Yuletide Blanket :: Ta-dah!

The inspiration for the Yuletide blanket came to me in a flash one day when I was noodling over the idea of trying to make something Christmassy. I am probably in the minority here but I'm not a real lover of Christmas time - for me personally I much prefer to celebrate the turning of the seasons, with the Winter Solstice being more meaningful to me than anything religious. And so the idea of designing a Yuletide blanket began to take shape - a blanket that celebrates all that is cosy and seasonal about this time of year. In my mind I began thinking of clementines, gingerbread, spices and mulled wine. Candlelight, fairy lights and a crackling open fire. Pine, holly, ivy, eucalyptus and berries. These are the colours, scents and tastes of the Yuletide season for me and provided a rich source of creative inspiration. Oh, I really fell down a deep and delicious Pinterest hole when I was conducting my Very Important Yuletide Research. I gathered some of my favourite images into the collage above, and immediately my heart was invested.

 

 

As all this inspiration gathering was happening earlier in the year in spring, I had to work hard to get into the spirit of winter. I went out on a woodland walk and gathered in some ivy and small pine branches. I have eucalyptus growing in my back yard, and a quick shopping spree on eBay delivered me some dried orange slices and star anise (which smells heavenly). I was slowly beginning to build a Yuletide colour palette inside my Creative Mind, and after a LOT of faffery I ended up with 12 deliciously seasonal colours.....

This is of course my favourite go-to yarn for blanket making, Stylecraft Special DK. I chose a mixture of reds and greens for seasonal foliage, with some golden warmth added in to represent the orange slices, spices and firelight.

Top row :

♥ Burgundy ♥ Tomato ♥ Gingerbread ♥ Bottle ♥ 

Middle row :

♥ Claret x 2 ♥ Gold ♥ Cypress ♥ Teal ♥ 

Bottom row :

♥ Lipstick  x 2 ♥ Camel ♥ Sage ♥ Kelly Green x 2 ♥ 

The Yuletide yarn pack contains 15 x 100g balls of Stylecraft Special DK (12 colours, with 3 of them doubled up). You can click on the following link to find the yarn pack in my shop at Wool Warehouse...

YULETIDE YARN PACK

My friends at Wool Warehouse do a wonderful job of sending my yarn packs out all over the world, and I am so thankful to them for making this happen with such efficiency. They are a genuinely lovely family owned business and they work incredibly hard making sure that our yarny community is provided for. You probably already know that I earn a small commission on each pack sold through my shop, so I want to take this opportunity to thank you so much for supporting me in this way. I am unbelievably grateful.

Also, you know I always publish my patterns here on my blog for free, but in addition to my online tutorial there is an 8 page full colour A4 printed pattern included in the Yuletide yarn pack. 

Back to the colours....ahhh, there they are look, all stacked up and looking very lush and Yuletide-ish. I always like to make squares with my blanket colours before I embark on the actual blanket making as it gives me a great overview of the palette and helps me to become familiar with how they are playing together. Also, can we just take a moment to appreciate Little Lady's beautifully painted co-ordinating claret nails? She made a very good hand model I have to say.

I adore the Yuletide colours ordered in a pleasing colourwash like this, and I had an idea that some of you might perhaps want to make a colourwash striped blanket in future? Just in case that idea appeals, here is the colour list for the order shown above >>

1. Burgundy
2. Claret
3. Lipstick
4. Tomato
5. Gingerbread
6. Gold
7. Camel
8. Cypress
9. Sage
10. Kelly Green
11. Teal
12. Bottle

It occurred to me a little while ago that not everyone likes to make squares, so I'm also planning to work on a random stripe order for the Yuletide yarn pack. That way you could use one of my existing striped blanket designs with the Yuletide colour pack and hook away to your hearts content. I'm sorry I haven't had chance to do this before now, I just ran out of time. I'll post the stripe order here on my blog later in the week.

I began working on the Yuletide blanket back in April after a LOT of pattern sampling. I'm so happy with the design that I created especially for this blanket, it makes great use of the colour contrasts in this palette and is an absolute pleasure to crochet.

The pattern uses all UK treble stitches so it is beautifully rhythmic and speedy to work up. There is just enough thought needed to prevent boredom setting in, but the pattern repeats are simple enough to provide that essential relaxation factor. It's important to me that my designs are kept simple enough for beginners to feel confident to give them a go, so I always aim to keep the stitch pattern very straightforward. The real skill comes in the colour play, and that's something I am particularly good at - I can make even the simplest of patterns look pretty darn lovely because of the way I bring the colours together.

Of course even I make mistakes - this pattern relies heavily on using colour contrasts so that the spike stitches create little heart shapes in the rows. I didn't always get this right and had to frog back rows which weren't working, but it was always worth the extra time and effort to make those hearts pop out. They're cute, eh?

I worked steadily on my blanket through early summer - it had many outings to the café where I could hook up those long soothing rounds whilst chatting to friends and drinking coffee.

I took it with me to celebrate "Worldwide Knit in Public Day" (believe it or not I'm sat with around 30 other knitters and crocheters in the above photo, but we were socially distanced so I look like I'm all on my lonesome. I promise you I was in great company).

But mostly, summertime crochet took place in my back yard, and I discovered the joy of hooking with my feet up (literally) when my new sun lounger arrived. Oh.....the pleasure was off the scale!

Having never crocheted a giant square blanket before, I have to tell you that I was very quickly in love with the process. Once the first dozen or so rounds were out the way, the crochet rhythm was a delight. And the bigger the square became, the more I was able to lose myself in those lengthening rounds. Bigger rounds means less stopping and starting (and less darning in of ends) and as a result I think this was one of the most relaxing blankets I've ever made. 

Awww.......I see hearts !!! Do you like the way this stripe pattern works?

I hooked up 78 rounds in total for the Yuletide blanket, then set about creating a border to add a  calming effect to the outer edge.

I kept it very simple, using a combination of plain red and green rows to balance out the slight busy-ness of the stripes.

I couldn't quite believe it when I'd finished the blanket and laid it out for the very first time. It measured a very satisfying 150cm square and when I was able to get a good look at it as a whole (instead of glimpsing it all folded up in my lap while I crocheted it) I fell head over heels in love with it. Head. Over. Heels.

It had been hard for me to visualise the effect of this stitch pattern over a large area as I was working on the rounds - like I say, I've never made a huge square before. It really is absolutely stunning I have to say and the scale of it makes it something really special. 

I had been a little worried about the "twisting" tendencies of giant crochet squares, but in the end after 78 rounds there was only a very, very slight twist to the centre of my blanket. I think the spike stitches help to keep everything aligned and I'm happy with how it turned out.

The overall square shape was a little out of whack after I'd finished crocheting, but I knew that blocking would easily take care of it. I washed my blanket on a 30 degree wash, then while it was still damp from the washing machine I spread it out on the Attic carpet and stretched it out gently until it was beautifully square and straight. I left it to completely dry for a good 24 hours and then the following day, this happened....................

 ..............ta-dah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Isn't it rather fabulous?!

Like I say, head over heels in love.

Love love love love love it, with hearts in my eyes.

A few weeks ago when I started working on the printed pattern which is included in the Yuletide yarn pack, I realised I would need a suitable photo for the front cover. I decided it would be fun to pull together some props and conduct a little amateur product styling. I purchased a couple of red pillar candles and some juicy clementines, then went gathering in the greenery. I used the lovely little copper wire lights that usually hang along the mantel, and then finally I lit the fire. It felt a bit odd to light the fire so early in the season but it was a cool afternoon and it certainly did help deliver some cosy Yuletide spirit.

After a lot of creative faffing I ended up with a few photos that I was happy with - if you buy the yarn pack, you'll be able to see the front cover of the pattern and let me know what you think.

As you know, I always like to make a full tutorial to support my patterns with the hope that any newbie crocheters out there will feel confident to give it a go. I think this is a good pattern for beginners to try - the spike stitches take a little bit of getting used to (mainly due to needing a good control of yarn tension) but it really is just UK trebles so the pattern is easy to learn.

I suggest in the tutorial that you work up the first 6 rounds (2 pattern repeats) to get the hang of the way the design works and to check out your sizing and tension - if you're happy with your square after six rounds then you can carry on and make it as big as you like. You can find the tutorial in the usual place over in my left hand side bar, or click on the following link to go straight there >>

YULETIDE TUTORIAL

At the end of the photo tutorial I typed out a traditional pattern - this can be copied and pasted into a word document so that you can save it/print it if you wish.

My little furry assistant was on hand to help with the photography, of course she was. I think she couldn't believe her luck when the blanket was draped and arranged just so, providing her with the perfect fireside spot. I always make a big song and dance about not lighting the fire until Proper Autumn arrives and it's truly chilly enough to need it, but secretly I adored having the cosy warmth of those flames on a dull afternoon in early September. Just don't tell J. Speaking of the husbundo, I have to thank him for working with me on the printed pattern and the worksheet as well - as part of the tutorial you can download a worksheet which lists the colours to help you stay on track with your rounds. He also made me this.......

Yuletide graphic very cleverly made by J ♥

......which I think is rather spectacular. He's a clever so and so.

Well I think that's about all I need to say for now, I hope you've enjoyed this little slice of early festive celebration. Thank you as ever for your enthusiasm and support around my creative projects, I really do appreciate it very. very much.

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Here are the links again for the pattern and yarn kit, and the colour worksheet too....

♥ YULETIDE YARN PACK (contains a full colour printed pattern)

♥ YULETIDE TUTORIAL

♥ YULETIDE COLOUR WORKSHEET

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Comments

[Susan]

Think I'll order this pack as I really need a crochet "pick-me-up" at the moment with all these ongoing restrictions here in Oz. Feeling low, so this will give me a much needed boost heading towards a possible lonely Xmas again without family. Thanks so much for all your work & effort to bring this to fruition for us. I've some catching up to do too with blog reading. Take care, stay safe & hugs.

[Linda from Boston]

Kit is ordered and will be here Friday. Love Wool Warehouse. Got a color card set up and did a tension sample to get familiar with the pattern. So I’m all set!!!! Thanks for all your hard work. I love being part of this global crochet community. 🧶

[Patty]

I ordered early this morning and received a notice that it is on it's way! Looking forward to this pattern and using some colors I haven't tried before.

[Elsie]

I ordered 2 kits at 8 am this morning, 3am US time . Can’t wait to get started Should be delivered before the weekend Another great pattern Lucy

Thank you

[Sandra]

I am of the school of thought voiced by Arne and Carlos, that any colours can look good together when there are a lot of them and that people should go ahead and freely pick those they like. After all that is the person you need to please isn't it. Our souls all get drawn to different things, there is no aesthetic that is best.

I think it is nice to have a learning curve too, so appreciate a little stitch challenge thrown in. Easy is excellent to begin with but to grow in a craft you need to stretch yourself just a little sometimes. You will always be a beginner if you don't give yourself things to think about. I do think people might at least try to find their own 'random' colours out of a chosen set. I find it interesting to see different ways of how colours interact than all exact replicas. I hope people enjoy using their packs and have fun with their imaginations.

[Martina]

What a fantastic blanket! Absolutely love it! No need to say that I had to purchase the yarn pack at Wool Warehouse. Can‘t wait to get started. You are such a talented crocheter and reading your posts is pure pleasure.

[Winwick Mum]

I love this blanket, and the colours are just right for those dark days of the year when the nights are long and in front of the fire is the best place to be! xx

[Deb]

The colors and pattern are beautiful.

[Ann B]

I'm a quilter...but this almost makes me what to crochet!

[Geeha]

Thank you for this. It is so clever to create spikes and hearts from simple UK trebles and your colour combinations and there interweaving is inspired. I prefer this to the traditional red, white and green as I think these are colours that could be loved and used all the year round.

[Julie]

Ordered my kit from Wool Warehouse this morning, I felt like one of those people that queue up outside a shop for the latest computer game release 😆. Had an email to say it has been dispatched so hurry up Royal Mail show us what your made off📮, customer waiting in anticipation. Hope you are feeling better now and the success of your gorgeous yuletide blanket gives you lots of positive vibes.

[Fiona]

Kit ordered - can't wait to get started 😊😊😊😊

[José]

It looks awesome ! To be frank, I am not the christmas type either, but I can't wait to try this pattern with different colours.. It is lovely, thank you !

[Sarah Matthew]

Another lovely blanket; the richness of the colours conveys the seasons so beautifully. My order is in :) (ofcourse!)

[CJ]

It's lovely as always Lucy, so festive, you've made a beautiful job of it. CJ xx

[Dawn]

It's sooo lovely! Cannot wait to get started.
Thank you so much for all the work you put in to bring us such beautiful things, not forgetting J and Little Lady too! x

[Simone]

So excited to see all the support for another great Attic 24 project. I am so lucky to secure this as an early Christmas gift to myself as they were selling like hot cakes - I calculated they were selling one every 3 seconds - incredible! Well done Lucy. Keep up the good work.

[Lucy J]

I have just ordered Yuletide yippee!
I am going to my local crochet group tomorrow where I'm pretty sure yours will be a hot topic.
Thank you so much for all your hard work and beautiful blankets and blogs.

[Janet Redfern]

Bought your pack from wool warehouse at exactly 8am.Thankyou it is beautiful I can’t wait for it to be delivered and get started.I have made a few of your blankets now and find the patterns very easy to follow .It is because of you that I find crocheting so enjoyable.I’m sorry you will not be at yarndale your stall was always inspiring.And such beautiful colours.Your online tutorials are amazing and they must take hours of work.Your posta about making the blankets are so enjoyable to read.Thank you very much once again.x

[Margaret S]

Thank you for this gorgeous pattern. My order is in and I’m looking forward to the box arriving….