Starry Velvet Crochet Baby Blanket

Learn to crochet the starry velvet baby blanket! This blanket is worked up entirely in simple single crochet stitches, allowing the texture of the yarn to shine and providing a great foundation for embroidering and surface crocheting those stars.

The mom who received this blanket had a night sky theme for her wedding. I knew as soon as she announced she was expecting, I’d want to follow that theme for her baby blanket!

I love this Constellation Crochet Blanket by Elle Marie Home, which was an inspiration for this project. Check it out if you love the night sky theme!

When determining how to work the stars, I wanted them to look decent on the back of the blanket as well as on the front. The blanket has a clear front and back, but I didn’t want the back to look completely messy!

At a glance you don’t notice so much that this is the back of the blanket, which was my goal! My husband even said he couldn’t tell the difference!

I opted to surface crochet some of the larger stars and embroider smaller stars throughout. I’ve included many tips in the instructions below.

Since I knew I wanted to surface crochet, I wanted a really simple base fabric to work into, so this is simply a single crocheted blanket! Plus, I think the simple stitch really helps the beautiful sparkly velvet yarn take center stage.

The blanket is polished off with a simple shell stitch border. I loved the girly detail, and I wanted a thin border so the stars would shine! This border was inspired by the border on the Crochet Flower Blanket by Daisy Farm Crafts. I am also obsessed with the colors on that blanket – the high contrast between the ivory yarn and copper border is just gorgeous!

I hope you enjoy this pattern!

Materials

• Juicy Couture Luxe Velour Sparkle Weight 5 Bulky (98% Polyester, 2% Metallic, 107yd/98m, 3.5oz/100gm), approximately 963 yds:
  • mc: 8 skeins Regal Blue
  • cc: 1 skein Soft Glow (for border and stars)
• Size K/10 6.5mm crochet hook
• Scissors
• Star template
• Stitch markers
• Tapestry needle

Abbreviations (US)

• cc: contrasting color
• ch(s): chain(s)
• dc(s): double crochet(s)
• mc: main color
• pm: place marker in the stitch you just created (unless otherwise indicated)
• rep: repeat
• rnd: round
• sc(s): single crochet(s)
• sl st(s): slip stitch(es)
• sk: skip
• sp(s): space(s)
• st(s): stitch(es)

Finished Size

40″ x 30″

Gauge

10 sts x 12 rows = 4″

Notes

You can get an ads-free, easy-to-print PDF of this pattern over at Ravelry or at Etsy!

I recommend marking the first stitch and last stitch of each row to take the guesswork out of where each row ends. This helps make the crocheting mindless and prevent missed stitches!

Also, because the yarn is so dark it can be challenging to see your stitches. Brand new crocheters may want to practice single crochet by making a swatch with a lighter colored yarn before diving into this project.

To adjust the width of the blanket, ch any multiple of 6.

Starry Velvet Crochet Baby Blanket Pattern

Ch 102.

Row 1: Sc in the second ch and in each st across (101 sts here and throughout). Ch 1 and turn.

Row 2: Sc in each st across. Ch 1 and turn.

Repeat Row 2 until work measures 30″, about 88 rows.

Cut yarn, fasten off, and weave in ends.

Border

Border notes: The shell st border requires a multiple of 6+5 along each side of the blanket. If you follow my suggested counts in Rnd 1 the border should work perfectly. Otherwise you may have to “fudge” your stitches a bit (as Edie Eckman says in her phenomenal border class on Craftsy!) in the middle of the rows in Rnd 2 so your shells land nicely, especially around the corners.

Rnd 1: With your mc, pull up a loop of yarn in the upper righthand corner. Ch 1, then sc in the same st. Sc in each st across. In each corner work (sc, ch 1, pm, sc). As you work into the sides, aim to place about 9 scs for every 10 row ends. When you reach your starting corner work (sc, ch 1, pm, sl st to the first sc). Not including your marked corners, you should end up with 101 sts across the top and bottom of the blanket, and 77 sts along the sides. Cut yarn, fasten off, and weave in ends.

Rnd 2: With your cc, pull up a loop of yarn in any of your marked ch-1 corner sps. Ch 1, then sc in the same st, [*sk 2 sts, 5 dcs in the next st, sk 2 sts, sc in the next st; rep from * across until there are 5 scs left in the row. Sk 2 sts, 5 dcs in the next st, sk 2 sts, sc in the marked ch-1 corner sp] around the blanket. When you reach the start of your border, sl st join, cut yarn, fasten off, and weave in ends.

Surface Crocheted and Embroidered Stars

Surface Crochet Tips

Using the star template and the blanket images as your guides, surface crochet 8+ stars on your blanket, placing the largest stars in the upper lefthand corner and placing smaller and smaller stars toward the bottom righthand corner.

If you’ve never surface crocheted before, Naztazia has a fantastic video with great tips and tricks on YouTube here: How to Surface Crochet

I found it easiest to surface crochet while my blanket was laid out on the floor. Check the placement of your stitches often to see how you like them!

I mentioned in the introduction that I chose surface crochet so the back of the blanket would look all right, too. In order to define the star shapes on the back of the blanket, cut a length of yarn long enough to stitch around the back of your star, and using your tapestry needle, stitch around the threads on the back of the stars. Tie the threads together and clip closely to the knots for a secure finish.

This is what the back of one of the surface crocheted stars looks like:

How to Embroider Stars

Most of my embroidered stars are eight-pointed stars. In order for them to look okay on the back of the blanket as well as the front, you’ll want to return your needle to the center of the star often. Here are step by step instructions for embroidering your stars.

Thread your tapestry needle with your cc yarn. Pull the needle from the back of your work through to the front where you want the top of your star to be, leaving a tail 3-4 inches long for tying off the yarn later.

Insert your needle back into the fabric where you want the bottom of your star to be. You should have a vertical line on the front of your fabric.

Come back up through the center of the star.

Insert your needle to the left of your line where you want the widest part of your star to be.

Now pull the needle back through the front on the right side of your star.

Insert back into the middle of your star. You should now have what looks like a little cross.

Pull the needle through to the front of your work on a diagonal in the upper right-hand corner.

Insert into the bottom left-hand corner.

Pull the yarn back up through the center of your star.

Insert your needle into the bottom right-hand corner.

Pull back up through the upper left-hand corner.

Insert in the center of your star.

Tip: You can always loosen the threads a little bit to finesse how your star looks. Avoid pulling the yarn too tightly.

Cut your yarn with a tail long enough to tie off the two ends on the back. Tie a good knot and clip the yarn close to the knot.

You have a completed star!

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