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The ad-free PDF pattern and graph for this blanket is available in my Etsy and Ravelry shops!

Hi friends! Kind of like summer is “wedding season,” for some reason I feel like summer is also “baby season.” Maybe it’s just because right now I know of 3 babies all due in May – including my own #3!

One of these babies belongs to one of my best friends. This will be her second, and unfortunately she had her first about 6 months after I had mine, and I just never got it together to make her son a baby blanket. But this time I’ve been determined to get one to her before I have my baby so I don’t miss my chance!

She’s very crafty herself, and she sent me some photos of fabric she was going to use for curtains – jungle animals & bright colors were the main theme. If you’ve read any of my other baby blanket posts, you know I love the challenge of designing a blanket that coordinates with the nursery theme but still fits within my mission of making timeless, understated, and functional pieces.

I found the perfect colors for the room in Lion Brand’s Baby Soft yarn, which really helped fuel my inspiration. They were fun and bright and matched the fabric I had seen so well!

I wanted to incorporate the colors via intarsia crochet, instead of striping or seaming up squares. I had diamonds or triangles in mind specifically. I ultimately designed this alternating triangle pattern to look sort-of-tribal but sort-of-whimsical.

I’ve only done one graphgan in the past, and it was a labor of love and a learning experience! Like that one, I used Excel to make this design and ultimately use as my pattern grid. When I do this, I change the cell sizes to match my stitch size/gauge and color it in like a color by number.

I’ve played around with websites that do this for you – maybe I’m too much of a control freak or perfectionist, but they just never look exactly how I want them.

I named this the Jungle Beat blanket because to me the design looks like dancing tribal triangles. I love that it creates a simple but fun look 🙂

Intarsia Crochet

Intarsia crochet, or tapestry crochet, is the technique used for making graphgans. It involves using multiple color changes across a row to create your design or image.

It works a lot like how an inkjet printer prints out a page. It also usually involves multiple skeins of yarn or the use of bobbins, since you might be dropping and picking up the same color multiple times across one row.

Throughout the project you can choose to either carry the yarn you’re not using with you, or to drop it and pick it up later. Some things to keep in mind when you’re making this decision are:

• How many colors will you be carrying at one time? Will it be the same amount through the project? i.e. will the whole project have the same thickness/consistency at the end?
• Will you need to pick up a certain color multiple times across one row? If so, is it easier for you to carry that color across or use multiple skeins/bobbins of that color?
• Are your colors vastly different/will your carried yarn show through your stitches a lot?

For this blanket I chose to carry my white yarn across the whole row, while using bobbins for each colored triangle. This way, I would only need 5-6 bobbins per row. I was okay with carrying the yarn only through the colored triangles, because all the triangles would all have the same texture (due to the carried yarn).

I wanted the weight and texture of the blanket to be as consistent as possible, but I also needed to save my sanity! Also the colored yarn showed through the white much more than the white showed through the colors. I wanted my white to be clean and unadulterated.

Of course you can choose any method you’d like – it’s really up to your preference!

Here is a quick tutorial on changing colors for use in intarsia crochet. This set of instructions is specifically for this blanket. Of course you can apply it to anything, but I will only be talking about changing between 2 colors on a row.

Color Changes

When it time to make a color change, complete the last stitch of your current color all the way to the last YO & pull through. Instead of doing this last step with your current color, YO and pull through your next color.

You can cinch down that first stitch by pulling on each end of the second color after you’ve completed the first stitch of that color.

If you are carrying the previous color yarn, lay it gently on top of the row and crochet around it like it’s not even there. Pretend like it’s an extension of the top of the stitch.

If you are dropping your yarn, you can do one of two things: If you are currently on the right side, drop your yarn behind the blanket and complete the color change with your next color.

If you are on the wrong side, move your yarn to the side of the blanket closest to you after completing the color change. This will make it so that the yarn is on the back side when you pick it up on the next row.

Picking up a Color

Once you have done your initial color change, you will be picking up that color on the next row until you are done with that triangle. When you come up on the last stitch of your main color, complete the color change as instructed above by simple grabbing the yarn from the row below.

Below is the free written pattern for this blanket! This pattern, along with the graph and a smaller sizing option, is available as an ad-free PDF in my Etsy and Ravelry shops!

 

Jungle Beat Baby Blanket

 

Materials

• 4 skeins (~1500 yards) of your Main Color (MC). I used Lion Brand Baby Soft in White.

• 1 skein each (~100 yards) of 4 accent colors (C1, C2, C3, C4). I used Lion Brand Baby Soft in Pistachio, Bluebell, Lemonade and Apricot, respectively.
• 4 mm (G) crochet hook
• Bobbins (if desired)
• Scissors
• Tapestry needle

Size

• 31 x 46 inches (25 x 39 inch size available in the PDF pattern)

Abbreviations

• ch = chain
• hdc = half double crochet
• MC = main color
• C1/2/3/4 = accent colors 1-4

Gauge

18 stitches x 16 rows per 4 inch square

Notes

For this pattern, your turning chain will NOT count as your first stitch for the row. After each row you will ch 1 and turn, then hdc into the very first stitch of the previous row.

Pattern

Using main color (MC), ch 145.

Row 1: Hdc into the 3rd ch from hook. Hdc across the row (143 st). Ch 1 and turn.

Row 2: MC hdc 6; C1 hdc 1; *MC hdc 25; C1 hdc 1* Repeat * 4 more times. MC hdc 6. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 3: MC hdc 5; C1 hdc 3; *MC hdc 23; C1 hdc 3* Repeat * 4 more times. MC hdc 5. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 4: MC hdc 4; C1 hdc 5; *MC hdc 21; C1 hdc 5* Repeat * 4 more times. MC hdc 4. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 5: MC hdc 3; C1 hdc 7; *MC hdc 19; C1 hdc 7* Repeat * 4 more times. MC hdc 3. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 6: MC hdc 2; C1 hdc 9; *MC hdc 17; C1 hdc 9* Repeat * 4 more times. MC hdc 2. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 7: MC hdc 1; C1 hdc 11; *MC hdc 15; C1 hdc 11* Repeat * 4 more times. MC hdc 1. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 8: C1 hdc 13; *MC hdc 13; C1 hdc 13* Repeat * 4 more times. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 9: MC hdc 13; *C1 hdc 13; MC hdc 13* Repeat * 4 more times. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 10: MC hdc 14; C1 hdc 11; *MC hdc 15; C1 hdc 11* Repeat * 3 more times. MC hdc 14. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 11: MC hdc 15; C1 hdc 9; *MC hdc 17; C1 hdc 9* Repeat * 3 more times. MC hdc 15. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 12: MC hdc 16; C1 hdc 7; *MC hdc 19; C1 hdc 7* Repeat * 3 more times. MC hdc 16. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 13: MC hdc 17; C1 hdc 5; *MC hdc 21; C1 hdc 5* Repeat * 3 more times. MC hdc 17. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 14: MC hdc 18; C1 hdc 3; *MC hdc 23; C1 hdc 3* Repeat * 3 more times. MC hdc 18. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 15: MC hdc 19; C1 hdc 1; *MC hdc 25; C1 hdc 1* Repeat * 3 more times. MC hdc 19. Ch 1 and turn.

Repeat Rows 2-15 three more times using C2, then C3 and then C4.

Rows 58-131: MC hdc across the row (143 st).

Row 132: MC hdc 19; C4 hdc 1; *MC hdc 25; C4 hdc 1* Repeat * 3 more times. MC hdc 19. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 133: MC hdc 18; C4 hdc 3; *MC hdc 23; C4 hdc 3* Repeat * 3 more times. MC hdc 18. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 134: MC hdc 17; C4 hdc 5; *MC hdc 21; C4 hdc 5* Repeat * 3 more times. MC hdc 17. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 135: MC hdc 16; C4 hdc 7; *MC hdc 19; C4 hdc 7* Repeat * 3 more times. MC hdc 16. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 136: MC hdc 15; C4 hdc 9; *MC hdc 17; C4 hdc 9* Repeat * 3 more times. MC hdc 15. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 137: MC hdc 14; C4 hdc 11; *MC hdc 15; C4 hdc 11* Repeat * 3 more times. MC hdc 14. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 138: MC hdc 13; *C4 hdc 13; MC hdc 13* Repeat * 4 more times. Ch 1 and turn.

 

Row 139: C4 hdc 13; *MC hdc 13; C4 hdc 13* Repeat * 4 more times. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 140: MC hdc 1; C4 hdc 11; *MC hdc 15; C4 hdc 11* Repeat * 4 more times. MC hdc 1. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 141: MC hdc 2; C4 hdc 9; *MC hdc 17; C4 hdc 9* Repeat * 4 more times. MC hdc 2. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 142: MC hdc 3; C4 hdc 7; *MC hdc 19; C4 hdc 7* Repeat * 4 more times. MC hdc 3. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 143: MC hdc 4; C4 hdc 5; *MC hdc 21; C4 hdc 5* Repeat * 4 more times. MC hdc 4. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 144: MC hdc 5; C4 hdc 3; *MC hdc 23; C4 hdc 3* Repeat * 4 more times. MC hdc 5. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 145: MC hdc 6; C4 hdc 1; *MC hdc 25; C4 hdc 1* Repeat * 4 more times. MC hdc 6. Ch 1 and turn.

Rows 146-186: Repeat Rows 132-145 three more times, using C3, then C2 and then C1.

Row 187: MC hdc across the row (143 st).

Tie off and weave in [many] ends.

Border

With 4 accent colors, the sky’s the limit for the different kinds of borders you can put on this thing. I opted for a simple single crochet trim to keep the look clean and simple. To use this simple edging, follow the instructions below:

Along the top and bottom rows, single crochet between the hdc posts from the first and last rows.

Along the edge, single crochet inserting your hook beneath the first hdc of each row.

Once you’ve trimmed it up nicely with a border, wash it up and get it ready for its new owner! I hope you love this clean, bright and whimsical blanket as much as I do!

Be sure to tag me on Instagram @thetravelinghooker, I’d love to see your version! And use the hashtag #TravelingHookCreations.

Don’t forget I have this pattern, along with a smaller sizing option and the visual graphs, available in my Etsy and Ravelry shops.

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