Monday 22 July 2013

Retro Baby....Buggy Blanket

crochet blanket,baby blanket crochet pattern,buggy blanket crochet pattern,retro baby blanket pattern.Gift fit for a prince,newborn baby gift

I was recently very excited to hear that a couple of good friends of mine, old college pals, were expecting a baby. As well as being absolutely thrilled to bits for them, I'd been wanting an excuse to do a baby blanket.

These are discerning friends... and certainly no slaves to fashion or fads. This one had to be special.

I chose crochet, because, let's face it, there's nothing cooler at the moment than wrapping your precious little bundle in something blatantly unique and handmade. I wasn't sure 'Homespun' would be their style so I decided to go for luxury, as in good quality artisan.

Most important of all - colour.  We've seen lot's of lovely things done for babies in 'brights' over the last couple of decades, and they are still fab,.... but this time I fancied a change.....

I'm liking the growing resurgence in pastel colours, not the sugary style that instantly springs to mind  -  this time the more subtle, subdued shades including, grey, stone and all manner of creams. It coincides nicely with the rediscovery of our love of 50s and 60s vintage, and when well combined can look gorgeous.

New pastels, retro pastels, mid-century pastels,

Finding the right colours can be tricky. Yarn companies, have never been known for being at the cutting edge of fashion - although they are slowly catching up, so you have to be canny and mix 'inter-brand' with those of a similar weight and composition. For a yarn that's very washable and quick to dry but which wears well and holds it's shape nicely, a wool/acrylic mix is ideal. I used Stylecraft Life. Beautiful and soft, good quality, it comes in a nice selection of shades and is pretty reasonably priced. I chose Mint and Silver. The ice-cream yellow I wanted was a little more hard to find so I used Wendy Jubilee in Vanilla, a beautiful soft dk yarn which is the same weight and composition as the other.

Marc Jacobs A/W 2012-1013
The pattern is a bold stripe, bordered by finer bands of the same colour. with a fine black accent to give it that quirky mid-century feel. Crocheted in one of my favourite stitch styles, and similar to that used by the fabulous Marc jacobs in his Autumn/winter 2012- 13 collection. A small pompom on each corner gives a nice luxury finish. Check out this fabulous simple tutorial from 'I Like Big Bows' on how to make mini pompoms

buggy blanket. funky crochet baby blanket, great baby afghan crochet pattern, mid century crochet blanket

Measuring approx 78cm x 76cm it's the perfect portable size cover for the buggy, and for carrying around. 
Its lace-like construction makes it a light cover in the summer months, but thick enough to slip inside the foot-muff for extra warmth when the weather gets colder.

newborn baby gift, special baby gift, handmade baby gift, gift fit for a baby prince

I don't get the chance, very often, these days, to give to charity, but I do try to as often as I can. In these times of austerity our charities are struggling more than ever to raise much needed funds, and so I have decide to donate this pattern to a worthy cause.

P/hop is a charity knitting/crochet project that raises funds for the emergency aid organisation Medicins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders.




Designers donate their patterns to P/hop, which are then available for you to download. The idea is that you decide the amount you wish to pay based on the amount of pleasure you get from knitting or crocheting your P/hop pattern. There is no fixed amount - it's up to you what you pay. You can get more details HERE 

The pattern comes as a downloadable PDF with clear instructions and easy to follow charts for those of you who prefer something more visual.
Make special gift to give to a Newborn and, at the same time, turn your enjoyment of crochet into vaccines, midwives and malaria treatments . 

 Get the pattern HERE via P/HOP


For the fabulous origami bow pictured above, you can find the instructions at :-
http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-bow.html




17 comments:

  1. Love the look of this baby blanket...never much cared for the standard blue and pink colors and here you have chosen the perfect muted tones. I am tempted to make a larger version for my bed. thanks for sharing this beautiful pattern.
    Candi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's my pleasure Candi. I'm with you re pastels - not usually a fan. It seems to be about choosing the right shades and the right conbinations. Tough job, and depends very much on what's available out there.
      I love your idea of making a larger version, a couple of other people have said that to me too. I suppose it was done as a small size mainly because I needed a baby gift, and don't always have a lot of time to spare. It would be easy to scale up, and actually that stitch works up pretty quickly. If you do decide to make a large version send me a pic, I'd love to see it. Thanks for your lovely comments.Regards, H (thredHED)

      Delete
  3. Link for pattern does not work. :(

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi there,
    The link went directly to the P/hop page that featured the pattern. For some strange reason the page is not currently there. Sadly this is beyond my control as it is on the P/hop website. I will, of course, look into this and inform them of the problem. In the meantime try this link- http://www.p-hop.co.uk/index.php/patterns/crochet-patterns/retro-baby-buggy-blanket/%20%E2%80%8E
    It looks very different to how their website normally looks so they may be experiencing some problems.
    Regards,
    thredHED

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's a lovely blanket! However, my eye was also caught by the paper bow you tied it up with. It's not a style I have seen before. Would you be willing to share how it is done or give a source for it?
    Thanks, Cora

    ReplyDelete
  6. thredHED10 September 2013 10:36
    Hi Cora,
    It's great isn't it. The instructions can be found at http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-bow.html. I have added a link to follow at the bottom of the baby blanket post. It took a couple of attempts to perfect, but wasn't at all difficult. A lovely way to finish off wrapping a gift.
    thredHEDx

    ReplyDelete
  7. lovely! i made one for a friend recently - forgot to take a pic first tho but used a rainbow of ribbons across the top and embroidered the baby's name in the corner. i wanted to use flannel which i couldn't find, but my local helpful sewing shop lady suggested winceyette which was lovely and soft! i have another one to do so will have to take a pic first!

    ReplyDelete
  8. It's sounds gorgeous, and I love winceyette (good suggestion) Would love to see.
    regards.
    thredHED

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh dear! I have just seen the foot note at the end of this pattern. I have to ask you permission as i had planned to sell this blanket when i finish it. It isnt that i have a business or anything like that, i just accept orders sometimes and your pattern was just right for a small pushchair blanket. In fact it is also a very enjoyable make. I had planned of course to cite your webpage giving details of the designer as i always do.
    Keep well
    Amanda

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Amanda,
    That's absolutely fine - go ahead. Thanks for asking. I'm very pleased that you enjoyed making it.
    Best Wishes

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Heather
    I know it's a while.. but I just found your lovely blanket on Pinterest. I'd like to crochet one for my babyboy coming in June, but unfortunately the link above is no longer working. Could you probably help me to find the pattern/tutorial?
    Thank you very much!
    Greetings from Switzerland! :)
    Sandra

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Heather
    I know it's a while.. but I just found your lovely blanket on Pinterest. I'd like to crochet one for my babyboy coming in June, but unfortunately the link above is not working any longer. Could you probably help me to find the pattern/tutorial?
    Thank you very much!
    Greetings from Switzerland! :)
    Sandra

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Sandra,
    Congratulations! How exciting. Hope all is going well.
    Still plenty of time to crochet up a blanket - it doesn't take too long. Sorry to hear your having trouble with the link. It should take you directly to the p-hop site. Here is is again

    http://www.p-hop.co.uk/index.php/patterns/crochet-patterns/retro-baby-buggy-blanket/

    - I tried it and it seemed to be ok. Sadly that is all I can provide as I donated the pattern to p-hop and they just did the rest. If you have no luck with the above link get in touch with the p-hop team via here

    http://www.p-hop.co.uk/index.php/contact-us/

    -they should be able to help.

    Kind regards and good luck.
    PS - would love to see a pic of your little one in his blanket.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Beautiful blanket! I wish I had your talent for choosing colors. I am also having trouble with the links. I tried all links provided and can't get anything to work. I would love to have this pattern. Please help. Thanks, Jeanne

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Jeanne,
    Thank you so much. I'm glad you like it - it's a nice one to make up.
    Sorry to hear your having trouble with the link. It should take you directly to the p-hop site. Here is is again

    http://www.p-hop.co.uk/index.php/patterns/crochet-patterns/retro-baby-buggy-blanket/

    - I tried it and it seemed to be ok. Sadly that is all I can provide as I donated the pattern to p-hop and they just did the rest. If you have no luck with the above link get in touch with the p-hop team via here

    http://www.p-hop.co.uk/index.php/contact-us/

    -they should be able to help.

    Kind regards and good luck.

    ReplyDelete