This blanket is called the Corner Temperature Blanket as it's worked two sides at a time, starting from a corner and working outwards, always forming/staying a square at the end of each row. #CornerTemperatureBlanket
For the first 6 months, 1 row a day = 2 sides then for the last 6 months of the year, 1 row a day = 1 side.
Size:
If you make the blanket as stated for a full 12 months then it will be a king size blanket, at 6 months the blanket is queen size. If you use a smaller gauge yarn (like this..) then it will be a queen size for the full 12 months or if you're wanting a smaller blanket maybe for a double bed try this yarn or for a single bed, then you may like to try this yarn.
Firstly, you need to do a little bit of homework, sorry, but it makes things easier later on and it's the first step in planning your colours.
Homework: you need to determine what your average temperatures are.
For me, here in Australia, I visited the Bureau of Meterology website to find out what the average cooler & warmer temperatures are.
You need to find this out as these two colours will feature heavily in your blanket.
If you look at the blanket below, you will note there is a lot of mint green & burnt orange as the (two) average temperatures use those colours.
We have a lot of cooler weather here, it rarely snows and the summer rarely gets too hot. So my temperature rangers were (in Celsius):
39c +
38c - 34c
33c - 29c
28c - 24c
23c - 19c
18c - 14c
13c - 08c
07c & under
Then you can play around with your colour choices, I browsed the site American Yarns to get a feel of the colours.
I came up with the 'temperature gauge' below.
Now is the time to order your yarn, remembering that the amounts will vary for each person as it's hard to predicate the exact amounts as we can't predicate the weather! Hook size for this yarn is a recommended 5.5mm
Here as an approximate guide for the above gauge/colours:
Temp Colour # of balls needed
39c + Dark Orchid x 1 ball
38c - 34c Hot Red x 1 ball
33c - 29c Grenadine x 1 ball
28c - 24c Perfect Pink x 1 ball
23c - 19c Coral x 4 balls (second most common average temp)
18c - 14c Mint Green x 7 balls (most common average temp)
13c - 08c Light Grey x 3 balls
7c & under Aran x 1 ball
Tip: as you may need to top up your yarn stash throughout the year, it's best to use a commonly made yarn/colourway.
Once you have ordered & received your yarn, it's time to create your swatch reference card. Trust me, you will use this lots, so it's best to make a decent one at the start.
It's a good idea to keep a notebook or a note on your phone to record the temperature each day as you may not always get a chance to crochet the row each day!
Time to crochet:
Day 1: First row is just a granny square!
| Day 1 of the Corner Temperature Blanket |
Day 2: We work on two sides of the granny square only.
| Day 2 of the Corner Temperature Blanket |
Day 3: Starting the row above the start of row 2.
As you can see from the image below, I started the row where the scissors are pointing and ended the row where the crochet hook is pointing.
| Day 3 of the Corner Temperature Blanket |
As you can see, you just keep starting back at the start of the previous row, working only two sides at a time.
Now after 6 months, check the size of the blanket. Is it just right or getting too big? If it's getting too big, then instead of working in granny stitch on two sides per day then switch to Single Crochet (SC) and work one side per day.
Keep on crocheting, keep enjoying the crocheting but if you feel you need to take a short break, then just keep recording the daily temperatures and come back to it when you feel up to it.
| #CornerTemperatureBlanket |
Keep me posted, I'd love to see your #CornerTemperatureBlanket or tag me @CraftyRie on social media.
Check out American Yarns for a great selection of yarn to choose from, they have a great colour range, lots of stock and friendly service.
American Yarns helped me out with this project by supplying me with this gorgeous yarn, thank you!