The Starbright Blanket :: Ta-dah!

Good morning! If you want to go and grab a Starbright yarn pack, here is the link to Wool Warehouse >>

STARBRIGHT YARN PACK 

And if you're after the free pattern and photo tutorial, here is the link to it (it's in my sidebar listed in alphabetical order)

STARBRIGHT BLANKET TUTORIAL

Please do read on if you'd like to find out more about the blanket design and drink in lots of colour!

Hellooooo, and thank you so much for being here to share this merry and bright Ta-dah occasion with me. I love to chat to you about the creative things that have been occupying my time, especially if there is a tangible source of inspiration behind the colour palette I've been immersed in. You can be sure that by the time you read my ta-dah posts, I've been obsessively designing and crocheting with these colours for many, many months - this particular colour palette has been jigging about inside my mind for more than a year now.

As you can see above, I gathered together some photos to give you an idea of the colour inspiration behind the Starbright blanket. I dreamed of a blanket inspired by those delicious weeks in December when decorations and twinkly lights take centre stage. I began to think a lot about the excitement of it all, about those nostalgic, child-like feelings that always surface when the month of December comes around and you realise all of a sudden that Christmas isn't too far away. It's everything I love about the festive season - the lights, decorations and bright colours which bring so much joy into the house. With these nostalgic feelings in mind, I chose colours that celebrate the winter season in the most joyful way I could think of. 

A lot of my inspiration for Starbright came from my own childhood memories and so there wasn't anything that I could photograph or look at. Memories of the old christmas decorations that would be unpacked year after year after year. The mismatched collections of baubles and the fairy lights with their brightly coloured plastic flowery petals. Strings of foil garlands which pulled out in a concertina of intricate folds and cuts, and brightly coloured foil stars which hung from lampshades and shelves. And a big round tin of colourful foil wrapped Quality Street chocolates (always a highly anticipated gift from my Grandad).

In the town where I grew up, every shop along the high street would display a small living christmas tree above the upper storey window, strung with brightly lit, multi coloured festoon lights. I LOVED those lights - I don't think trees are decorated like this any more, but the lights were always so bright and colourful due to the large bulbs. It meant that walking or driving through the town in the weeks leading up to Christmas was incredibly joyful, oh, I can still picture it so clearly in my mind and I absolutely adored it.

My idea for the Starbright colour palette was to create a background of deep blues as a nod to the dark winter skies, then light up those blues with all the bright shades that exist in my memory of childhood Christmases.

Lights in the dark if you like. 

You can see my colours here - heavy on the blues because I wanted that feeling of cosy nights and clear starry skies. I added in some greens for the evergreens and trees that we associate with christmas, and then a handful of festive brights to really bring the whole idea to life. Taking these rich, bright shades and setting them against the deep blues of a starry night sky makes this a blanket full of Winter Magic.

As is usual for my blankets, I've chose fifteen shades of Stylecraft Special DK for my Starbright blanket

Top row :

♥ Gold ♥  Magenta ♥  Fuchsia Purple ♥  Pomegranate ♥  Lipstick ♥

Middle row :

♥ Apple ♥ Kelly Green ♥ Empire ♥ Teal ♥ Bottle ♥

Bottom row :

♥ Turquoise ♥ Aster ♥  Lapis ♥ Lobelia ♥ French Navy ♥

You can find the Starbright yarn pack in my shop at Wool Warehouse, click on the following link...

STARBRIGHT YARN PACK 

There is a whole backstory to the Starbright blanket design which I won't bore you with - suffice to say I went through a LOT of failure to get to the blanket that I'm showing you today. Stacks of samples and partly made and abandoned squares. A whole ginormous, massive HEAP of really wrong colour decisions resulting in three months of work being thrown in the bin (literally - the whole lot went in the kitchen bin). I started again from scratch with a fresh bag of yarn - the above photo was taken on 22nd July on the first day of our summer holiday in Northumberland when I was just about to start Starbright V2.

I'm very happy with the square pattern I designed -  a star in the centre, radiating out into simple v-stitch rounds. I wanted the square to have something of a vintage bauble look, and the zig-zag of the v-stitch reminds me of those concertina foil garlands, do you know the ones I mean?

I planned to start each square with a jolly bright centre and finish with some of the darker blue shades - I was trying to create something that described lights shining out into the dark.

The above plate was my summer holiday crochet - eighty one little starry centres.

The stars soon turned into baubles.....

....and on through the weeks of summer I turned the baubles into colourful squares.

The above photo shows the squares with the first three colours complete (there are 6 colours for each square).

I really, really love seeing a blanket journey evolve like this, it's such a thrill to have this idea inside my head and to witness it literally come to life in front of my eyes.

You'll notice that at this point, all the squares are very colourful as I've kept the darker blues to be used in the outer rounds.

The squares continued to grow....

.....and grow.....

....and grow, until they were at the stage where they were ready to join.

Now this is where the hard work really starts - it's really hard to explain to you just how difficult this process can be, and what a humongous amount of concentration and creative vision it takes to make these colour decisions on the fly.

Using the join-as-you-go method means that I need to try and imagine what the joining colours are going to look like before I actually make them. I also need to do things like make sure I use each colour an equal number of times, and separate squares that are too samey...so many decisions to make. My method is to use the floor, and make little yarn twists to represent the colour of the joining round. I place the yarn twists alongside each square, trying to balance the colour placement, and making sure that I can visualise them working. It's hard! Reeeeeeally hard!!

But I go forth with confidence, joining, joining, joining, and hoping and praying that it's going to look as good in real life as it does inside my head.

I work out from the centre because I'm trying to move the joining rounds from light to dark. Lighter in the centre and radiating out to the darker blues and greens around the outside.

The kitty oversees all decision making and work in progress, testing the quality of my workmanship at all times.

It's worth mentioning that it's inevitable that I make colour mistakes with this process, and so I leave all my joining tail ends dangling in case I need to perform surgery. I think I frogged out four squares in total, removing them completely, remaking them with better colours and then joining them back in again.

Finally, I had joined all 81 squares (they are arranged in a 9 x 9 format for this blanket) and began the task of darning in those dangling ends. Luckily for me I was at the café with friends while I tackled this bit so it wasn't too painful, but in normal circumstances crocheting a square blanket, I would always, always darn my ends in as I go.

I LOVE the join-as-you-go method and have used it in most of my square blanket designs. It's so neat and means that the blanket comes together pretty quickly.

So shall I give you a few numbers to roll around in your mind?

81 squares in total. 

6 colours in each square. No two squares are the same, they are all different.

That makes 486 colour decisions in these squares......and I am SO PROUD of it!!!!!

The border keeps the v-stitch design and is worked in the darker shades of blues and greens. This creates a  grounding framework around the squares and settles the whole design down a bit - those squares are pretty rowdy and shouty and need a bit of calming.

The little red border at the end was a last minute decision and I love the way it adds a final zing of joyful spirit.

Ahhhh.........it really is more than a little bit lovely.

As always, as soon as I darned in the last end, the blanket was put into use. My blankets don't get folded up and put away, no, no, they get to become a part of family life right from the start. It quickly became a firm favourite with the Little People and I can't tell you how happy it makes me when I see my blankets being used and loved by my family.

Oh - I took this photo yesterday and wanted to show you - I held my blanket up to the window to let the light shine through to highlight the stitch pattern. Isn't it lovely? I really like how the stars look like they are shining.

Miss Tilly didn't wait a second to road test the newly completed blanket - she was literally on it in an instant, as soon as it touched down on the sofa. I love the way cats just assume you are spreading out a blanket for their personal comfort and use. That look on her face that says well of course you made this just for me, I expect nothing less!

I want to show you how the whole blanket looks now, so you can see the play of light and dark, and the shine of the colours out from the centre.....

............TA-DAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am immensely proud of this blanket, it has proven to be a real challenge for me with my depleted concentration levels and not an easy make by any means. I mean, the actual crochet bit was easy-peasy, but the endless decision making was not. 

But just look at it - isn't it a beauty??

I honestly adore it, and part of me can't believe I actually designed and made it. I did it! And I love it and I'm so bloomin' proud of it.

So. STARBRIGHT. It's done and I love it, and now I'd love you to love it too.

There is of course the yarn pack which contains 15 balls of yarn as well as a 12 page A4 printed pattern.

STARBRIGHT YARN PACK AND PRINTED PATTERN

You will need a 4mm hook as standard, but you can go bigger or smaller if you know your crochet tension. I think this pattern looks and feels better if it's kept on the tighter side.

The join-as-you-go method is written into the printed pattern, but there is also a full photo tutorial here on my blog to help you along with it.

STARBRIGHT TUTORIAL

I often get asked if my patterns are suitable for beginners, and with Starbright I'd say that yes, it's a good one for adventurous beginners to try. The actual stitches are easy (mostly just UK trebles and chains), but you do need to be able to hold a good, even tension, and you do need to concentrate with making squares!

And then of course we have the ends to deal with. Please don't groan......darning in ends is all part of the blanket making journey, and I'd really like you to adjust your mindset when it comes to tucking those ends away. Think of it like this - you are darning love into your blanket with every colour change, and ensuring that it becomes an heirloom that will stand the test of time. My method is to darn as soon as I snip, NO EXCUSES. Scissors and needle stay together, and as soon as I cut that yarn, I thread it straight onto my needle and darn. it takes just a few seconds. Seconds. It's not an endless, thankless task if you do it this way.

STARBRIGHT STRIPES

Now I know that not everyone loves squares like I do, and some of you would prefer to work on a striped blanket where you have an easy run of it up and down those long rows. I hear you - I love the ease of stripes too, and the way that they provide a really therapeutic and mindful crochet experience. So last week I worked up a sampler to see how these bright winter colours would look as a stripe. OH. MY. GOODNESS. I hadn't been expecting to fall head over heels in love, but unexpectedly it happened.

I knew as soon as I took the above photo that I would be making my own striped blanket. I mean look.......

......WOW!!!!! This is my skinny sampler which has 105 rows. It's how I like to sample a stripe blanket so that I know for sure the colours are going to balance and play nice with each other.

It's safe to say that these colours together are powerful - this is going to be a power-stripe! It's rich and vibrant and joyful, if a little bit on the boisterous side. Gosh, I do love it.

I started out on my next blanket journey as soon as I'd finished my sampler, I couldn't wait to get going.

I'm using the same v-stitch as I used for the Starbright squares and the border - it's a simple v-stitch which is compact and doesn't have chain spaces, so it makes a nice dense crochet fabric. I'm working two rows of colour for each stripe so it's not quite so zig-zaggy, but half the number of ends to darn in. I just couldn't face one-row stripes.

This pattern is very, very, very easy, so there won't be a photo tutorial for it, just the written pattern. Of course you don't have to use the v-stitch if you don't want to. I have twelve other stripe patterns to choose from, so if stripes are calling to you, then choose whichever pattern pleases you the most.

Click on the following link for the V-stitch pattern >>

V-STITCH PATTERN

The graphic below shows the 105 stripes I made in my sampler, it really is going to make a glorious blanket. 

Now depending on which stripe pattern you choose, each pattern will have a different number of stripes (because the height of each stripe pattern varies). I'm going to aim for 99 stripes for my v-stitch to make my blanket 175cm long. You can choose to make as many stripes as you have yarn for, in whichever pattern tickles your fancy.

Here is a run down of my stripe patterns, and the suggested number of stripes to make a 6ft length.

♥ Starbright v-stitch :: 99 stripes

♥ Neat Wave :: 115 stripes (as used in the Moorland Blanket)

♥ Woodland Ripple :: 105 stripes 

♥ Seashell Stripe :: 100 stripes (as used in the Dune blanket)

♥ Spike Stitch :: 99 stripes (as used in the Dahlia blanket)

♥ Springfrost Stripe :: 95 stripes

♥ Cosy Stripe :: 90 stripes

♥ Granny Stripe :: 90 stripes

♥ Meadow Stripe :: 90 stripes

♥ Hydrangea Stripe :: 88 stripes

♥ Neat Ripple :: 84 stripes

♥ Easy Eyelet Ripple :: 84 stripes (as used in the Harbour blanket)

♥ Trellis Stripe :: 84 stripes (as used in the Sweet Pea blanket)

I hope this pattern/stripe info is helpful - all patterns (including starting chains etc) are in my sidebar in the usual place, I expect you will already be familiar with many of them and will have a favourite.

I made a worksheet for you so that you have the exact colour order that I'm using for my stripes. Click on the following link to download/print.

STARBRIGHT STRIPE WORKSHEET 

There are 105 stripes listed on the worksheet, but obviously depending on which pattern you choose, do remember to stop when your blanket reaches the length that you want!

The other thing I've done is make up a sampler with the Starbright colours ordered into a sequence which loosely follows the colour wheel. I think this repeating stripe would make a fantastic blanket and if you like the look of it, here is the order (from bottom to top) :

1. Aster
2. Turquoise
3. Empire
4. Bottle
5. Kelly Green
6. Apple
7. Gold
8. Magenta
9. Pomegranate
10. Fuchsia Purple
11. Lipstick
12. Lapis
13. French Navy
14. Teal
15. Lobelia

You can see how different the same fifteen colours can look when they are ordered differently. I much prefer the higgeldy-piggeldy energised version on the left, but I can also see the appeal of the calmer, more ordered colourwash version on the right.

If you like the idea of making a colourwash blanket, I created a worksheet for that too. It has 99 stripes, so would be suitable for a shorter stitch pattern like the v-stitch, or the seashell (Dune) or Springfrost stripes would also work well.

STARBRIGHT COLOURWASH WORKSHEET 

Well, I think that's all for now. Thank you so much for reading all about Starbright, I hope you enjoyed the colourful visuals and a little peek into my creative working process.

STARBRIGHT YARN PACK

STARBRIGHT TUTORIAL

V-STITCH PATTERN

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Comments

[Di O’Neill]

I love this quilt you are so talented. I haven’t been crocheting very long so I hope i can manage it. Coming into a hot summer in Aus the squares may
be more comfortable
Xx

[Sarah]

I am bowled over that you have created such a beautiful textile at such a tough time for you.
I think it is my favourite blanket so far

[Roz Peel]

Wow Lucy it’s stunning! I just love the colour scheme. It’s great to have bright colours in the dark days of winter.

[Geeha]

My childhood Christmas was very similar. I have made the Mystical Lanterns blanket with the yarn left from my Attic 24 blankets because it reminded me of those baubles. Thank you for bringing back those lovely days and, despite all the pressures of loved ones and health, thinking of so many ideas to use the festive colours

[Margaret]

A fantastic blanket and the result of so much thought and effort. Thank you for sharing your creativity so selflessly.
I look forward to making the stripy blanket - just what is needed to bring some light into these dreich days.

[Winwick Mum]

This is a stunning blanket, and I love that you've worked the colours into stripes as well. Definitely my new favourite! :) xx