Crochet Baby Blanket

It has been a while since my last post, but I am back with numerous new ideas to share with you!
I want to start with the thing that is currently very present to me. That is, me becoming a first-time mum! So, what’s best for a newbie mum than a multifunctional crochet baby blanket that combines several benefits in one: a cozy, thick blanket that keeps your little mouse warm and a play mat with visual and sensual elements. As for my twin girls, they currently enjoy their tummy time on them!

In this post, I show you how you can make a playful crochet baby blanket with several motifs and 3D elements added on the blanket to create an accentuated look. You can enhance the play-effect by inserting sound elements into the 3D elements, such as a cellophane rattle or a Squeaker.

crochet baby blankets

The instructions are written in American English Crochet terms.

Crochet Baby Blanket with 3D-Motifs

crochet baby blanket with crochet animals

Let’s start with the first type of a simple, yet playful blanket: a crochet baby blanket with several motifs attached to it to tell a story. This blanket is made as follows:

you work a simple, one-coloured crochet blanket with your preferred yarn and pattern.
you work different kinds of crochet elements with the same yarn type and in different colours that are then sewed to the blanket with a sewing yarn, creating a lightly-lifted structure to the blanket. I have chosen the following elements to be part of my crochet baby blanket:
- a crochet sun
- crochet clouds (2 different types in 3 different sizes)
- a crochet sea
- two types of crochet trees
- a path
- grass
- crochet animals: a bird, an owl, a fox and a fish

Below, I guide you through the process of creating such a blanket. The patterns for the elements can be downloaded for free.

Crochet pattern for the baby blanket:

The blanket is worked in shell stitches. Each shell stitch consists of a crochet block of 6 sts: skip 2 sts, 1 sc st in 3rd st, skip another 2 sts, 5 dc in 6th st. Hence, for a pattern with the shell stitch we use multiples of 6 sts. There are various other fun crochet stitches to use for the blanket’s pattern such as Sprig Stitch, Moss Stitch, Cluster Stitch (Puff Stitch) or Basketweave Stitch (which makes the blanket particularly thick).

The final size of the baby blanket is appr. 80 x 80 x 0.8 -1 cm (L x W x D). The bulkier the yarn you use, the thicker the blanket gets.

Material needed:

a fluffy medium (hook size: 5-6 mm) or bulky (hook size: 6.5-8 mm) yarn. I used Bohème Velvet Double by Go Handmade (9 balls) in light grey which is a polyester yarn at a needle size of 4-6 mm (10 cm = 18 sts) for the blanket (https://gohandmade.net/shop/238-boheme-velvet-double/). If you only have thinner yarns available, try working with two strands at once.
a crochet hook. I used a 5 mm hook (US size 8) for the above mentioned yarn
scissors
a measuring tape to verify the blanket size

Do a slip knot and work 118 ch sts. For a bigger blanket, work more ch sts in multiples of 6 sts, then chain 1 and turn your work.

1. Row: Starting from the 2nd ch st from the hook work a sc in each ch st across (117), ch 3 and turn your work

2. Row: 2 dc in 1st sc st (skip the 3 turning ch sts from 1st row), [skip 2 sts, 1 sc st in next st, skip another 2 sts, 5 dc in next st] repeat 19 times, skip 2 sts, 1 sc in last st (117), ch 3 and turn your work

3. Row: 2 dc in 1st st (skip the 3 turning ch sts from the row before), [skip 2 sts, 1 sc st in next st, skip another 2 sts, 5 dc in next st] repeat 19 times, skip 2 sts, 1 sc in last st (117), ch 3 and turn your work

Repeat the 3rd row so many times until you reach your desired width of 80 cm or more.

Pre-final Row: 2 dc, [skip 2 sts, 1 sc, skip 2 sts, 5 dc in next st] x 19, skip 2 sts, 1 sc in last st, ch 1 and turn

Final Row: 1 sc, [1 sc in next 2 sts, 1 sl st in next st (at the highest point of the shell st from the previous row), 1 sc in next 2 sts, 1 hdc in next st (at the lowest point of the shell st from the previous row)] x 19, 1 sc in last 3 sts.

Weave in the yarn ends. Your cozy blanket is finished!

The illustrations below guide you through the process of how a crochet shell stitch pattern is done:

Crochet patterns for the blanket elements and animals:

Below, you get the free patterns for the following elements and animals (to start the download of the PDF-instructions click on the download text in each element). Each stitch type is briefly illustrated in the free patterns. For each element, I used the same yarn type as for the crochet baby blanket (from Go Handmade):

a crochet sun (download)
crochet clouds (2 different types in 3 different sizes): worked in puff stitches and booble stitches (download)
a crochet sea: worked in celtic weave stitches (download)
two types of crochet trees: one type is worked in bobble stitches, the other one in front-post double crochet stitches (download)
a crochet path (download)
crochet grass: worked in loop stitches (download)
crochet animals: a bird, an owl, a fox and a fish (download)
4 crochet buttons (one button for each crochet animal. Those buttons are later used to attach the animals to it with a thin and short elastic thread)

Material needed:

a yarn type similar to the one you used for the crochet blanket. I used Bohème Velvet Double by Go Handmade in different colours.
a crochet hook. I used a 5 mm hook (US size 8) for the above mentioned yarn
scissors
a darning needle
some wadding (for the crochet animals)

Crochet clouds in puff stitches and bobble stitches

crochet trees in bobble stitches and front-post double crochet stitches

First, sew the crochet elements (sun, clouds, trees, sea, path, gras) to the blanket. Thereby, use a sewing thread in the colour of the blanket.

Then, sew the 4 crochet buttons to the blanket where the animals should later be attached (see How to make a crochet button below).

At last, take a short piece of elastic thread and sew it onto each of the animals separately. The elastic thread should be about the length of your fingertip so that the crochet animals lie tightly on the blanket but can be lifted slightly from the blanket at the same time.