Right after all of my holiday crochet gift-making was done, I got to work crocheting a baby blanket for my cousin, Crystal, in Gary, Indiana who was about to have a baby.
I didn’t want to use my “go to” yarn, Red Heart Super Saver, because I wanted a softer yarn for this project, but it had to be acrylic. I prefer to use acrylic yarn for afghan projects because I can’t imagine hand washing one, even a small baby blanket. And for busy mothers on the go, having something that can be thrown into the washing machine and dryer is a big time saver.
Finally, I wanted to use a textured stitch to create a somewhat dense fabric to keep baby warm.
The Yarn
Finding reasonably priced yarn in Hawaii can be a challenge sometimes, another reason why I use Red Heart so much; it’s readily available here. So I was happy to find Red Heart Soft Baby Steps yarn at my local big-box craft store. I decided to use an I (5.5 mm) crochet hook with this yarn.
The Stitch Pattern – Basket Weave Stitch
Back sometime in the 1980s, I crocheted a jacket that used front and back post double crochet stitches. It was one of, if not the, warmest fabric I’d ever crocheted, and I thought it would make a great afghan fabric. A few years later, I crocheted an afghan using these stitches, and yes, it’s the warmest afghan I own.
So I immediately thought that some kind of stitch pattern, using front and back post double crochet stitches would be great for a baby blanket. And because the Red Heart Soft Baby Steps yarn is extremely soft (aka limp), I settled on the basket weave stitch as one that would give the blanket a texture thick enough to keep a baby warm on those cold Indiana nights.
I used a four-by-four basket weave stitch pattern for this blanket. That’s four rows of four front post double crochets followed by four back post double crochets. Then, for the next four rows, you do the front post double crochets over the back post double crochets and the back post double crochets over the front post double crochets. To this, I added one regular double crochet stitch at the beginning and end of each row.
Basket Weave Baby Blanket Recipe
You really don’t need row by row instructions to make this blanket for yourself. Here’s how I did it.
- First, I needed to figure out how large a blanket I was going to make. According to my Crocheter’s Handy Guide to Yarn Requirements , a baby blanket is typically 30” x 30” (I’ll explain why my blanket turned out to be 28” x 28” in a moment).
- With the size blanket I wanted to make in hand, the Yarn Requirements Guide told me how much yarn I’d need, in this case, around 1,211 yards. Since the Soft Baby Steps yarn contains 256 yards per skein, I needed five skeins to get the 1,211 yards of yarn the blanket required.
- Next, I did a gauge swatch in the basket weave stitch pattern to determine the number of chains I’d need for the foundation chain. I wanted the basket weave portion of the blanket to be 26” x 26, to which I would add a two-inch border. I probably needed one more block of basket weave stitches (i.e., four extra post stitches) to give me that width, because the basket weave portion of my blanket turned out to be only 24” wide. Adding a two-inch border to that gave me a 28” x 28” blanket, so I wasn’t going to quibble over two inches.
- Then, it was a simple matter of crocheting in the four-by-four basket weave stitch pattern (with one double crochet at the beginning and end of each row) until the length measured 24 inches.
- Finally, I was going to do several rows of single crochet for the border but decided instead to add some longer stitches so that crocheting it would go a little faster. The border on this blanket consists of [2 rounds of single crochet followed by 1 round of half double crochet] repeated two times, and ending in 2 rounds of single crochet.
Crochet design doesn’t have to be complicated. The great thing about this recipe is that you can use it to create a wide variety of blankets and afghans, simply by using different textured stitch patterns.
The Yarn Requirements Guide for determining how much yarn your project requires and a decent stitch dictionary like Robyn Chachula’s Crochet Stitches VISUAL Encyclopedia are all you need to start designing your own, unique crocheted afghans and blankets.
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36 comments On Cousin Crystal’s Crocheted Basket Weave Baby Blanket
This is a beautiful blanket Patrice!
And I am definitely going to give this pattern a try. You also gave me two new books to add to my collection. As always very informative with all my questions answered within the post!
Glad you like the blanket and found the post useful., ZaMarah. I had fun making it, and it was easy too :-). Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
The blanket is so pretty Patrice! Makes me want to make one and have around for the next baby to join my circle. Thanks for the photos and all the information.
You’re welcome, Sedie. I enjoyed this project and love how quickly it worked up. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Patrice, it’s a lovely blanket and yes, such a warm blanket. Many times crochet blankets for babies will be airy and although very pretty aren’t really useful. Thanks for sharing the formula.
You’re welcome, Sara. That blanket might not work so well here since it doesn’t get that cold (although it does get down to the chilly low 60s during the rainy seaosn :-)), so the lacy ones work well here, esp. granny square blankets which I’ve seen a lot of.
As for the formula, the basket weave stitch demonstrated in the video uses a 4 x 3 (4 sts, 3 rows) pattern. I’ve seen others as well (e.g., 3 x 5). A good idea to do swatches to see which one looks best.
hello, thanks for sharing this pattern. I will make one for my niece.
You’re welcome, Girlie D!
I’ve always admired the basket weave stitch but have never actually given it a try! I’ve been working on a lot of baby blankets and I think I might finally learn 🙂
Hey Tash, the basket weave stitch is really easy. If you know how to front and back post double crochet, then you can do it. Glad my blanket has inspired you to learn the stitch. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
This blanket looks really warm and comfy, and it’s also very beautiful! I love it!
Hi Ana, my cousin tells me the blanket is indeed soft and warm. Glad you like it! Thanks for commenting!
Your baby blanket is very nice and thanks for those tips ! 🙂 basket weave is on my to do list. I too have the crochet stitches book by Robyn Chachula but I have not given attention to those guideline pages…now I will go back and read them:)
Dropping by from Sara’s Hookin on Hump Day party.
Preeti, you’re welcome! Glad you found the information useful. Thanks so much for checking out the blog post from the link party!
That looks great! So soft !!
Thanks, Rhondda. My cousin and her baby are really enjoying it and I had fun making it. Hope all is well with you!
Love this stitch, especially for baby items, it always turns out so soft.
Hey Heather, yes, it is a cool stitch! And easy to do once you know how. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
This is so pretty, I can’t wait to try it! The instructions sound easy, but I have a question about the border…what did you do when you got to a corner? How many additional stitches did you add to keep the corners so nice and square?
Hi Darra! I’m so glad you like this blanket. Yes, it is easy to make once you know how to do the basket weave stitch. As for corners, I crocheted 3 stitches into each corner to make them square. And on each succeeding round, I crocheted 3 stitches into the middle stitch of the 3 corner stitches in the preceding round. I like to place a stitch marker in that middle stitch so I know where it is when it’s time to do corners on the next round. Hope that all made sense. Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting.
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here is my version … (thank-you for the pattern and video!)
I chose not to do the border.
http://crochet.community/creations/582-basket-weave-throw-blanket
It looks great Debbie! Love the color! Glad my post helped you create your own version.
Can’t wait to try this. I am left-handed and always felt so awkward with posts. After watching the video and seeing he also looked awkward – I am ready to plunge ahead. Thank you for this lovely pattern.
Hey Dot, don’t worry about feeling awkward. The important thing is the end result. I’m glad you like the pattern. Good luck with your project and let me know if you have questions.
Hello,
I have a question on the border of your “beautiful” pink basketweave blanket. On the corners did you do three stitches to make the border rounded. Example: three single crochet, three 1/2 double at each corner?
Thanks!
I’m glad you like the blanket Kelli!! It was fun to make, and pretty easy too.
If I understand your question, I typically do three stitches at the corners. So, with this blanket, there are 8 rounds total that make up the border – 2 rounds of single crochet, 1 round of half-double crochet, 2 rounds of single crochet, 1 round of half-double crochet, and 2 rounds of single crochet. I crocheted three stitches in each corner: if it was a single crochet round, I did 3 single crochets; if it was a half-double crochet round, I did 3 half doubles. After I did the three stitches, I put a stitch marker in the middle stitch so I’d know where the three stitches would go at the corners of the next round.
If the corners aren’t sharp enough for you, you could also do 5 stitches in the corner like this – 2 sc or hdc (depending on the round), ch 1, 2 sc or hdc. Then on the next round, you do your increase in the ch-1 space. Experiment to see which works the best for you.
I hope I’ve made sense. Let me know if I didn’t, and I’ll try to do a better job of explaining how I did the corners.
Hi! I love this blanket and want to make it as a gift. I’ve read everything but I can’t find the pattern!. How many do I chain to get started? How many rows? Did I miss it somewhere? Thank you for your help!
Hi Nancy. So glad you like the blanket. If you look under Basket Weave Blanket Recipe subheading in the post, you’ll find directions for making the blanket. It’s not a pattern per se, but a “recipe.” So I don’t give row by row instructions; rather general directions for creating the blanket.
The video shows how to do the basket weave stitch. And directly under the video, I explain the basket weave stitch I used to create this blanket (a four by four basket weave stitch). The recipe goes on to to describe how I figured out how much yarn I needed and how wide to make the blanket. If you watch the video and follow the recipe steps, you’ll be able to create a blanket to your specifications. Hope this helps.
Here’s a reply I gave to Natalie who wanted to know how to do the border of this blanket:
Hi Natalie! Happy to hear you like this blanket. Sorry, no video at this point, but the edging or border is really easy to do. Here’s what I wrote in the blog post –
“The border on this blanket consists of [2 rounds of single crochet followed by 1 round of half double crochet] repeated two times, and ending in 2 rounds of single crochet.” That’s a total of 8 rounds as follows –
– Rounds 1 & 2 = single crochet;
– Round 3 = double crochet;
– Rounds 4 & 5 = single crochet;
– Round 6 = double crochet;
– Rounds 7 & 8 = single crochet.
You have to put 3 stitches in each corner in order create a square. I like putting a stitch marker in the middle stitch of those 3 sts so that when I come to them again in the next round, I know exactly where to put the next 3 stitches.
Hope this helps, and good luck!
Love this border. I book marked it several years ago and have come back to you for some advice. How did you work the stitches along the sides to start first row of the border? I did a HDC in each opening so it almost looks like a blanket stitch but am worried that using a sc for the second border row may pull the sides. Any advice?
Hi Rosette, so glad you liked the border of this blanket. Honestly, I got lazy and didn’t want to be doing so many single crochet rows, so I slipped some half double crochet rows in there. I have to see if I can figure out an answer from the photos and what I wrote because I crocheted it six years ago and don’t remember all the details.
I started the border with single crochets. It looks like I didn’t turn at the end of the rounds (your second question). It also looks like I did 4 single crochets per block. This gave me a nice, even first round so the sides don’t look “wavy” like they sometimes do when you crochet along the sides of a piece. It also meant that I have the same # of stitches on each side. So the border rounds are: (2 rnds of sc, 1 rnd of hdc) 2 times, ending with 2 rnds of sc.
You may have to experiment to find the best number of single crochets to do in each block down the sides. This will depend on your tension and how thick your yarn is. I’m a pretty “tight” crocheter and the yarn I used wasn’t that thick, so 4 sc’s per block worked for me.
Don’t be afraid to experiment. I designed this blanket with a simple but interesting stitch pattern and a border that wouldn’t take me long to crochet. So there are no “hard and fast” rules you have to follow. I hope this helps.
Good luck with your project. If you have more questions, you can contact me via directly at patrice@yarnoverpullthrough.com.
Another question – did you reverse each row of the border or establish one side as the “right side”?
Hi Rosette, I’m going to answer this question under your first comment so you’ll have everything in one place.
I love your answer to Rosette – who can remember how they did something after they have made it years before (or even weeks). This pandemic has put me on the sofa crocheting. I am on baby blanket #11 and coming across your basket weave baby blanket is my next one in line. If you need someone to walk the beaches with you…..just saying.
Hi Dot, so glad you liked my answer to Rosette. Would love to see your basket weave blanket once you’ve got it done. You can email a photo to me at patrice@yarnoverpullthrough.com. As for beach walking, I haven’t been in ages, if you can believe it. I really need to get back to walking one of my favorite beaches. Ours are open as long as we wear masks and social distance.
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