Alani Blanket, a free crochet pattern
Originally published March 4, 2020. Revised March 30, 2025.
A couple years ago I had the idea to do a pattern for an ombre blanket. Of course I IMMEDIATELY ran to the store and started hunting for the yarn. I was drawn to these oranges and snatched them up. And then they sat on my yarn shelf for over a year. I couldn’t come up with the pattern. They weren’t speaking to me. I *knew* they were still meant to be that ombre blanket, but I didn’t know *how* to make it work. Finally it came to me. The linen stitch has been pretty popular in the crochet world lately, and while I love the look of it, I knew the fabric was going to be a bit dense with holding the yarn double. While pondering over how to make the linen stitch work with this yarn situation, I heard someone on Instagram say that crochet doesn’t have rules. That was just the push the I needed to figure it out. My very favorite stitch is the half double crochet. What if I used that in the linen stitch rather than a single crochet? After all, there are no rules!
Recommended Yarn
Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn, or similar worsted weight yarn, in 3 colors.
Color A : 831 yards / Color B : 1108 yards / Color C : 831 yards
Hook Size
US K / 6.5 mm
Finished Size
Lapghan – 42″ (107 cm) x 52″ (132 cm)
PDF contains 12 sizes
Gauge
7 stitches + 6 chain spaces and 7 rows = 4″ (10 cm)
Stitches Used
ch(s) – chain(s)
ch sp(s) – chain space(s)
hdc – half double crochet
sk – skip
st(s) – stitch(es)
Pattern
NOTES:
- You will be holding 2 strands of yarn together for the whole blanket. The colors to hold together will be indicated as AA(2 strands color A), AB (1 strand color A, 1 strand color B), etc.
With AA – Ch 139
Row 1 – Hdc in 3rd ch from the hook (skipped chs count as starting ch 2), *ch 1, sk 1, hdc next* to last stitch.
Row 2 – Ch 2, (hdc, ch 1) in each ch-sp across until you reach the starting ch 2, hdc in top of starting ch 2.
Repeat row 2 an additional 16 times.
With AB – Repeat row 2 a total of 18 times.
With BB – Repeat row 2 a total of 18 times.
With BC – Repeat row 2 a total of 18 times.
With CC – Repeat row 2 a total of 18 times.
I love to see your finished projects, so be sure to use #TheAlaniBlanket and #blackbirdmountaindesigns when you post your photos on social media!
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Alani means “orange” in Hawaiian. My grandpa was in the Navy, stationed at Pearl Harbor, so my dad and his 5 brothers & sisters grew up in Hawaii. We may not be native to the islands, but Hawaii runs in our family’s veins and hearts. It’s my very favorite place to visit and vacation – not that I’ve been very many places, but I love it so much I don’t feel like I need to go anywhere else!
Naming my patterns is admittedly my least favorite part of the process. Of course I couldn’t just name this the Orange Ombre Blanket…because you’re not going to make it orange probably. You may not even make it an ombre blanket! As I worked on it, nothing was coming to me. Then I thought what if I COULD name it by the color…but a prettier word for the color. One night while putting my youngest to bed, she chose the book Mo’o’s Colors, which is about a little Hawaiian lizard (Mo’o) who is learning his colors. Alani is Hawaiian for orange, and it’s definitely much prettier than “orange”, while also not making you feel like you HAVE to make this blanket orange.
I’m so pleased with how this blanket turned out, and it’s such a soft, bright, cozy piece to cuddle up with.
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