At Last – The Blanket is done

I have now finished the edge on my hexagon blanket.

So here are some pictures

First the edge

As you can see, I did four rows of trebles (US dc), alternating two colours, and then a row of double crochet (US sc) in the same gold as the centres, all finished off with a row of crab stitch. I didn’t use increases and decreases for the last two rows but I think even if it does ripple a bit it was the right thing to do. To be honest I was a bit tired of all the counting by then but with the crab stitch it would have been tricky to get it to work out right any other way.

These are the yarns I used for the edge.

Patons Fab

• Fern 2341
• Airforce 2312
• Canary 2305

The colours I had bought for the edging, especially the blue, were a bit more subdued than I had expected (buying them on-line) but I had wanted a fairly low key edging so that it would not upstage the main body. I think I am pleased with the final result.

So now pictures of the actual blanket!

This is the finished blanket

Bit tricky to photograph, and with the light so low I had to use flash!

Now a picture of the blanket on my bed as it will be if we have a decent summer.

And now a picture of me snuggled up on the sofa, as I will be in the winter, or as I may be this May once I’ve turned the heating off! Yes May and I still have the heating on. Well, I am baby-sitting a geriatric hamster at present and he has to be kept warm. That’s my excuse anyway.

And lastly a photo that actually enlarges to show the blanket closer to full screen. The photos aren’t brilliant but I think they give the general idea.

This will enlarge if you click

I started the blanket at the beginning of January and I think that I would have finished it by the end of March if I hadn’t allowed myself to get sidetracked with other things, like granny circles, cup capes and learning how to knit socks, plus all the other things I haven’t mentioned……………….

Some stats

• I think it probably took about 220 hours. Bit of a guestimate!
• There are 220 hexagons.
• Finished, it measures at it’s widest and longest approx 110cm (3’7½”) by 183cm (6′)
• I used Paton’s Fab DK weight acrylic yarn and a 4.5mm hook. (I think I crochet tighter than some people do.)
• I bought fifteen 100g balls and have about 320g yarn left over. (I ended up buying another ball of the gold for the centres, so I needn’t have worried about running out!)
• Cost, inc postage, about £28 but I do have all that yarn left over – enough for a cushion? I wonder.

Hope that isn’t too much blanket but I am so excited now I have finished it.

Crab Stitch

I was pleased with the crab stitch edging and will probably use it again but I found some of the explanations of how to do crab stitch not entirely clear, so I am going to try my own explanation for anyone who hasn’t done it before but would like to try.

Crab stitch is worked in the opposite direction to normal. That is from left to right for right-handers like me.

It is best worked on a base row of dc (US sc) and I started by doing 1ch just to loosen it up.

Insert hook in stitch to the right ******* go over and under yarn ******* then catch round hook.

Pull through stitch ******* then start to turn hook clockwise

Continue turning till you are back where you started ******* then pull yarn through as normal

One crab stitch complete

A row of crab stitches

Where Now?

Well I’ve ordered the yarn for the socks I’ve promised to make and the yarn for my next big crochet project but neither have come yet, so I am going to get started on a little something for my granddaughter’s birthday in June. So better not say what it is in case she reads this.

But I am going to make it out of these balls of yarn.