Coast Ripple blanket :: ta-dah!

In the seven years that I've been crocheting, I've made three adult sized ripple blankets and two baby sized ripple blankets, oh and one ripple cushion too. I absolutely love the Neat Ripple pattern, it makes for an extremely soothing and pleasurable crochet experience, with a gentle rhythm and just the right amount of counting (even I can count to four, although admittedly it sometimes goes a bit wrong if wine is involved). And the resulting blankets are amazingly lovely to look at, with those rising and falling waves of glorious colour and a pleasing lack of holes.

I've made eye-wateringly expensive cashmere/merino ripples and I've made happy-smiley cheap acrylic ripples and both sorts have always turned out beautifully. The cashmere ones make the most delicious, luxurious winter snugglers (they are extremely warm and soft) and the acrylic ones can happily accompany the family on camping trips, picnics and beach barbecues (they are extremely forgiving). All my handmade blankets are incredibly well used by the whole family, which is probably why I love making them so much.

So this is the story of my latest ripple creation which I have named the Coast blanket. I selected the colours and purchased the yarn well over a year ago, and those fifteen balls sat patiently waiting for me to gather them up and make the idea become a reality. This blanket is inspired by my childhood home in Dorset, and the colours represent the beautiful coastline that I know so well and love with all my heart. I wanted the colours to remind me of the ever changing blues of sea and sky, the rich greens of the grassy clifftops, the golden yellows of the sandy cliffs and beaches and the greys and soft browns of smooth pebbles and silvery driftwood. These are the colours of my childhood, and of the many, many happy summer holidays of my adulthood.

Selecting these fifteen colours was easy-peasy. Oh so simple! I knew exactly how I wanted these ripples to work, and exactly the mood I was trying to create. I wanted to look at the colours and feel both energised and relaxed (my feelings when I'm beside the sea). I wanted the colours to transport me up over those sunny, grassy clifftops, down onto the pebbly beach, dip my toes in the blues of the sea and then lay me flat on my back to gaze at the summer sky. I wanted to look at those colours and be able to hear the sound of the waves and the seagulls squawking overhead and feel the fresh, salty sea breeze on my skin.

It sounds a bit fanciful perhaps, to try and ask all that to come from fifteen balls of reasonably priced acrylic yarn....but do you know what? I really think that I made it happen with these colours. I captured the essence of my coastal memories and translated them into a very pleasing colour palette.

So here they are, the Attic24 Coast Colours....

Top row, left to right ♥ Meadow ♥ Camel ♥ Parchment ♥ Silver ♥ Grey ♥

Middle row, left to right  ♥ Aspen ♥ Turquoise ♥ Petrol ♥ Teal ♥ Khaki ♥

Bottom row, left to right  ♥ Sherbet ♥ Cloud ♥ Aster ♥ Bluebell ♥ Denim ♥

This yarn is Stylecraft Special DK which is a 100% acrylic yarn in generous 100g balls. Now let me tell you, this is acrylic yarn of exceptional quality, and it is not in any way scratchy, plasticky or sticky. It is smooth, soft and warm, which are three very good blankety qualities if you ask me. For us hookers, it is a dream to work with. It doesn't split, it slips rather silkily on and off the hook and the colours, well....the colours are pretty hard to beat. And best of all, it is absolutely, completely, heart-skippingly cheap to buy. What's not to love?! In my bag above, there are my fifteen x 100g balls of yarn, and this is enough to make a single bed sized blanket (110 cm x 180 cm)

I began working these ripples at Easter, appropriately enough whilst I was on holiday in Dorset. These first fifteen rows are infused with salty seaside memories, and give you a good idea of how the palette of colours works up into a very pleasing set of ripply stripes.

As per usual, I chose to work my colours in a random order, playing with the blues (sea and sky), greens (grass), yellows (sand) and greys (pebbles), ordering them into a rhythmic story of the coast.

Blues and greens, turquoises and aquas are my true soul colours, the colours that sing the happiest song to me. I absolutely adore them, and have been drawn to them consistently for all of my artistic life. Greys, yellows and browns however, well they don't sit quite so well with me. And yet this palette really needed those colours to balance out the blues. They provide warmth and relief, shelter from the cold if you like. And actually, the Stylecraft greys are rather beautiful, especially this Silver grey which reminds me of the pebbles on Eype Beach....

And so I really began to enjoy the journey this blanket was taking me on, as I immersed myself in the colours and cherished the many happy memories that began to drift in as I worked.

As you know, I always suffer with withdrawal symptoms when I return from the coast. But after our Easter holiday this year, working on my coast blanket allowed me a very gentle re-entry back into my land-locked life in Yorkshire.

I confess I became more than a little addicted to working these ripples, they made me really, really, really happy!

I just couldn't get enough of those colours.....

....and I worked on my blanket at every opportunity.

Towards the end (which was sometime in late June) I began to feel a sadness creep in. I realised that I simply didn't want this creative journey to end.

But end it did, and after 84 beautiful ripplesome stripes, I embarked on a simple border to finish the whole thing off.

Borders are bitter sweet things really, don't you think? In some ways they can feel like the biggest chore, and yet in other ways they are also insanely satisfying. The border says "this blanket is complete", and is like a final closure on all those minutes and hours that you spent working the rows, all those hundredss upon hundredss of stitches.

The thing with my crochet blankets is that they are most definitely made to be used. Yes, they do become colourful, decorative accessories in our home, but they are useful objects too. It's been the most fun watching this blanket become instantly integrated into our family life. To see it used for it's true blankety purpose, both at home and recently whilst we were on holiday, makes me very happy indeed.

The Little People seem to love this particular creation, and I wonder if it's because they also get the seaside memory-inducing thing from it? Probably not, but hey ho. Maybe it's simply because it is different to the rest of my blankets in that it's not a riot of multi-coloured hues for once. Being heavily loaded with blue does make it appeal to boys too I guess, and it could easily pass the test for a Man Blanket. But for me, it is most definitely, without doubt a Coast blanket.

Shall I spread it out for you to see now?

Ok........................................

.............Ta-dah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There it is, in all it's ripply glory, showing off it's Coastal credentials.

Oh my, I love it so much. It is so so so much like my vision when I chose those balls of yarn 18 months ago, I feel a weeny bit proud I think.

So you can see how the random colours work here....the idea when working "random" is to create a harmonious whole, which is possibly harder than it looks. I try to vary the way I put the colours together, whilst making sure that nothing is too harsh or repetitive. As in most things, I am generally aiming for balance and harmony when I work colours randomly.

I also had to make sure that this blanket could indeed be made out of the 15 balls of yarn, so the number of stripes and the number of colour repeats is actually very carefully worked out, but in a randomised way, if that makes sense! For example, the border colours have to be selected in advance to make sure that there is enough of those left after the ripples have been made.

Now then, I hope that you won't mind indulging me whilst I bombard you with a series of photographs? You see, I had this idea that I would love more than anything to take my completed blanket on holiday with me, revisiting the seasidey places that had so inspired it's creation. So it came down to Dorset with us in July and I had a ridiculous amount of fun pratting about doing little amateur photo shoots here, there and everywhere, haaha! I can laugh at myself really, I am such a nutter sometimes!!!!!!

At Eype beach....

....and in the garden at Lady B's. Well I was actually using the blanket to wrap myself up in here as it was evening time and slightly chilly in the shade and....

....wine o'clock to be more precise!! I adore this photo, the way the ripples are right there inside my wine glass!!! Perfect.

Here I am, at it again early one sunny morning, striding out along the promenade at West Bay with my blanket and my camera....

....it was the most glorious morning, around about 8.30am, with a slight sea breeze as you can see.

But I loved the way the blues of the sea so clearly matched the blues in my blanket, the sandy shore too. Isn't colour great?!!

I took Blanket down onto the beach, draped it artily down the steps, but it was a bit too shady here to get the colours to look right.

And here is Blanket with me looking down on it from above...I like this picture cos you can get the measure of the whole rhythm going on with the colours and the ripples. It's quite mesmerising, don't you think?

I am with Little lady here on this morning, the boys refused to have anything to do with me and stayed in the car, they think I am really pretty odd I fear.

There were a few people dog walking at this time in the morning, giving me some odd sidewards looks, but I didn't care. I was in the moment!

I just love this last photo so much. Just wonderful, such lovely memories.

While I was up on the promenade doing my thing, Little Lady was down on the beach doing her thing. She made a pebble fish while I was pratting about with Blanket, she was so proud of it too.

Eventually I packed the blanket into my bag and went down onto the beach to join her. I had rolled up the remains of my yarn into neat little balls and had fun giving them their own little photo shoot.....

 

....I like this photo very much, I think it might make a nice postcard actually?

Now I wonder......would any of you like to make your very own Coast blanket? Would you like to hook up some beautiful ripples to remind you of happy holidays and salty sea breezes? I have been very busy during the past few weeks working on a full pattern and tutorial for making this blanket, including a step-by-step working of the edging. So if you've ever wanted to know how to Fill In that Ripply Edge, I can help you with that.

♥ You can find the blanket pattern/tutorial right here on my blog, I've called it RIPPLE BLANKET KNOW-HOW.

♥ I thought it would also be useful to list the exact colour sequence I used to make my Coast blanket, for those of you who prefer someone else to do the Random Thinking! Remember that each stripe is made up of two crochet rows.....

1.Denim	22. Parchment	43. Teal	64. Aster
2. Aspen	23. Turquoise	44. Aster	65. Cloud
3. Petrol	24. Petrol	45. Denim	66. Meadow
4. Silver	25. Meadow	46. Meadow	67. Parchment
5. Cloud	26. Camel	47. Khaki	68. Khaki
6. Meadow	27. Khaki	48. Silver	69. Camel
7. Parchment	28. Aspen	49. Sherbet	70. Grey
8. Camel	29. Sherbet	50. Turquoise	71. Bluebell
9. Khaki	30. Aster	51. Bluebell	72. Denim
10. Grey	31. Grey	52. Teal	73. Turquoise
11. Teal	32. Parchment	53. Aspen	74. Aspen
12. Aster	33. Khaki	54. Camel	75. Silver
13. Turquoise	34. Petrol	55. Parchment	76. Meadow
14. Sherbet	35. Bluebell	56. Cloud	77. Teal
15. Bluebell	36. Turquoise	57. Aster	78. Sherbet
16. Grey	37. Sherbet	58. Grey	79. Bluebell
17. Denim	38. Meadow	59. Petrol	80. Khaki
18. Teal	39. Camel	60. Silver	81. Camel
19. Bluebell	40. Silver	61. Sherbet	82. Parchment
20. Cloud	41. Cloud	62. Aspen	83. Cloud
21. Silver	42. Aspen	63. Teal	84. Denim

Border colours

1. Denim (tr’s worked along the sides only, to match the first and last colour stripes)

2. Petrol (dc’s worked on the sides, and ripple in-fill worked along top and bottom)

3. Aster (dc’s worked all round)

♥ I am also continuing to work with the fantastic team at Wool Warehouse, they are such lovely people and it's pure pleasure working with them I have to say. Now that I have my cosy on-line shop inside their warehouse, I am thrilled to announce that my Coast Yarn Pack is ready and waiting on the shelves and can be shipped out all around the world!!!!! Gosh, that makes me SO HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!

♥  You can go grab a Coast Yarn Pack from my shop at Wool Warehouse (HERE), and I very much hope you will love working those colours as much as I have. The pack contains 15 x 100g balls of Stylecraft Special DK (100% acrylic), in the colours shown above. And as a special extra ((thank you)), each pack will also contain a full colour printed pattern for making the Coast Ripple, which I hope you'll find useful. All the information you need to make the blanket is still provided for free on my blog (HERE), but there is something lovely about having a printed version to tuck into your project bag, don't you think?

This photo was taken by Little Lady, and I have to say I look pretty happy with blue sky overhead, my ripple in hand and the sea at my back. This blanket has created a whole lot of happiness!

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♥...more little snippets from the Attic...♥

2013 :: Year End Review :: crochet

Summer Bunting

Colour Play

Yarndale 2013 :: The Yarn Bombing

Granny Bunting for Yarndale

Comments

[Tilly Rothwell]

I actually got the yarn pack and found that I wasn’t doing anything but I think I am going to have a go at using the granny stitch with the same colour pattern

[Mary]

I’m just attempting to teach myself crochet, I don’t do ‘learning’ but straight into the deep end! Ive just found this beautiful blanket and am inspired, I will try a test piece.

I just wanted to say though how much I loved your instructions and it made me laugh about your photo shoot, it sounds exactly what I would do.

Dorset is beautiful, I love the sea too and wished I lived by the sea. I have only seen very little of Yorkshire but that was stunning too. (I’m in Bristol).

Thanks again for a lovely read,
Regards, Mary

[Irene Damascus]

Please tell me how many chains to cast on for Queen size bed I have to
pkgs. of coast ripple and also wanto make baby blanket , how many do I cast on for that?

[Janet Fry]

Lucy this is a dream I am a newby to crocheting but have made lots of Granny Blankets for Elderly, Children I Care, Blind, Mind all of which bring comfort an go to safe feeling for person receiving them. We all at times in our life with it’s ups and downs need comfort and reassurance. I feel it’s time for me now and when I came across the Ripple Coast I have to send for the pack, I already have pack for Dune but the Coast has to be first.we are now in a very difficult time with this virus and I am in lockdown for however long I come into the oldies group but in fortunate to have a balcony the silence is serel with just the bird song for company. Lucy stay safe with your family and thank you for such a wonderful and uplifting group

[Karolin]

Surfing the net...looking for inspiration. Love at first sight. Ordered my yarn 5 min ago. Can't wait to get started!!
Found similar colors in a merino acrylic blend. Thank you for the beautiful pattern.
Greetings from Belgium

[Myra Curtis]

Hi Lucy. I've made just about every blanket you've created and have love each and every one if them. Is there a colour conversion chart from your Summer Harmony but using the coast colours? I see Kaz has made the blanket but there are no links on her FB page for colourway. Would be great to have tis info. Many thanks.

[Josephine]

Hi Lucy,

I’m just finishing the beautiful Sweet Pea CAL, and I love it. My next project will be a double-size Coast ripple.

However, I’m finding that Stylecraft Special DK is too light weight for the blanket I want to make. I want a thicker, warmer blanket. Could I crochet this pattern using 2 strands and, say, a 6mm hook? How many yarn packs do you think I would need (4?)? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[M S]

HI Lucy, I am new to crochet but your amazing instructions have worked wonders and I am nearing the end of my coastal ripple blanket. I cannot tell you how much joy it has brought me to create something like this (it seemed too ambitious when I started). Thank you for your blog and I am already looking for my next project in your archives. :-)

[Cheryl armitage]

Loved reading this as we went to eype and west bay when our children were young and chideock and Lyme Regis and loved it X am braving myself to start the coast blanket for our caravan in Whitby

[Bleuen Boivin]

Dear Lucy,
I made this beautiful blanket last year for my son and he loves it. I would like to make a matching one for my other son but with slightly different colours, as he wants a ‘Forest blanket’ with greens and browns. I want to keep the parchment and cream in there so it’s still vibrant. I would be grateful for any green/brown colour suggestions in the Stylecraft range. Many thanks.
Bleuen x

[Bex Crowell]

Lucy... I am one of your many hundreds, probably thousands, of fans. I am making the Coast blanket now. How how I love picking it up each morning (I am retired and 69) and delving into the lovely beachy colors of my youth, also. I live on the east coast of Mass. in USA and grew up and live near the beach but don't get there much as I have severe arthritis. My husband is a commercial lobsterman so the ocean is in our lives always. When I open my windows in my cottage here in Salem, I can smell the sea... and now my beautiful growing coast blanket (I liked that a commenter called it a "beach blanket"!) is giving me more pleasure than I would ever have imagined. So... thank you!

[Kathryn Ashe]

Sadly, I just completed my Coast Ripple blanket, the colors are energizing to work with. Also, sad because I am giving this lovely creation away. However, glad it's going to my niece as a wedding gift, she lives near the ocean, she will be thrilled. I only worked 75 rows and got my six foot length, and four feet width using a 3.5 mm hook. The blanket is beautiful, I can't stop gazing at it. The color combinations are amazing.I love working with Wool Warehouse, they also amazing!

[Karen McCue]

Hi - I would like to do a tension sample for the coast ripple blanket but can't find one. Could you please post please? Thanks

[Penny Gibson]

hello Lucy
on this page, where you show off the colours for the beach blanket but in squares - do you have the pattern you used for those squares? I like the colours and the squares so would like to do a blanket using this.
thank you for a lovely blog - I visit regularly.
Penny

[Kathryn Ashe]

After finishing the Moorland blanket, I began on the Coast Ripple. LOVE THIS BLANKET!!! Our local Quilt shop had a Quilt Till You Wilt event this week. 15_hours of quilting,workshops, and show N tell. Well, I worked all day on the Coast Ripple. The quilters oohed and aahed over it. Of course I gave Lucy the credit. Lucy, you would have been pleased at the positive comments.

[Pat Mulholland]

Hi Lucy.

Could you please tell me how many chain did you make for the single bed size Coast blanket and where do I find the pattern for the edging.

[Jana]

Lucy have you any instructions for the little squares? I really want to make a blanket with those lovely squares.

Love your work, love the colors!!
Thank you so much,

Jana

[Rosemary McCloskey]

Could anyone send me directions of how to crochet these ripples please
Thanks
Rosemary McCloskey

[Pat]

this is for Lyn from WA, Australia.
I have trouble locating the top chain in the first treble (that's Australian terms, calling it a DC is using USA terms). What I do is place one of those ever so cute plastic safety pins that are made to be used as yarn markers in the top chain after I have made it.
The hole disappears as I wrangle with my blanket, but thanks to the pretty safety pin, I know where to look (er dig) to find it to put in my end V of trebles.
Without my 2 trusty plastic yarn marker safety pins, I could not have made this blanket.
Lyn, if you are wondering innovations.com.au sells them in Australia as do a lot of yarn shops here.

[Lynette Taylor]

Dear Lucy. You are really a lovely lady a friend told me about Attic 24. I think I have worked out how to turn by dcr into the 3rd chain of the previous row . It took me awhile but have I got it right??? The end is kind of ripply, one end more ripply than the other.

Kind regards
Lyn. Western Australia

[kerry welch]

Lucy,
I just purchased your coastal ripple blanket packet from wool warehouse and received it today. I am in the US and ordered it from the US site. I assumed that since I was in the US that my pattern would come written in US crochet terms, especially since I purchased it.

Can you provide the pattern in US crochet terms. I could probably translate it, but I'm afraid I would leave something out and would not know until I'm far along into the project. I would be so appreciative. I can't wait to get started on the blanket. I'm very busy with my work, and have little free time, so it will probably take months to finish, but it's worth the wait.

Thank you,
Kerry

[Dorothy Bradbury]

Is there a right side and a wrong side to this blanket. I have done 9 stripes and I think my right side is the wrong side! I think being left handed may have something to do with it! I also find it a bit more difficult doing the edging as your starting point isn't my starting point!

[Jenny]

Saw and admired your Cosy blanket while visiting my aunt, and resolved to make a 'Seaside' one similar. Chose the wools before realising you had a 'Coast' blanket, and found we had included similar colours. I love the ripple pattern, and am about to begin the major work. I promise I will do a trial sampler. Thank you so much for your inspiration!

[Patricia]

I have been looking for a seaside inspired pattern for a blanket for ages and couldn't get one, I knew what I wanted and Dorset and Cornwall are on our favorite places in the world list so yes when I came across this today I was flawed, there is was the idea I needed have just purchased the pack and can't wait to crochet it thank you Lucy xx

[Patricia Maaz]

I have just sent for your Coast Blanket kit. This is my seventh Ripple Blanket I think I'm HOOKRD!!!! One done for my daughter, two granddaughters, daughter in law , dear friend and one I finished for a very dear friend who died just after she started it. This one I gave to the Hospice that looked after her. I love doing them I find it so relaxing, haven't crocheted for over 50 years until my Ripple addiction, I am now 86' oh and one for a friend that I did my own colours, I didn't think it came out as well as yours but she was very pleased with it. The last one I did took me just four weeks, I pick it up every available moment. Love doing them listening to music. Can't wait for my next one to arrive, hopefully to-morrow.