Hello Crafters!

WOW! I can’t believe it’s -35°C today! Even for Canadians that’s a bit extreme. This type of weather basically involves hibernation as it is way to cold to venture outside. What better way to warm up than to crochet and drink tea all day! Preferably with a furry toe warmer (aka dog) to keep your feet warm.

If you need something cozy to curl up under I would strongly suggest this cozy cottage blanket, it works up super quick and is extremely thick and warm. Also ideal for a wintery weekend at the cottage hence the name 🙂

Cozy Cottage Blanket Supplies:

Loops and Threads Braid Big! in “Tan”
Crochet hook 16mm
Crochet hook 5.5mm

Making the Cottage Blanket:

Using the size 16mm hook chain an even number of stitches to create the blanket size that you would like.

I used the moss stitch for this blanket (one of my favourite stitches because it is so easy yet looks so good!) To see the moss stitch tutorial in depth visit my 3 dishcloth patterns post and there is a clear photo tutorial for the moss stitch on there.

Continue to work moss stitch until your blanket is the desired size then head back over here to work on the finishing touches 🙂

After the last row of moss stitch, quickly work one row of single crochet all the way around the blanket to set a foundation for the edging.

Blocking:

Once you have completed your moss stitch rows you will want to block your blanket so that it has nice straight edges and to make it easy to add your edging onto your single crochet row.

To block my crochet work I use foam mats that most people use for their gym floors. I have them set up in the basement where I know nobody will come strolling through and step on all my pins.

Blocking your work is a lot more effective if you soak the yarn first and then gently wring out most of the water so that it is just damp. For a piece this big I just put it through a light cycle on the washing machine.

Lay the blanket out on the mats and start pinning! I use regular round head pins to pin down the edge of the blanket. I put the pins about 2 inches apart.

Once your edges are all pinned down leave it out for about 24 hours to dry, (or at least overnight!).

Fringe Edging:

Now for the final step of your cottage blanket: the fringe edging!

This edging is so cute and I can tell I will be using it for many more projects because it is also super easy 🙂

For the edging I used a 5.5mm hook because the large hook size make the stitches too loose. The 5.5mm hook gives the fringe a nice tight join to the blanket.

Attach yarn. Insert hook into first stitch and yarn over. Pull up a loop that is about double the length of the desired fringe length. Make sure you pull up the same sized loop every time or your fringe will be all uneven. I used a paintbrush as a measuring stick so that each loop was uniform.