C2C Chevron Baby Blanket

This is the blog post that almost didn't happen. SO many things went wrong with this blanket and I was definitely tempted to give up on it more than once. And after looking at the pictures just now, I found yet another mistake! Argh argh arrrrrrgh (don't mind me, just channeling my inner irate pirate). But despite all of its flaws, I still really love this blanket. There's just something about how cheerful and unique looking it is that makes my yarn-lovin' heart happy. So I'm going to share it with you anyway. And now that I've done just about everything wrong, I have some great tips for you if you want to make one of your own! Silver lining, right? 

If you're not already familiar with working corner-to-corner (C2C), go take a look at my C2C spotlight post first. It has a photo tutorial to help get you started, which is important since this pattern is written assuming that you already know how to do the diagonal box stitch. 

C2C Chevron Baby Blanket Pattern
Materials:

• Worsted weight yarn in desired colors; I used I Love This Yarn in White (3 skeins), Lemon Ice, Buttercup, Yellow, and Sungold (less than 1 skein of each)
• Size I (5.5 mm) crochet hook
• Tapestry needle

Squares: Make 6 of each accent color (24 total)
Begin with white yarn. Increase until your row is 8 boxes wide. 
Switch to accent color. Increase until your row is 10 boxes wide. 
Begin decreasing. After your first decrease row (this should be 9 boxes wide when you're finished with it), switch back to white yarn. 
Continue decreasing until your square is complete. 

Helpful Hint: It's really easy to add an extra row of the accent color by mistake, which will make your chevrons uneven. So double check your squares before you finish them off!

For those of you who prefer looking at charts, here's a computerized version so you don't have to squint at the picture of the actual square. 

And for those of you who prefer having every row written out, here's a breakdown of each row (W = white, Y = yellow):
Row 1: 1 W
Row 2: 2 W
Row 3: 3 W
Row 4: 4 W
Row 5: 5 W
Row 6: 6 W
Row 7: 7 W
Row 8: 8 W
Row 9: 9 Y
Row 10: 10 Y
Row 11: 9 Y
Row 12: 8 W
Row 13: 7 W
Row 14: 6 W
Row 15: 5 W
Row 16: 4 W
Row 17: 3 W
Row 18: 2 W
Row 19: 1 W

Assembly: 
Lay out your squares by color. Rotate your squares to form the chevron shape (the colored parts of the square should touch in a "v" shape). Join together the squares. I decided to use the mattress stitch to join mine to make the seam as invisible as possible and to ensure that it would lie flat. If you're not familiar with the mattress stitch, here's an excellent tutorial on Moogly that I highly recommend. 

You can join the squares in whichever order works best for you. I decided to use the long tails of colored yarn to join the colored sections together first. Then I cut a loooong strand of white yarn and joined the rows of different colors together (working horizontally across the blanket) and then used the long tails to join the white sections together vertically. I then chose to weave in all the ends before continuing on to the border. 

Helpful Hint: Don't pull your mattress stitches too tight. You want it to be tight enough to stay together, but don't pull it so tight that it puckers. If your stitches are too tight then the edges of your blanket won't be perfectly straight no matter how much blocking you do. 

Border:
If you'd like to make the edge a little neater, I suggest adding a border to your blanket. You can use whatever method you prefer, but here's the approach I took: 

Start with a loop on your hook. 

Pick a spot on the blanket (anywhere is fine) and work a single crochet between the boxes.

Chain 2, then work a single crochet between the next set of boxes. 

Continue this across the edge of the blanket until you get to a corner. When you get to a corner, work a single crochet, chain 3, and another single crochet all in the same spot of the corner. Then go back to what you were doing before: chain 2, single crochet in the gap between the boxes. When you get back to where you started, join with a slip stitch. 

Helpful Hint: You'll have to kind of force the hook into the sections where you joined the squares together, since there won't be an obvious gap between the squares anymore. The divisions between boxes should still be fairly obvious though, so it won't be hard to eyeball where you need to put your hook. 

I then added a row of double crochets for the next piece of my border. To do this, start by chaining 3 and then working 2 double crochets in the chain 2 space. 

Work a double crochet in the next single crochet and then work 2 double crochet in the chain 2 space again. 

Continue this pattern until you get to the corner. Once at the corner, work 2 double crochet, chain 1, and work 2 more double crochet into the chain 3 space. Then continue as before. Once you get back to the beginning, join with a slip stitch. 

For the third row of my border, I switched colors, chained 2, and then began to half double crochet around. In the corners, I worked 1 half double crochet, chained 1, and then worked another half double crochet in the chain 1 space. 

For the fourth row of my border, I switched colors, chained 1, and then began to single crochet around. In the corners, I worked 1 single crochet, chained 1, and then worked another single crochet in the chain 1 space. 

For the fifth row of my border, I switched colors, chained 2, and then began to half double crochet around. In the corners, I worked 1 half double crochet, chained 1, and then worked another half double crochet in the chain 1 space. Then I fastened it off and wove in any remaining ends. 

Helpful Hint: Be careful not to add too many extra stitches when you're working in the corners. This will increase the wobbliness of your border and no amount of blocking will give you the perfectly straight look you're dreaming of. 

And now you're done! Take a minute to sit back and admire all of your hard work. You are now the proud owner of a beautiful blanket, hooked with love. And if there are any flaws, well then that gives it character, right? (Hopefully yours has less character than mine. Mine is basically Mickey Mouse.) 

If you decide to make one of these blankets, I'd love to see a picture of it and/or hear about how it went. If you're having problems please drop me a line and I'll try to help you out! I try my best to post error-free patterns, but if you find a problem I'd like to correct it, so please let me know. You can reach me in the comments section below or on Twitter, Facebook, Ravelry, Pinterest, Instagram, or by email. Happy hooking! 

***You're welcome to do whatever you'd like to with finished products made from this pattern but if you do sell them, I ask that you link back to my page. You may not copy this pattern, repost it anywhere (either altered or in its original form), or claim it as your own. You may not use any photos on this site for your own use. ***