Whenever I find blanket yarn on sale, I immediately search patterns on Ravelry. Michaels had them on sale for $5.99/skein which is almost half off.
I found Jenni’s Favorite Chunky Throw Blanket for free and the yarn requirement was low- rare for a blanket. It listed 880 yards which is about four skeins of Bernat blanket yarn. My total for the day was $24.
I picked this totally cute, soft pink color and they, thankfully, had enough for the pattern. All too often you’ll find a color you like and they’ll only have one or two skeins.
All this being said, I did run out of yarn before I finished the pattern which made me grumpy. I typically crochet quite tight (I try to keep my stitches loose!) so I usually have leftover yarn and a smaller finished project.
I knew I was running low, so I cut the blanket short and still ran out before finished the border. Lesson learned: always buy an extra skein.
Review
I’ll be honest, there really isn’t a lot to review. That’s a good thing though! The whole blanket is made of one repeating row over and over again. What I like most about these kinds of patterns is that I can watch TV or hold a conversation while doing them. The simple repetition also ensures it works up quickly.
She gives three options for a border at the end and they all look very nice. A border really completes the blanket. I chose the ribbed border for my blanket.
However, I am a little irked at running out of yarn before my blanket was completed. This isn’t the pattern’s fault since I’m sure they’re all made with a max of 880 yards. I don’t know why mine worked up the way it did, my stitches don’t seem particularly big or loose. Just go ahead and get 5 skeins of blanket yarn if you’re going to do this project. Better safe than sorry. I suppose I can make a matching hat with my leftovers. Hmm…or maybe hair ties? Or neck warmer/cowl?
You can practically hear Vito asking what the heck is on his footies.
Yarn
As I said above, Michaels was having a sale on Bernat Baby Blanket yarn and I bought four skeins in “tan pink” for $24.
But then, I had to buy a spare skein on eBay for about $9. So, the total was more like $33.
I love blanket yarn. It’s one of my favorites to work with. There are no strands for the hook to go through and it’s satisfying how quickly projects work up. Plus it’s incredibly soft and cozy. What I appreciate the most is the high yardage with this yarn. Sometimes, you only get 30 or so yards with heavier yarns and it’s frustrating to have to buy 10 or so skeins for a project. Another blanket I made used 6 skeins, so it’s not too bad if you find a BOGO deal.
Mods
Like I said above, I had to cut the blanket short in order to try and finish the border. I went to 50 rows on the blanket itself instead of the listed 62. I still ran out of yarn and had to order one more skein on eBay because Michael’s doesn’t sell it anymore, of course. That’s the only modification I had to make.
To be fair, I don’t know if 5 skeins would have gotten me the full-sized blanket. I just needed to finish off the border as it’s fairly yarn hungry.
Overall, it’s a cute and quick blanket that’s inexpensive whether you get 4 or 5 skeins of blanket yarn. It’ll be very nice in the Texas winter.
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