I like to crochet. Actually, I LOVE to crochet. I kind of go through this awful, cranky withdrawal when it’s been too long between sessions of sliding yarn through my fingers. With days filled with the Good Chaos of two little munchkins, it has been a therapy of sorts to create things on my own time.
But you should know there are some things I just don’t make. Like blankets. I am all about long-term commitments like marriage to the lovelovelove of your life, and best friends forever, and keeping your jeans from high school, and partners in crime… but yarn-commitments are just a different story. Blankets mean the same thing over and over and over until the end of eternity; there is no expected final product until weeks, months, or years later. I need instant gratification, a complete disregard for the virtue of patience, and an I-can-maybe-rock-this-project-out-in-like-three-late-nights kind of attitude.
So if you’re a Short-Term Commitment Yarnist like me, then this is the blanket for you. It’s great for newborns, covering up your littles in their car seats, photo props, a child-sized lap blanket, or even a blankie for your kiddo’s favorite doll (American Girl Doll Aficionados, I’m lookin’ at you!) Short-term commitment, but you can still pour oodles of love into every stitch. Here’s the pattern – ENJOY!
CHILDREN’S LAP BLANKET
Materials
- Worsted Weight Yarn (two strands at once) I used nearly one full skein of I Love this Yarn – Acrylic (355 yards)
- Crochet Hook Size P
- Darning Needle (for weaving in ends)
Abbreviations
- r = row
- ch = chain
- st = stitch
- sc = single crochet
- dc = double crochet
- sl st = slip stitch
Directions
R1: Using two strands of yarn at once, ch 35 and dc in ea ch across beginning in 3rd ch from hook (33).
R2 – R22*: ch 2, turn, dc in ea st across.
*As you near R22, measure to make sure that your blanket is square. Once you have added (or subtracted) rows to make your height and width the same, cut the yarn and knot it at the end of the last row. My blanket measured roughly 21” x 21” before the final trim row.
R23: Re-attach yarn at the center of one of the sides, ch 1 and sc around all four sides, placing 2 sc’s in the first and last st of the row on each side. This means each corner has 4 sc’s to make them square instead of rounded; see the photo below for further clarification. Finish and weave in ends. My final blanket measured about 22″x22″.
Permission to Use this Pattern
You may use this pattern for personal or commercial use, but please reference this website as its creator and link back to this pattern page. The pattern (including any photos associated with it) may not be reproduced or posted elsewhere in any capacity. Thank you!
Are you more the long-term commitment DIY’er, or the short-term?
Always your shorty,
~M