, join with sl st; ch 1, turn.
Repeat Row 2 until finger reaches desired length.
Final row: 1 dc, dc2tog, 10 dc, dc2tog, 9 dc, join with sl st (22 dc). Fasten off.

Ring Finger:
Join yarn with sl st in one of the 5ch between middle and ring finger.
Make sure that you are going to be stitching in the correct direction to continue the pattern.
Row 1: Dc in each ch until last, dc2tog (last ch, first dc on hand of glove***), 19 dc, dc2tog (last dc on hand of glove***, first ch), dc in each ch back to first dc (24 dc), join with sl st, ch 1, turn.
Row 2: 24 dc, join with sl st; ch 1, turn.
Repeat Row 2 until finger reaches desired length.
Final Row: 1 dc, dc2tog, 10dc, dc2tog, 9dc, join with sl st. Fasten off.

Little finger:
Join yarn with sl st in one of 5ch between ring and little finger.
Make sure that you are going to be stitching in the correct direction to continue the pattern.
Row 1: Dc into each ch until last, dc2tog (last ch, first dc on hand of glove***), 17 dc, dc2tog (last dc on hand of glove***, first ch), dc in each ch back to first dc (22 dc), join with sl st, ch 1, turn.
Row 2: 22dc, join with sl st, ch 1, turn.
Repeat Row 2 until finger reaches desired length.
Final Row: 1 dc, dc2tog, 9 dc, dc2tog, 8 dc, join with sl st (20 dc). Fasten off.

Thumb:
Join yarn with sl st to top of thumb hole.
Row 1: Ch 1, 25 dc down side of thumb hole, dc2tog twice, 1 dc in bottom of thumb hole, 25 dc up the other side, dc2tog twice, 1 dc at top, join with sl st (56 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 2: 23 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 22 dc to top, join with sl s (52 dc)t; ch 1, turn.
Row 3: 20 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 21 dc to top, join with sl st (48 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 4: dc in each st of previous row, join with sl st (48 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 5: 19 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 18 dc to top, join with sl st (44 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 6: 16 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 17 dc to top, join with sl st (40 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 7: dc in each st of previous row, join with sl st (40 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 8: 15 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 14 dc to top, join with sl st (36 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 9: 12 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 13 dc to top, join with sl st (32 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 10: dc in each st of previous row, join with sl st (32 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 11: 10 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 11 dc to top, join with sl st (28 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 12: 9 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 8 dc to top, join with sl st (24 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 13-16: dc in each st of previous row, join with sl st (24 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 17: 2 dc in first dc of previous row, 9 dc, dc2tog twice, 9 dc, 2dc, join with sl st (24 dc); ch 1, turn. Repeat Row 17 until thumb reaches desired length. Omit ch 1, turn on final row, and fasten off.  Weave in ends.

Yay!  One glove complete!

LEFT HAND
Follow glove pattern as above until end of Row 47.
Fingers:
Row 48: 23dc, ch 5, skip next 17 dc, 24 dc (47 dc), join with sl st; ch 1, turn.
Row 49: 23dc, 1dc in each ch, 24 dc, join with sl st (52 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 50-51: 52 dc; ch 1, turn.
Row 52: 9 dc, ch 7, skip next 33 dc, 10 dc (19 dc), join with sl st; ch 1, turn.

Index Finger:
Row 1: dc in each st until start of chain, 1 dc in each ch, dc in each st until end of row, join with sl st (24 dc), ch 1, turn.
Row 2: 24 dc, join with sl st; ch 1, turn.
Repeat Row 2 until finger reaches desired length.
Final row: 1 dc, dc2tog, 10 dc, dc2tog, 9 dc, join with sl st (22 dc). Fasten off.

Middle Finger:
Join yarn with sl st in one of the 5ch between index and middle finger.
Make sure that you are going to be stitching in the correct direction to continue the pattern.
Row 1: Dc in each ch until last, dc2tog (last ch, first dc on hand of glove***), 7 dc, ch 5, skip next 19 dc, 7 dc, dc2tog (last dc on hand of glove***, first ch), dc in each ch back to first dc (19 dc), join with sl st, ch 1, turn.
Row 2: 24 dc, join with sl st; ch 1, turn.
Repeat Row 2 until finger reaches desired length.
Final Row: 1 dc, dc2tog, 11dc, dc2tog, 10dc, join with sl st (22 dc). Fasten off.

Ring Finger:
Join yarn with sl st in one of the 5ch between middle and ring finger.
Make sure that you are going to be stitching in the correct direction to continue the pattern.
Row 1: Dc in each ch until last, dc2tog (last ch, first dc on hand of glove***), 19 dc, dc2tog (last dc on hand of glove***, first ch), dc in each ch back to first dc (24 dc), join with sl st, ch 1, turn.
Row 2: 24 dc, join with sl st; ch 1, turn.
Repeat Row 2 until finger reaches desired length.
Final Row: 1 dc, dc2tog, 10dc, dc2tog, 9dc, join with sl st. Fasten off.

Little finger:
Join yarn with sl st in one of 5ch between ring and little finger.
Make sure that you are going to be stitching in the correct direction to continue the pattern.
Row 1: Dc into each ch until last, dc2tog (last ch, first dc on hand of glove***), 17 dc, dc2tog (last dc on hand of glove***, first ch), dc in each ch back to first dc (22 dc), join with sl st, ch 1, turn.
Row 2: 22dc, join with sl st, ch 1, turn.
Repeat Row 2 until finger reaches desired length.
Final Row: 1 dc, dc2tog, 9 dc, dc2tog, 8 dc, join with sl st (20 dc). Fasten off.

Thumb:
Follow instructions as for Right Hand Thumb.

Two gloves complete!

*** Special instructions required!! The first/last dc of the hand, in these cases, has actually been stitched in previously as well. The dc's joining the chains that separate each finger, have already been stitched into this same stitch. The reason you are stitching into this stitch again, is to avoid having a small hole between the base of each finger. Hopefully the photo illustrates what I mean. Be careful not to stitch into the side of the dc that joins the chain to the glove.

You might want to click to view this larger, if you are confused!

Please let me know if you find any errors in my pattern :)

(c) 2013 Kirsten Willis.  Please do the right thing.  Give credit where credit is due.