Assembling a blanket tutorial

Since I started with the charity blanket project I have been trying to figure out which is the assembly method that works best (and quicker) for me. My personal favourite method is crochet the squares together using the yarn matching the square I put on the top (of the two I am stitching together). However it is very time consuming to be changing colours, and when doing a charity project I not always have all the colours of yarn left.

So I have been inspired by a quilting technique for this one... chain stitching the squares together! Here it is how it goes.


First lay out all your squares and play around with them until you have the design and blanket shape you like. We are going to be stitching vertical or horizontal rows together. Two rows at a time, put one row of squares on top of the other, right sides facing in, and start stitching together the first set of squares (right as you would do when making a patchwork quilt).

If you have two identically made squares you can sew each crochet stitch together. If you are working with different pattern squares they just need to be matched as best as possible, making sure the borders join nicely. I like sewing only the outer half of the crochet stitch so the inner one creates a lovely border for each square on the right side of the blanket.

Once the first set is done, do not cut the thread! Align the next set of squares right next to it to make sure that you are following the right pattern and get ready to chain stitch!

Now you can start stitching again, making sure you do not leave too much yarn in between the squares. And keep going until the complete row is finished... then, and only then, cut the yarn. You should end up with a lovely banner of squares like these:

Now do the same with all the rows. Once all your squares are stitched up in rows of two it is time to add the rows together. I cannot tell you enough to check that the lay out is Ok. At this stage I normally lay the whole blanket up in the table (or floor) to check that I have not made mistakes that later on will be more difficult to correct. Even though I was paying extra attention with the tutorial blanket I managed to have to re-do my stitching a couple of times... so again check, check, check.

And voilà, now you only need to stitch the columns all the way from top to bottom and you have a finished blanket. I generally finished them up with a slim border in a matching colour, but I leave that part to your imagination.

Will be posting the finished model very soon, but check out the Introducing the Blanket Charity Project post for some ideas of finished models!

Nati xx