Crochet Baby Blanket

So, I'm getting older. Friends around me are constantly getting married or popping little ones out. It's crazy! I'm too young for this! But it's happening and I must cope with it. 

Baby showers are the thing right now. The way I see it is one gift should be handmade. It is so simple to go to Walmart and throw some baby crap in a basket and get it over with, but come on. Have a heart. Your friend is having a baby and is excited for their new addition. Your friend will be even more excited to know that you're excited too! Even if you're not excited, just make something anyway. Like I said, have a heart. 

I crochet a lot. I've been doing it since I was 7 years old. It's just a hobby that I enjoy even though it's "weird" for a 20 year old to be doing what old women do. I find it cool that I can make things. Hats, slippers, scarves, blankets, etc. It is time consuming but the end product makes me feel so accomplished. I like that, feeling accomplished. Everyone should feel that way once in a while! 

That being said, it's obvious I'm going to crochet something for this little baby. And its obvious its going to be a baby blanket. I love making little blankets! They go by so fast and it makes me feel accomplished more often!

I googled "Crochet Baby Blanket" and it gave me its googly list of crap. But mixed into that crap I found this cute "unique" looking baby blanket. Okay it's really not unique looking, but hey, whatever floats her boat.

On YouTube I found this video tutorial by Yolanda Soto Lopez. In it she shows you how to make this blanket that I absolutely love. It's not hard to make. It's so easy I was actually bored. The only reason why I kept on going is because of how fast this blanket was coming along. With all the time I spent making it, I completed it within about 20 hours. Fast, right? 

The baby I was making this for is a boy. The mother to be has this crazy animal theme with all these vibrant colors and zebra stripes. Well, I can't crochet zebra stripes. The day I figure it out I'll let you know. Promise. So I picked out the bluest of the baby blues I could find at JoAnn Fabrics. I purchased Lion Brand's Pound of Love baby yarn in turquoise. If this is the yarn you want to make your baby blanket with, you can buy it online here, or go to JoAnn's and see if they have it.

I used a size J 6.00mm crochet hook (My hook was blue too, but that was a coincidence.) 

In the video, Yolanda says to just chain in increments of 3. So that's what I did. I really didn't know how long it should be so I guessed. I crocheted about 42 increments of 3 giving me a total of 126 chains. I regretted having 42 increments so next time I will have only 40 (120 chains). Now for rows, I had 41. I really regretted having 41 rows and next time I will only have 40. The reason I regretted that row and those extra two increments is because there is a border around the blanket. I ran out of yarn on the last stretch of the blankets border! UGH! I sure as hell wasn't going to go back to JoAnn's and buy another pound of yarn!  So, I had to improvise and I eventually made it work. 

I asked mommy to be if she wanted the white around the border (I knew she wouldn't.) and she said no, black please. (Black, for a baby? Okay...) so I went to Walmart and purchased Caron Simply Soft in black. I only needed a little bit so I actually contemplated pulling out just enough to get around the border, cutting it, and stuffing it into by bag, but I'm pretty sure my conscience would have eaten me alive if I did that. So now I basically have a whole skein of yarn left over. I'll probably make a hat or something. Who knows? 

 It is a bit large for a baby blanket, but too small to be a throw.

Anyway, I completed the blanket with a black Picot stitch and it looks super cute. Very modern actually! I'm actually excited to make another one for my pregnant best friend! All in all, Yolanda does a great job teaching us this pattern. It's perfect for crochet beginners and it's perfect for making mommy to be a homemade blanket. She'll appreciate it. Trust me. Someone go make this blanket and tell me how you did. Also, I want to see what it looks like! 

This is how I would give the blanket as a gift. I'd even tie a cute ribbon around it with the ribbon fed through a button then finished with a bow. I didn't have any on hand but you get the idea, kind of.