I love the look of quilts. I love the feeling they give me when I see them and touch them, thinking about the work that went into them, the history of the craft, the stories of the maker. What tales would those quilts have to tell if they could speak?
I can sew a bit, and I’ve made a couple super simple quilts, but my skills are nothing compared to what quilters can do. I wanted to replicate the feeling a vintage quilt gives me in a crochet blanket, and the Vintage Star Blanket certainly hit the mark. This is a solid square motif pattern, made up mostly of single color squares with some 2-color squares to make up the points of the stars.
While the pattern does only include one size, due to the size & layout of the stars, you can easily change your yarn weight, hook size, or even the number of rounds for your squares in order to change the overall size of your blanket.
While summer doesn’t seem like peak blanket season, this is actually the PERFECT summer project because of the small motifs you’ll be working on first. Take it to the beach, concerts, all your favorite summer activities and by the time the weather cools off, you’ll be ready to assemble it into a gorgeous heirloom piece you’ll treasure forever.
Recommended Yarn
Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn in Linen, Cranberry and Dark Denim
- Linen – 5 skeins (1775 yards / 35 oz / 95g)
- Cranberry – 2 skeins (710 yards / 14 oz / 398g)
- Dark Denim – 2 skeins (710 yards / 14 oz / 398g)
Hook Size
US H / 5.0 mm
Finished Size
55 inches (140cm) wide x 64 inches (162.5cm) tall
Gauge
Each individual square measures 4.25 x 4.25 inches (10.8 x 10.8 cm). Complete 1 square to check gauge.
Stitches Used
- ch(s) – chain(s)
- ch sp(s) – chain space(s)
- dc – double crochet
- hhdc – herringbone half double crochet (only used in border)
- sc – single crochet
- sc2tog – sc 2 stitches together
- sl st – slip stitch
- st(s) – stitch(es)
Pattern
NOTES
- Ch 2 at the beginning of each round does not count as a stitch.
- Don’t save weaving in all your ends until the end. Trust me…don’t do it. I liked working up my squares in groups of 12 and weaving in the ends after each group of 12 was complete.
SOLID SQUARES
- Make 96 Linen squares
- Make 12 Dark Denim squares
- Make 12 Cranberry Squares
Round 1 — Ch 3, sl st join to 1st ch, ch 2, 12 dc in circle. (12 dc)
Round 2 — Ch 2, dc 2 sts, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) next, *dc next 2 sts, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) next,* rpt 2 more times. Sl st to 1st dc to join. (24 dc)
Round 3 — Ch 2, dc 4 sts, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in ch-sp, *dc next 6 sts, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in ch-sp,* rpt 2 more times, dc last 2 sts. Sl st to 1st dc to join. (40 dc)
Round 4 — Ch 2, dc 6 sts, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in ch-sp, *dc next 10 sts, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in ch-sp,* rpt 2 more times, dc last 4 sts. Sl st to 1st dc to join. Fasten off yarn. (56 dc)
2-COLOR SQUARES
You will be carrying your non-working color with you each round. This way you don’t have to turn the work at the end of each round and all of your squares maintain a consistent look with only the right side showing. When you come to a color change, change your color and then place your non-working color on top of the stitches and work over the yarn as you move along. For these instructions, Color A is Linen and Color B is either Cranberry or Dark Denim, whichever set of squares you’re working on.
- Make 24 Linen/Cranberry squares
- Make 24 Linen/Dark Denim squares
Round 1 — (Color A) Ch 3, sl st join to 1st ch, ch 2, 6 dc in circle, (Color B) 6 dc in circle, sl st to first dc to join. (12 dc)
Round 2 — (Color A) Ch 2, dc 2 sts, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) next, dc next 2 sts, (2 dc, (Color B) ch 2, 2 dc) next, dc 2 sts, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) next, dc 2 sts, (2 dc, (Color A) ch 2, 2 dc) next. Sl st to 1st dc to join. (24 dc)
Round 3 — (Color A) Ch 2, dc 4 sts, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) next, dc next 6 sts, (2 dc, (Color B) ch 2, 2 dc) next, dc 6 sts, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) next, dc 6 sts, (2 dc, (Color A) ch 2, 2 dc) next, 2 dc. Sl st to 1st dc to join. (40 dc)
Round 4 — (Color A) Ch 2, dc 6 sts, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) next, dc next 10 sts, (2 dc, (Color B) ch 2, 2 dc) next, dc 10 sts, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) next, dc 10 sts, (2 dc, (Color A) ch 2, 2 dc) next, 4 dc. Sl st to 1st dc to join. Fasten off yarn. (56 dc)
JOINING SQUARES:
Gently block your squares to even them out. If using acrylic yarn, a gentle steam block will set the yarn in place. Using your preferred join method, join all the squares together. I currently prefer a slip stitch join and that was used on the sample pictured here.
BORDER:
- Herringbone hdc (hhdc) – Yarn over, insert hook into stitch and pull up a loop, pull this loop through the 2nd loop (like completing a slip stitch), yarn over, pull through remaining 2 loops on hook.
- hhdc2tog – Yarn over, insert hook into stitch and pull up a loop, pull this loop through the 2nd loop, yarn over, insert hook into next stitch and pull up a loop, pull this loop through the 2nd loop, yarn over, pull through remaining 3 loops on hook.
Join the Cranberry yarn at any corner. Hhdc around the whole blanket, placing (2 hhdc, ch 1, 2 hhdc) in each of the 4 corner ch-sps, sl st in 1st hhdc to join. When you come to where the squares are joined, place (1 hhdc, hhdc2tog, 1 hhdc) into the 2 joined square corner ch-sps. You won’t place a stitch in the join, but the hhdc2tog will span that distance. This helps keep the edges a little straighter, without having a gap along each join line.
Work 5 total border rounds – Cranberry, Dark Denim, Cranberry, Dark Denim, Cranberry. You can change up your color order or work a single color if you have enough yarn, or make a smaller border. These 5 rounds should give you about a 2 inch border all the way around.
I love to see your finished projects, so be sure to use #VintageStarBlanket and #blackbirdmountaindesigns when you post your photos on social media!
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