The “Enjoy Yourself” blanket.

Long time no see…. I was a little busy to crochet the biggest blanket i have made so far: The “Enjoy Yourself” blanket.

If you are not interested in what I have to say about the blanket and the creative process, the pattern is available in English, Dutch, German and Spanish on Ravelry It includes a chart, videos and a photo tutorial so that everyone will be able to make it. It will have the reduced price of 4€ for 10 days. After that the regular price of 6€ will be set.

PATTERN

The pattern comes with a chart, video tutorials and the general Tunisian/Entrelac photo tutorial.

A big, big thank you to all helping hands, testers, translators and supporters which have been involved in the progress. The pattern would not have been made without you.

I wanted to create a blanket in black and white for a really long time. I was really into ska and 2tone music when I was younger (and still am) and I always wanted to make a blanket inspired by that movement. I knew that the classic checkered square design would be great but also would be a little too boring to crochet. So I tried to adapt it a little and make rectangles instead so the design has a more optical look.

I was quite sure from the start that the blanket should get a name from one of the songs from “The Specials”. During the whole crochet process I listened a lot to them. Especially the song “Rat Race” was on heavy rotation. I think it really represents what is going on right now on social media in general but even in our beloved little crafty bubble. I feel that things have changed and that our community has become more about getting attention and gaining followers on social media. I really feel that a few years ago crafty social media was more about showing your crafty skills, your art, your progress, your work….

Nowadays it is all about getting attention for whatever the price is and i really do not like in which direction all this is heading. I know that I am still one of the privileged ones who has a good reach on social media and there is big understanding that people try new ways to reach the crochet crowd…. but in the end, I think that if you are not a dancer and need to dance on social media to get attention or to promote your work, the algorithms have already won. And let me be clear, I do not judge any individual who is doing it but the summery of our actions is creating a system that turns our crafty, artistic community slowly into a place where we only joke about what we are doing and do not appreciate the hard work we are putting in our creations.

This said, the blanket did not get the name “Rat Race” after all. Instead I thought that the positive vibes should take over and as I really really enjoyed the making of this huge blanket which took me almost 4 month, I thought the pattern should have the name “Enjoy Yourself”. Even though the pattern looks quite advanced, it really is an easy and fun make, so the name matches just perfect in my opinion.

I decided to use SCHEEPJES Stone washed for this project. It is one of my all time favorite yarn, has a very warm and wooly feeling but still has the advantages of a cotton yarn. I also love the slightly heathen feeling of the Black Onyx color which does not make the black and white contrast appear too hard.

The hard facts for the yarn and material used in the blanket are:

• Hook: 4,50m
• Scheepjes Stone washed 78% Cotton x 22% Acrylic, 50grams/130meters
• Yarn A: 22 balls of Scheepjes Stone washed Black Onyx/803
• Yarn B: 22 balls of Scheepjes Stone washed Moon Stone/801

Scheepjes Yarn can be bought at your local yarn shop: Scheepjes Dealers . If you do not have the possibility to buy local, you can order your Scheepjes yarn at Wool Warehouse or Jimmy Beans Wool

The blanket is made in Tunisian/entrelac crochet again. I used the same technique as in the LANDSCAPE triangle but adapted it into a rectangular blanket. Those of us who have made the Landscape triangle will recognize the technique and will have no problem what so ever to make this blanket too.

The outcome is very straight and it is almost impossible to see that the blanket is made in the corner to corner technique. As i said it is really huge. The finished blanket is 146cm x 205cm. It still is adaptable in size. And I am sure you can easily figure out how to adapt it to the size that matches your needs, because you are smart!

There is still a new technique to learn in this blanket. The border for this blanket was a special challenge. This time the goal was to really prevent the edges from curling. So it was clear that a heavy border is needed. The traditional double border in half double crochet or double crochet works really fine for the landscape but there was still room to improve the border especially when it comes to a blanket.

The yarn used for the border is:

Scheepjes River washed and Scheepjes Stone washed 78% Cotton x 22% Acrylic, 50grams/130meters

• Yarn C: 6 balls of Scheepjes River washed Avon/956
• Yarn A: 1 ball of Scheepjes Stone washed Black Onyx/801

So the solution is to make a double envelop Tunisian crochet border which gives the edges enough hold to not curl a single millimeter. It is some kind of hybrid using the slip stitch row that is also used for a classic crochet double border and using Tunisian edges.

A very special feature are the corners which really give the blanket a very very clean and professional finish. Of course you will get all the instructions in the pattern and even a video tutorial is added so that everyone easily can recreate the border.

I really hope you like this pattern as much as I do. And do not forget to Enjoy Yourself!

You can find the shirt I am wearing in my online shop. The design is done by @dandrawnwords and you can find shirts and stuff here:

Please use the official hashtags when you post on your social media so we can find your makes:

#restlesshandsclub #martinupnorth #enjoyyourselfblanket

If you like the blanket, please give it a like on Ravelry and post your version there, if you feel for it!

Thank you all for your support!

More from Up North soon…

P.S. You need to have quite special tools and skills to make a flat lay picture of this beast.