Last night I finished the crochet blanket. Here’s the front view:
And here’s the back:
Oh my. Were there a lot of ends to sew in. Actually, I can probably do a pretty good estimate.
36 squares containing 4 colours each = 144
5 connecting seams in 2 directions = 10
6 colours in first border round = 6
1 colour in second border round = 1
subtotal = 161
multiplied by 2 because there are two ends per colour
total = 322 ends to sew in
I did remember how to crochet in the starter ends… by the time I got to the border. That saved me from sewing in about 7 ends. So I really sewed in 315 ends. Little wonder I was a bit over this blanket by the time it was done.
Still, there’s a sense of achievement and I haven’t put myself off crocheting, or even crocheting blankets. I could do more of these (now that I’ve remembered how to crochet in half the ends) and there’s good reason to since, as so often happens, a lot of my friends are cooking up new humans simultaneously and I’m feeling the itch to make gifts. But I think I’d reduce the blanket colours to three or four, and do colour themes like all blues and greens, or reds and purples, or natural, white and brown. (And I’d really love to do a black and white skull blankets for my more gothy friends.)
While I came to love this cotton for it’s squishy vibrancy, despite the 50% acrylic content, I wish the ends would stay sewn in neatly. I know this is a problem with cotton and wonder if I could switch to a wool yarn. Something as soft and non-scratchy as possible, of course. And machine washable. With a good range of colours. I also think the fire-resistant quality of wool is a Good Thing when it comes to new humans.
Any recommendations?
Your retro baby blanket is adorable! I used to crochet afghans made of little pieces, and oh boy, I certainly remember dealing with all those yarn ends. 🙂
The blanket looks wonderful. I have great admiration for your sewing in of ends mammoth effort!!!
Have no recommendation ofr wool, but I do remember we used wool for granny square things when I was young!!!
That is waaaaay too many ends! Ick. Crocheting the ends in as you go is a bit easier (but I forget to do it). But the blankie looks wonderful 🙂
I just (re)taught myself to crochet. Me. Crocheting!
Going back a few posts, I have done a bit of thinking about the yarn and carbon-debt stuff too. There is a lot of yarn here that is Oz merino spun in Italy and most of the tops for spinning are Oz merino too. I think some of it comes from the place in Euroa cos the colours are the same. US wool is often too coarse, oddly cos they do have a lot of merino-derived breeds.