The art of crochet dates back more than centuries ago when people came up with creative and artistic ways to adorn their parlors with decorative and protective covers for their furniture. In fact, crochet means hook in French and this would remind you of the delicate French crochet-style lace trimmings and doilies. Until thicker threads in the form of yarns came into fore and crochet blankets became popular because they had more practical uses as protection from the cold weather.     

Crochet blankets gained prominence as grannies back then came up with crochet squares pieced together to make the blankets that the family loved. As years went by crochet blankets also became known as Afghans. They became versatile adornments as drapes on couches that a family member could snuggle into to keep warm.

These crochet blankets are also favorites as first time projects, since they are quite regular and uncomplicated. Besides, as a newbie in the art of crocheting, it would be better to start with the thick yarns and use them to create crochet blankets. 

Working with thick yarns makes use of a larger hook and will allow you to practice with more dexterity. This allows you to gain mastery of the crochet hook in order to achieve even stitches with the right amount of tension. Detailed work using smaller hooks are for finer threads and often, they are harder to handle if you’re just new to the art of making crochets.  

There are two popular crochet blanket patterns widely used by beginners because they are the easiest to do. They are the singular pattern and the granny squares. 

Singular Pattern

In making a crochet blanket using this pattern, determine the size you want to make. The starting chain stitch will be followed by single crochet and will be the width of your blanket. After reaching the desired width, begin the next row using double crochet stitches. You have to make sure you loop your thread snugly on the hook, so you can release the right yarn tension as you make your double crochet stitch. Double crotchet all the way until you will reach the desired length of your crochet blanket. 

As a beginner it would be easier if you kept your chain stitches numbered in multiples of 5s or 10s. This is a good starter project although as you get to progress, your crochet blanket becomes heavier and will be too bulky to carry around.    

Granny Squares

This type of crochet blanket is by far the favorite between the two. Not only does it provide more design but also more convenient to carry around even while the crochet blanket is in progress. You simply crochet little or big squares depending on the type and size of the blanket you will make. 

As a beginner, you can be more adventurous in making squares using other stitches or by learning some simple methods of creating designs. Just be sure to consistently use the kind of stitches required at the right point, so you can achieve the desired effect. Once you have made enough of the crochet squares, piece them together to create a crochet blanket. Simply attach all of them together using slip stitch to finish the project. You can also experiment by using multiple colors; just make sure you don’t run out of the yarn color to keep your design consistent.      

Back in the olden days, women had a lot of time to make a crochet blanket. This w as a way of spending their idle time wisely. Today, it is more of a therapeutic form of activity as a way of relaxing the mind and relieving stress.