I was in the thralls of doubt when I set myself the task to crochet a blanket for my broseph’s birthday, which when I started, gave me less than 4 weeks to complete. But yesterday afternoon, 30 minutes before we left for his birthday events, I finished it. Massive sigh of relief …
As I wrote in my first post, broseph and I worked together on the blanket design – I wanted to make sure I was making a blanket that he actually was going to like. After many e-mails and Excel magic, here is what we came up with …
Mucho manly. Mostly gunmetal grey with stripes of red and grey and a final black border. When I first started crocheting it I wasn’t convinced of the pattern and colour choice. It took until the very end when I added the black border, which was the certain je ne sais quois it needed, and I was convinced. I became a bit jealous as I secured it in a gentleman’s belt to hand over to broseph.
Oh, and something I failed to mention, broseph is 6’3″, so I had my work cut out for me. I was determined to crochet him a suitably sized man blanket. Here are the deets –
– size 7 / 4.50mm crochet hook
– 160 stitches wide, double crochet throughout
– 16 rows of gunmetal grey in between stripe patterns
– one row of single crochet border in black followed by a second row of double crochet also in black
– the final piece was taller than broseph, so close to 7 feet {zomg my crippled hands}
– {additional note} I used roughly 3 or 4 400g skeins of Aran wool in gunmetal grey for the main colour
It wasn’t completed without some war wounds – I developed a twitch in my left eye due to strain which is still to this moment thumping away {going 5 days strong}, and I also mangled my wrist since I had to pull some long hours to meet my deadline, but wrist is fine now. Having said that, it was thoroughly approved by broseph which is all I could ask for. And luckily, it matches his bedroom as well. Misson complete.
xx A
Oooh, I am in love with how well that turned out. Not to mention the perfect photo of your 'broseph' enjoying it.
Thanks Pat! He really loves it so I'm happy. Have my eye on my next project already. I'm hooked.
That looks brilliant! I can't believe you managed to finish it in 4 weeks, that's incredible!!!! I'm glad he likes it, it's fantastic!
Maria x
It was a real labour of love! I'm really pleased with how it turned out. It was real touch-and-go up until the end though. But happy I got it done on time 🙂
They are two beauties lying on your blanket.
I'm a beginning crocheter. How much yarn of each color did you need for this blanket?
For this blanket, which I should state is huge, I used 3 or 4 400g skeins of the main gunmetal grey aran wool. I then used roughly 100g of the remaining colours. I hope this helps, and best of luck! 🙂
Hi Alex, I found your blog when I was searching for a crochet pattern for a man's blanket – voila! I am hoping you don't mind me recreating your blanket since you posted the pattern. :-O I picked up the Heather Grey (gunmetal) yarn today and am so excited to see it work up. I am making it for my nephew who is 6'5" and is stationed at Ft. Drum, NY near the Canadian border – frigid winters! Thank you! Wish I had a cool belt like yours to wrap it in as well. Will have to keep my eyes open! Best to you.
By all means Kelly, that's what the pattern's here for! I'm flattered you like the pattern enough to make it for your towering nephew. I crochets up really beautifully and is so warm. Perfect for bitter winters – I actually grew up in Canada so I know all too well how cold it gets in that part of the world!
Your nephew is lucky to have such a thoughtful aunt as yourself. Best of luck, Kelly and I'd love to see it when you've finished it!
Thanks, Alex! I got a little overzealous and worked on it heavily for three days, getting just to the third set of pin striping when my hooking wrist started giving me issues. I'm going to have to curb my enthusiasm! I have until the end of March to complete it, so no worries. I'm just loving it so much! I will definitely post a completed photo – hopefully with my nephew in it! Thank you for sharing the pattern online for me to find and enjoy!
WHAT. Kelly, that's insane! You're a hardcore crocheter. I seriously don't know how you've made that much in just 3 days. I'm actually speechless. Hats off to you!!!
And I know exactly what you mean by hand problems. I got a similar problem when I was crocheting the blanket. And I got a twitch in my eye from eye strain too. Oh, the glamour of it all.
Can't wait to see it finished! In March, of course 🙂
It is finished! (Cue the church hymn: "It is finished, the battle is over!" 😀 Washing it right now and boxing it up to post later this week. I was able to work on it *a lot* due to the fact that my kids are on a school break meaning we have a minimal schedule with no homework, studying or tests right now. After those first three days, I cut back and worked on it some in the afternoon and some in the evening, giving my wrist more of a break. I also took it to my kids' basketball practices, until it became to unwieldy to manage there. I have taken a photo of it, but not sure how to upload it to this comment section.
Kelly, I can't even. You crocheted the blanket in 15 DAYS. I cannot compute that. You deserve a crocheting medal of honour or valour or purple ribbon or something.
I'm so amazed and I would love to see the picture you took! Unfortunately I don't think it's possible to upload a picture into the comments section here, but you can email it to me if you'd like? theinteriordiyer[AT]gmail[DOT]com
I can't wait!
Making this blanket for Christmas for my boyfriend! I decided to make the red stripe two rows long instead of one (red is his favorite color). I also ran out of the white and red colors, and didn't find the 100g to be enough!
I've had lots of free time lately and have managed to almost finish the blanket in a week; I'm impatiently awaiting the yarn shipment so I can finish this beautiful blanket! That you so much for posting the pattern 🙂
WHAT! Monique! A week! That's amazing! I remember having problems with my hands from crocheting this one over the course of a month – which I thought was quickly! I can't imagine doing it in a week. Mad props.
I'd love to see the finished piece. Such a lovely present. Hope your yarn arrives soon! 🙂