It’s time to bust that yarn stash! Hold three strands of yarn together and work up the Caramel Stitch Stashbusting Crochet Baby Blanket.
The caramel stitch is a cluster spike stitch with a gorgeous, luxurious appearance! Though the stitch definition is muted slightly when you hold so many strands together, the spiked stitches add a fun pop of texture and interest to all the color changes featured in this blanket!
The pattern is finished with a simple single crochet border. I hope you enjoy this pattern!
You can pin this pattern to your Pinterest board here.
Abbreviations (US)
- ch(s): chain(s)
- pm: place marker in the st just worked
- rep: repeat
- rnd(s): round(s)
- rs: right side
- sc(s): single crochet(s)
- sl st: slip stitch
- st(s): stitch(es)
- ws: wrong side
- yo: yarn over
Special Stitch
Caramel Stitch: Yo, insert your hook in the next st, pull up a loop (3 loops on hook), yo, insert your hook beneath the st you’d just worked into (the top of the st from two rows back), pull up a loop (5 loops on hook), yo, insert your hook beneath the st you’d just worked into (the top of the st from three rows back), pull up a loop (7 loops on hook), yo and pull through all seven loops on your hook.
1. Yo.
2. Insert your hook in the next st and pull up a loop. You will have three loops on your hook.
3. Yo.
4. Insert your hook beneath the st you’d just worked into (the top of the st from two rows back) and pull up a loop. You will have five loops on your hook.
5. Yo.
6. Insert your hook beneath the st you’d just worked into (the top of the st from three rows back) and pull up a loop. You will have seven loops on your hook.
7. Yo.
8. Pull through all seven loops on your hook.
Materials
- About 1,200 yards of weight 1 yarn and 2,000 yards of weight 4 yarn total from your stash. The blanket weighs 38.38oz. See Notes for more details on the yarns I used plus tips for choosing your own.
- L/11 8mm crochet hook
- Scissors
- Stitch markers
- Tapestry needle
Finished Size
35″ x 35″ with border | 31″ x 31″ before border
Gauge
7.5 sts x 10.5 rows = 4″ x 4″
Notes
You can get an ads-free, easy-to-print PDF of this pattern over at Ravelry or at Etsy!
A throw-sized version of this pattern is also available at Knitty for free here: Hefty Caramel Weighted Blanket
For a more detailed step-by-step tutorial of the caramel stitch, I recommend the modified caramel stitch tutorial over at Nordic Hook.
I used various 100% acrylic yarns and wool blends in my blanket. When shopping your stash, consider machine washability as well as fiber behavior. For example, cotton yarn acts quite differently than superwash wool after washing! When holding three strands of yarn together, you mitigate many of those issues, but in general, acrylic yarns and blends are safe choices to ensure your project doesn’t unevenly shrink or grow after washing.
The acrylic yarns I used were Big Twist Value, Caron Simply Soft in solids and paints, I Love This Yarn!, Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice, Red Heart Soft, Spinnerin Germanton Deluxe, and Yarn Bee Soft Secret. Various wool blends were Paintbox Yarns Wool Mix Aran, Premier Yarns Downton Abbey, and Whims Merino Z Twist Crocheters Yarn.
If you plan to donate your blanket, check the organization’s requirements. For example, for baby organizations, some require acrylic yarn only.
If you don’t have any weight 1 yarns in your stash, you can create this blanket with just the two worsted weights held together, and gauge shouldn’t change much.
In order to plan your color changes, I recommend laying out your yarn roughly in your preferred order and taking a photo so you know which color to grab next!
Turning ch never counts as a st.
To adjust the width of this blanket, ch any even number.
This baby blanket pattern over at Aesthetic Nest is the first one I ever made! It features three strands of yarn held together, so give it a look if you’re interested in a simpler stashbuster.
If you love this pattern, check out some of my other favorite stashbuster baby blankets!
- Super Bulky C2C Moss Stitch Baby Blanket for Charity
- C2C Moss Stitch Stashbusting Crochet Baby Blanket Pattern
Caramel Stitch Stashbusting Crochet Baby Blanket Pattern
Holding two strands of weight 4 yarn and one strand of weight 1 yarn together, ch 58.
Row 1: (ws) Sc in the second ch from hook and in each st across, ch 1, turn. <57 sts>
Rows 2-5: Sc in each st across, ch 1, turn. <57 sts>
Row 6: (rs) Sc in the first st, *caramel st in the next st, sc in the next st; rep from * across, ch 1, turn. <29 scs, 28 caramel sts>
Rows 7-11: Sc in each st across, ch 1, turn. <57 sts>
Rows 12-80: Rep Rows 6-11, changing colors whenever you run out of the working yarn and always adding in the same yarn weight you just finished with. You’ll end on Row 8 of the repeat.
Single Crochet Border
Border Notes: Border is worked in turned rounds. For the best appearance and a good contrast, use a unique color combination for the border that hasn’t been used in the body of the blanket. As you work along the sides, aim to place about 2 sc sts for every 3 row-ends for a border that lies flat.
Rnd 1: (rs) Using your three strands of yarn as though they are one, pull up a loop of yarn in the upper right-hand corner, in the same corner, work (ch 1, sc, pm, sc), [sc across**, in the corner work (3 scs, pm in the middle sc)] four times ending the final rep at **, sc in the starting corner, sl st join to the first marked st of the rnd. <Excluding marked corners, each side of the blanket should have 57 sts.>
Rnds 2-7: Ch 1, in the marked corner work (sc, pm, sc), [sc across**, in the corner work (3 scs, pm in the middle sc)] four times ending the final rep at **, sc in the starting corner, sl st join to the first marked st of the rnd. <2 sts added per side. At the end of Rnd 7, excluding marked corners, each side of the blanket should have 69 sts.>
Cut yarn, fasten off, and weave in all those ends!
