Baby, you're doing my head in!
I mentioned last year about this blanket (at least on Twitter and Instagram, if not here, too) – it's the Stuffed Animal Blanket by Amanda Saladin. I made one for my best friend last year and I was blown away by how easy it came together, how quick it stitched up, and how I remarkably didn't feel like setting the entire project on fire at any time during its creation. (I don't find crochet relaxing, though I do agree it can make some beautiful things.)
That version of the blanket came out looking like the cutest, dopiest koala and everyone I showed it to wanted to give it a cuddle. THAT version of the blanket came together in one go, no frogging, no worries.
This one? Well... I'm on attempt #5 in almost 10 months and it's still giving me trouble. I should have known I could only get away with crocheting something once before the universe realigned itself.
I'm pretty sure it's the yarn.
See, it's a silky 100% cotton that I purchased for the blanket's recipient specifically. His mum wanted something lighter (we do live in Australia) and easy to clean (because babies, do you need any more reason?) So I bought a blanket's worth of the stuff, online, waited excitedly for the box of goodies to arrive and to start on the next crochet project, foolishly thinking I had nipped my rollercoaster relationship with hooking in the bud.
The box arrived. The yarn was every bit as silky and soft as the reviews promised (I don't just buy yarn online without doing at least some research...well, not often at least.). Holding the yarn against my cheek made me think of afternoon naps in the garden and trips to the play-park. I set the yarn up on the swift and began caking it up. It was then I noticed it....the yarn was THICK AND THIN!!!!
As you might imagine I just kept going and didn't ask questions. I also appear to have refused to photograph this part, out of sheer annoyance.
This time I finished all of the fourth cake before checking the blanket. I was back to a bloody trapezoid! Unsurprisingly, I ripped the entire darn thing back, put it in a project bag, and packed it away for the move.
A couple of weeks ago I felt brave (also, everyone is having babies again, so I decided I couldn't afford to let this project get the better of me), so I pulled the bag out of the bottom of my WIPs basket and started off again. I got through the first two cakes and....I have a flipping trapezoid.
I've carefully counted my stitches in the finished row to be certain I didn't lose any. I have consulted with crocheters who are more experienced than I. I have had my mother look over my work (that was a new experience). We are all in agreement, it isn't a problem with my stitching nor have I lost my ability to count. The only conclusion we can come to is that it is the yarn. The thick-n-thin-ness of the yarn ust be pulling on the fabric; mucking with the overall tension.
Well, I'm refusing to rip it back at all this time. It's. Not. Happening. I will just slog on until I've finished the base blanket and then, if it's an obviously uneven mess I will fix it somehow with a border (and likely a couple of frantic phone calls to Viking Mama). The uneveness of the sides can be a flipping design feature for all I care at this point. I'd rather the Little Pirate have his narwhal than it have commercially straight edges. A little rippling and waving should just add to the overall effect, right?
And here's a gratuitous photo of Song, because she makes me work for it more than Jolie.
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I mentioned last year about this blanket (at least on Twitter and Instagram, if not here, too) – it's the Stuffed Animal Blanket by Amanda Saladin. I made one for my best friend last year and I was blown away by how easy it came together, how quick it stitched up, and how I remarkably didn't feel like setting the entire project on fire at any time during its creation. (I don't find crochet relaxing, though I do agree it can make some beautiful things.)
That version of the blanket came out looking like the cutest, dopiest koala and everyone I showed it to wanted to give it a cuddle. THAT version of the blanket came together in one go, no frogging, no worries.
This one? Well... I'm on attempt #5 in almost 10 months and it's still giving me trouble. I should have known I could only get away with crocheting something once before the universe realigned itself.
I'm pretty sure it's the yarn.
See, it's a silky 100% cotton that I purchased for the blanket's recipient specifically. His mum wanted something lighter (we do live in Australia) and easy to clean (because babies, do you need any more reason?) So I bought a blanket's worth of the stuff, online, waited excitedly for the box of goodies to arrive and to start on the next crochet project, foolishly thinking I had nipped my rollercoaster relationship with hooking in the bud.
The box arrived. The yarn was every bit as silky and soft as the reviews promised (I don't just buy yarn online without doing at least some research...well, not often at least.). Holding the yarn against my cheek made me think of afternoon naps in the garden and trips to the play-park. I set the yarn up on the swift and began caking it up. It was then I noticed it....the yarn was THICK AND THIN!!!!
Now before anyone gets uppity with me, please understand. I don't mind thick and thin yarn. I've seen some delightful pieces knitted out of the stuff. It has its uses just as crochet has its, in my opinion. However, a crochet blanket probably isn't the best choice if you're aiming for something even roughly resembling a straight-edged blanket...
Check out the Buttercream Luxe Hat over at Left In Knots (she's worth a read, too!) and the Woven Finger Knitting Hula Hoop Rug over on Flax and Twine for some ideas.
But I decided I wasn't going to let the potential for problems stop me from trying. So I cast on (again, is this the right term for starting a new crochet project?) and started stitching. I got through the first cake and discovered that I had a trapezoid instead of a rectangle...
No matter, I ripped it back thinking that I must have miscounted in a few places because of the inconsistencies in the yarn (and my novice ability at reading my crochet work). I started again and YES, sometimes the thin sections are hard to see as a stitch. I MUST have just been skipping over them when counting stitches for the repeat. Too easy! I continued on, confident I had it sorted now.
By the end of the first cake and there was a little bit of a slope to the sides, but nothing major and certainly something I was sure I could smooth out when I added the border at the end. I started on the second cake.
Most of the way through the second cake (so I'm at the almost 200g mark) and.....again I have a trapezoid! I ripped back to the beginning of that cake, thinking perhaps it was merely an issue of different hank of yarn – different way of reading it. I was a little bit annoyed, but not so much that I couldn't ignore the slight in favour of my enthusiasm.
I tried again, this time carefully counting my stitches each repeat (which is every 3 stitches, btw). I got half way through the second cake and...BLOODY TRAPEZOID!
This time I ripped it back to the start of the new cake – again – and set it aside for a bit. When I came back to it, a couple of successful knitting projects later to bolster my confidence, I decided to only work on the project a few rows at a time, and without any other distractions. So, instead of watching tv or listening to the new Seanan McGuire book (Claire, this is how much I love you and your pirate brood) I would, at the utmost, have some soothing instrumental music playing in the background.
This time I didn't even bother looking at the state of the blanket at the end of the second cake. I, instead, moved on to the next colour and stitched away. After finishing that cake (so this is #3, if you're counting) I had....something resembling a RECTANGLE!
As you might imagine I just kept going and didn't ask questions. I also appear to have refused to photograph this part, out of sheer annoyance.
This time I finished all of the fourth cake before checking the blanket. I was back to a bloody trapezoid! Unsurprisingly, I ripped the entire darn thing back, put it in a project bag, and packed it away for the move.
A couple of weeks ago I felt brave (also, everyone is having babies again, so I decided I couldn't afford to let this project get the better of me), so I pulled the bag out of the bottom of my WIPs basket and started off again. I got through the first two cakes and....I have a flipping trapezoid.
I've carefully counted my stitches in the finished row to be certain I didn't lose any. I have consulted with crocheters who are more experienced than I. I have had my mother look over my work (that was a new experience). We are all in agreement, it isn't a problem with my stitching nor have I lost my ability to count. The only conclusion we can come to is that it is the yarn. The thick-n-thin-ness of the yarn ust be pulling on the fabric; mucking with the overall tension.
Well, I'm refusing to rip it back at all this time. It's. Not. Happening. I will just slog on until I've finished the base blanket and then, if it's an obviously uneven mess I will fix it somehow with a border (and likely a couple of frantic phone calls to Viking Mama). The uneveness of the sides can be a flipping design feature for all I care at this point. I'd rather the Little Pirate have his narwhal than it have commercially straight edges. A little rippling and waving should just add to the overall effect, right?
During all of this polygonal silliness I may have cast on the Anna Socks by Skeindeer Knits to soothe my nerves. That's them to the just below. Can you blame me? So many things about this project make it more enticing. I mean, just consider the yarn for a start (Knit Picks & Hedgehog Fibres), all in blissfully consistent fingering weighted sock yarn. And the colours are SO. FUN.
I'll try again tomorrow with the blanket.
I'd love to hear your project mishap stories – drop me a line in the comments below!
Enjoying the blog? It takes a lot of caffeine and yarn to make this happen! ;)
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