One of my favorite things about learning to crochet is having the ability to make nice gifts for my friends and family. Being able to use a skill of mine to create something for someone that is different and more personalized than what can be bought has been such a joy. The only negative side I have found is that I can grow attached to an item while making it, and then wish I was keeping it for myself. Of all of the gifts that I have made so far, this blanket was the hardest to give away. It is so soft, and the perfect sized couch blanket. And although it was made for friends as a wedding gift, look how nicely it matches my living room!

This project is a great beginner project, and works up pretty quickly with bulky yarn. As an added bonus, it is machine washable! This is the first of my crochet projects that I have put in the washing machine, and while I was definitely nervous about it, it turned out great. After the first wash, some of the stitches shifted and settled, so I had to re-trim some of the ends. Nice and clean and ready to be wrapped!

This pattern is a simple moss stitch repeat, switching back and forth between a solid and striped yarn. The final blanket measures 40″ x 60″.

To complete this project, you will need to know the following stitches: sl knot and ch, sc.

You will also need the following supplies:

6mm (US J) crochet hook [Affiliate Link]

Tapestry Needle [Affiliate Link]

Red Heart Soft Essentials Yarn [Available at Michaels]
7 skeins Solid – Seafoam (#7504)
8 skeins Stripes – Maritime Stripes (#7940)

To begin, ch 150. To vary the size, chain any even number. Skip three ch spaces and sc in the fourth ch from hook. Continuing along ch, skip one ch, sc in the next and ch 1 until you reach the end of the row. End with ch 2 and turn.

Skip sc from previous row, sc in ch space from previous row, ch 1. Repeat until end of row, ending with ch 2 and turn.

Repeat the second row until you reach the desired number of rows. I switched between solid and striped yarn at unplanned points to keep the lengths of the stripes varied. Below are the number of rows I made of each color before switching for the 214 rows of the blanket.

12 rows solid
6 rows stripes
5 rows solid
6 rows stripes
6 rows solid
12 rows stripes
14 rows solid
9 rows stripes
6 rows solid
6 rows stripes
4 rows solid
13 rows stripes
8 rows solid
5 rows stripes
9 rows solid
5 rows stripes
5 rows solid
4 rows stripes
8 rows solid
9 rows stripes
5 rows solid
8 rows stripes
6 rows solid
5 rows stripes
5 rows solid
3 rows stripes
6 rows solid
11 rows stripes
13 rows solid

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: This pattern was designed by me and is intended for your personal use. I have provided it for free on my blog, and the selling of this pattern is strictly prohibited. If you are interested in selling completed items based off this pattern, please notify me and credit me as the designer.