How to Crochet a Blanket

How to Crochet a Blanket: How to Make an Easy Crochet Blanket

Learning how to crochet a blanket is an important step in your journey to learn how to crochet. Needlework crafts such as knitting and crochet make it possible to create cozy, irresistible blankets even if you have no idea how to sew.

Ready to learn how to make a crochet blanket? This article covers the following topics:

• • The skills and materials needed before learning how do you crochet a blanket
  • How to crochet a small, simple one-piece blanket
  • How to crochet an easy blanket with granny squares

Grab your supplies and get ready to crochet the blanket of your dreams. No sewing skills or types of fabric are required. The only question is whether you’ll give it as a gift or keep it for yourself. 

What You Need to Crochet a Blanket

Before you can learn how to crochet a blanket, you need to have all of the materials and necessary skills. Besides the basic crochet supplies of yarn and hooks, you’ll need at least one specialty tool. It’s possible to learn how to crochet a blanket for beginners with just one or two stitches, but your options are restricted.

Crochet blanket supplies are simple, but they will vary depending on how you plan to construct your blanket. To start, ensure that you have the following basic supplies handy:

1. 1. Yarn (in the appropriate weight, material, and color)
   2. Crochet hooks (sized correctly for your yarn)
   3. Tapestry needle/yarn needle

Image source: Make and Takes

These supplies should be sufficient for most beginner-friendly crochet blankets but always read your crochet patterns carefully for extra required supplies.

Crochet skills are harder to acquire than supplies, but they’re essential to a successful project. It’s not an absolute requirement that you know all of the basic crochet skills.

Experienced crocheters recommend mastering the basics before searching “show me how to crochet a blanket” on YouTube. Without the basics, you are likely to be frustrated with the process of learning how to crochet a blanket, easy.

Image source: Crochet About

Browse the table of basic crochet skills below for descriptions of how each skill is used and whether or not it’s essential to creating a crochet blanket.

Skill	When It’s Used	Is it required to be able to crochet a blanket?
Slip knot	Creates a place to start your first crochet chain stitch.	Yes
Crochet chain / Turning chain	The first stitches you’ll make in almost any project. Also used to move between rows of stitches.	Yes
Weave in ends	Secures your yarn ends so that the blanket doesn’t unravel with use or in the wash.	Yes
Single crochet	The shortest basic crochet stitch, used to form the crochet textile.	No individual stitch is strictly required, but you should know at least one or two of the basic crochet stitches.
Half double crochet	The second shortest basic crochet stitch, used to form the crochet textile.
Double crochet	The second tallest basic crochet stitch, used to form the crochet textile.
Triple crochet	The tallest basic crochet stitch, used to form the crochet textile.
Changing yarn colors	Allows you to switch between yarn colors to create patterns in your blanket.	Yes, unless you want to create a solid-colored blanket.
Crocheting in the round / crocheting a circle	Creates circles.	Only required if you want to crochet a circle blanket or a granny square blanket.
Decreasing	Combines two stitches into one; provides dimension.	Not required unless your specific pattern requires it.
Magic circle	Creates a crochet circle with a tight, drawstring-like opening.	Not required unless your specific pattern requires it.

The next step is to determine the crochet blanket pattern you’d like to follow. There are endless ways to construct a crochet blanket, each with different skill requirements and finished looks. Decide what is best for you.

In the following sections, we will cover beginner-friendly answers to the question, “How to crochet a blanket that’s easy for beginners?”

How to Crochet a Simple Blanket: Small One-Piece Blankets

The easiest way to crochet a small, simple crochet blanket is to crochet one basic stitch into a square or rectangle in your desired size. You’ll need to add a crochet border or edging, but there are plenty of simple options to choose from. 

Image source: Sewrella Blogspot

These types of crochet blankets belong to the “one-piece” blanket category because they’re crocheted as a single piece without joining. One-piece baby blankets are easier than crocheting a beanie because they don’t require any special stitches or techniques.

Have you ever wondered, “How do you start a crochet blanket?.” The answer varies depending on the blanket style, but in its simplest form a crochet blanket is started by:

1. 1. Create a slip knot.
   2. Crochet your starting chain.
   3. Stitch your first row using the stitch of your choice.
   4. At the end of your first row, create a turning chain.

Repeat steps three and four as you stitch rows until you’ve reached the size you wanted. If you are new to crochet, feel free to follow along with a specific crochet blanket pattern to build your confidence.

Not sure what size blanket to crochet? Think about who it’s for. Browse the table below for guidance on sizing your blanket.

Blanket Size	Dimensions (Inches)
(Baby) Lovey	12” x 12”
(Baby) Security	14” x 17”
(Baby) Stroller	30” x 35”
(Baby) Receiving	40” x 40”
(Baby) Small Cradle	15” x 30”
(Baby) Large Cradle	18” x 33”
(Baby) Crib	36” x 54”
Toddler	42” x 52”
Lapghan	40” x 48”
Small Throw	52” x 60”
Large Throw	60” x 72”
Twin	59” x 85”
Full	74” x 85”
Queen	80” x 90”
King	96” x 90”

Once the blanket is complete and you’ve secured your yarn ends by weaving them in, a finishing edge or border.

Image source: Petals To Picots

If you’d like to create a clean and finished look that is easy to stitch, try out a straight crochet border. You only need to know the double crochet stitch and the slip stitch to create this border, and it looks great with almost any blanket pattern.

Image source: Kerry Jayne Designs

Swap out your crochet hook size from what you used in the bulk of the blanket. Drop down a hook size (or two) for the border stitches. This reduces the likelihood of an undesirable wavy edge finish. If the border starts to look “puckered”, undo the stitches and go up a hook size.

 Finish your crochet blanket with this elegant border by following the steps below.

Image source: Kerry Jayne Designs

1. 1. Create the base round using the same color as the blanket. 
      • Place the hook into any stitch along the side of the blanket.
      • Chain 1 and double crochet into each stitch around the edge of the blanket.
      • Make three double crochet stitches into each of the four corners.
      • Slip stitch into the stop of your first chain stitch and weave in ends

Image source: Kerry Jayne Designs

      2. Create round two in either the same color as the blanket or a different color if you’d prefer.

• • • Place the hook into any stitch on any of the other three sides of the blanket.
    • Chain three.
    • Double crochet into each stitch of your base round. Make three double crochets into the middle stitch of your corners.
    • When you’ve returned to your starting place, slip stitch into the third chain. 
    • Weave in ends.

      3. Repeat step two to create your third round of the border, using the same color as round two. Start on a new side of the blanket. Do not crochet into the last slip stitch.

Image source: Kerry Jayne Designs

      4. Use a new color for round four.

• • • Place the hook into any stitch on the last side of the blanket you haven’t yet started a round in.
    • Chain one and double crochet into the next stitch. Double crochet into every stitch around the blanket. 
    • Create three double crochet into the middle stitch of your corners.
    • Slip stitch into the top of your first chain.
    • Weave in ends. Alternatively, use a yarn needle to move the yarn end through the next stitch from back to front, and then back through the previous stitch from front to back before sewing in ends.

Without a doubt, this one-stitch, one-piece method is the simplest way to learn how to crochet a small blanket. This technique makes the perfect baby blanket to give as a gift. Add a custom woven label with the baby’s name and a care label before gifting for extra personalization.

Continue reading to learn more ways to create beginner-friendly crochet blankets with more pattern and texture.

How to Crochet an Easy Blanket for Beginners

If you prefer to work in small bursts at a time, you may prefer to make a pieced granny square afghan. Pieced granny square blankets are made by joining many individual granny squares together.

Image source: Pinterest

The beauty of these blanket styles is that you can easily personalize them with the granny square pattern of your choice. You can further customize the blanket’s finished look with the joining method you choose.

Image source: Look at What I Made

In essence, by combining your granny square pattern and the joining technique, you are building your own unique crochet blanket pattern. The general steps of this method are as follows: 

1. 1. Crochet the appropriate number of granny squares for your blanket size. If you’re stitching with a worsted weight yarn, a baby blanket needs 49 granny squares, a throw blanket requires 88 granny squares, and a king-sized blanket needs 225 granny squares.
   2. Join the granny squares using your preferred method. Feel free to follow along with video tutorials to master the joining process.

      3. If desired, finish off the blanket with a crochet border or edge such as the one shown in the one-piece blanket.

Image source: Haak Maar Raak

This style of blanket can range from simple to elaborate and fanciful. The more complex and imaginative granny square blankets have great retail potential, especially when they’re branded with a custom hangtag.