The Kate Blanket
A step-by-step guide to crocheting the Kate Blanket
Ever gotten halfway through a project and thought “Hang on, am I even doing this right?” We have 🙋♀️
That’s why we’ve created these step-by-step guides to walk you through the crocheting process.
Even if you've never crocheted before, we'll take you from zero to crochet hero in no time 🦸♀️
When it comes to learning to crochet, practice makes perfect.
Before we get started on the pattern we suggest you spend a bit of time learning the basic stitches you’ll need to complete your blanket.
The Kate Blanket is a cutie-patootie and a great beginner project. Made using double crochet you'll want to be confident with this stitch before you start 🧶 You'll also want to get a hang of tying a slip knot and chaining which is the first step in any crochet project.
You can use the yarn that came in your kit to practice these stitches. Once you've got these mastered you'll find the pattern a cinch!
Total beginner? 👩🏫
For a more comprehensive lesson on the basics of crochet visit our Learn How To Crochet page.
Onto the blanket!
💪 Remember learning a new skill can be a little challenging at first, and you’re bound to find yourself making some mistakes along the way. But as with learning anything, your brain and your hands slowly start to get the hang of it, muscle memory is created, and soon the thing you found tricky/daunting/scary is like second nature!
⚡️What you'll need
Your kit comes with everything you'll need to make your masterpiece. In your kit you'll find;
- 10mm hook
- 13 balls of Cardigang Chunky Cotton in colour 1
- 3 balls of Cardigang Chunky Cotton in colour 2
- A darning needle
- Made by me tag
You also want to have a pair of scissors and a tape measure handy.
⚡️Test your tension
Before you start your project, make sure your tension (how tightly or loosely your crocheting is) is juuuust right 🥣 We do this by making a “tension swatch”. It's a bit like goldilocks, if the tension is too tight, your piece will be too small, and if it's too loose it may not hold its shape and might be too big.
Gauge: If done correctly, your 10x10cm swatch should be 8 stitches wide and 4.5 rows high when made in double crochet on a 10mm hook.
To test this, grab your hook - use the yarn and hook that came in your kit. Chain on 14 stitches, then work in double crochet for 6-7 rows. Then measure a 10x10cm square and count your stitches and rows within that space to make sure you're crocheting at the correct tension.
If you've got more stitches or rows than the instructions say you should have, your work is a little too tight, and if you've got less your work is too loose. Adjust your tension by holding the yarn a little more tightly/loosely as you crochet.
🧶 Happy hooker, let's crochet!
Time to switch off. Stitch on. And whip up your cosy crochet blanket.
Chain
Chain on your foundation chain.
💭 Try to make your chain stitches as evenly sized as possible. Don't pull the loops too tight because you'll struggle to work into these loops in your first row. On the other hand, if you make your loops too loose, your project will look a little messy.
Double Crochet
Row 1
Your first 3 stitches will count as your first double crochet. Insert your hook into the 4th chain from the hook and do one double crochet. Then do one double crochet into every chain until you reach the end of the row.
Row 2
This row will be the foundation for the rest of your blanket. Chain 3 and turn your work - this is your turning chain and counts as your first double crochet. Double crochet into every stitch in the row.
Then just repeat!
FASTEN OFF
Once your piece measures approximately 122cm you're going to fasten off by cutting your yarn from the ball and pulling it through the stitch on your hook.
BOARDER
We hope you're having a blast making your blanket! 🎢 The finish line is in sight!
We're going to complete a round of single crochet in colour 2. This creates a boarder on out blanket and is the foundation for our shell stitch.
Make sure you do 3 single crochets into each of your 4 corner stitches. This will help ensure the edges of your blanket remain nice and square.
Final step! We're going to work in double crochet stitch but to create the fan/shell effect we're going to do multiple double crochet stitches, then we'll do a slip stitch, then skip a stitch, and then do another cluster into one of our single crochet stitches. This sequence creates the shell shape!
FINISHING
The good news, you're basically finished! The less-good news, we need to weave in our tails! Grab your darning needle and sew all the loose tails of yarn back into the blanket. This gives your blanket a nice neat finish.
D.O.N.E! You've finished your blanket, well done! Epic work 🤩 If this was your first-ever crochet project or one of many, we hope you had a blast making your bangin' blanket 💥❤️
In a bind and need a little more help?
Email us at stitchup@cardigang.com.au and we'll be able to help! Whether you're just starting out, or you've got a specific question or problem (dropped a stitch, no stress!), we're here to get you out of a bind.
