Colourblock Ripple Blanket

If you follow me on social media you will likely have seen the crochet ripple blanket that I made for one of my husband's colleagues recently. It definitely got a lot of love and I can completely understand why - ripple blankets are just so satisfying to both make and look at!

I have had many comments and DMs asking about my version of the blanket, how I set out my colours and the ripple pattern that I followed so I'm going to share it with you here.

The Yarn:

I used Paintbox Simply Aran in Vintage Heather and Pine Green along with Yarnsmiths Create Aran in Antique Gold and Parchment.

My blanket was approximately 80x95cm. To make a similar size blanket you will need:

1x 100g ball each of Antique gold and Vintage Heather

2x 100g ball of Pine Green

3x 100g ball of Parchment

I used a 5.5mm crochet hook.

The Pattern:

The basis of the ripple blanket is the Neat Ripple Blanket pattern from Attic 24 . This is the first ever ripple pattern that I used when I was learning to crochet and in my opinion it really is the best. It's well written and easy to follow for beginners plus she provides some step-by-step photos which are super helpful if you haven't made a ripple blanket before.

The neat ripple pattern is a simple one row repeat and once you are a few rows in it becomes really easy to remember the stitch pattern to create the peaks and valleys of each ripple and it makes for a soothing mindful project - great for making whilst listening to an audiobook or watching your latest series.

Whilst I love the original pattern and have used it many times before, including for my youngest son's baby blanket (look how tiny he was!), I did make some slight alterations for this particular blanket.

The original Neat Ripple Blanket from Attic 24 uses DK weight yarn and a 4mm hook but for this one I used aran/worsted/4 weight yarn and a 5.5mm hook. You can absolutely play around with yarn weights and hook sizes and still have a beautiful finished project.

I also chose to work my stitches (almost) entirely in the BLO (back loop only). This is what creates the beautiful rippled texture that compliments the ripple stitch pattern so well.

I say almost entirely in the BLO as I do recommend working the first and last stitch of each row through both loops as normal just to help with the structure of the blanket. I find that this prevents the stitches from stretching out and becoming gappy when working the border.

Colour Blocking:

For this blanket, I had a colour block section of the 3 contrast colours at either end with a larger section of the neutral shade in the middle.

For the starting section, each contrast colour consists of 4 rows, working the pattern as usual just in the BLO, before switching to the next colour. Once I had worked my 3 contrast colours (Pine Green, Antique Gold and then Vintage Heather) I the began the large section of Parchment.

The middle section consisted of a total of 36 rows, which is 3x the amount of rows for the contrast section. I felt that this would give nice proportions and it did seem to work well but you could absolutely make this section longer.

The final section is worked in reverse of the inital contrast colour section so that it is the same whichever way around you have the blanket. This time I started with Vintage Heather, then on to Antique Gold and finally Pine Green.

For ease, follow this pattern:

Rows 1-4: Pine Green

Rows 5-8: Antique Gold

Rows 9-12: Vintage Heather

Rows 13-48: Parchment

Rows 49-52: Vintage Heather

Rows 53-56: Antique Gold

Rows 57-60: Pine Green

The Border:

I followed Attic 24's initial instructions for the border to help square off the edges, although I have been known to leave them as the ripple and I think that looks pretty too, using Parchment before switching to Pine Green as this was my chosen border colour and adding in a row of HDC in the 3rd loop to add some texture to the border also. You could absolutely leave this out and work either in the BLO or as a normal HDC round.

Using Parchment:

Round 1: Square off ends using Attic 24 pattern

Round 2: HDC around, (HDC, ch2, HDC) in each corner

Using Pine Green

Round 3: HDC around, (HDC, ch2, HDC) in each corner

Round 4: HDC in the 3rd loop around, (HDC, ch2, HDC) in each corner

Round 5: SC around, 3SC in each corner

Finishing Touches:

As this blanket was to be given as a New Baby Gift I wanted to package it up nicely for the recipient and one of the easiest ways I know to do this is to use a cupcake box. You can get them really cheaply from places like B&M, Home Bargains and Poundland and they are the perfect fit for baby blankets. I have previously gifted large blankets in large cake boxes too, they work a treat - no pun intended!

I did make up a matching newborn Pixie Bonnet to go alongside this blanket and I think it made such a delightful little set. What do you think?

I hope that this little overview of how I made my Colourblock Ripple Blanket has been helpful. I honestly think that you could do a ripple blanket in any colour combination, or even a solid colour, and it would look stunning. I'm yet to see a version that I don't love.

It's a great project for beginner and advanced crocheters alike and this version goes to show that something as simple as working in the BLO can take one pattern and make it look a little different! It's all about experimentation and finding the joy in the art of crochet.

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Happy crocheting!

Shelley ♡