Weekender Blanket Hexie Pattern

Thank you everyone for your lovely response to my last post about the idea of blanket alonging together.  We've been chatting away over on the Ravelry thread about it and I think it's really starting to take shape now.

It's all going to be quite informal and open, so anyone making any blanket can join in really.  But there will be a prize thread on Ravelry!  I think I'll probably be back to get the ball rolling on the actual 'Alonging' bit on Friday, but in the meantime, I thought I'd share the patterns for my Weekender Blanket Hexagons with you.

You don't need to be making this particular blanket to join in the 'along' with us, but this is just information ahead of time for those that do want to start their own.

: : UPDATE : :

A PDF Version of this pattern is now available

Weekender Blanket Pattern

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(UK Terms)

Special Stitches

jss - joining slip stitch:
A slip stitch made into the chain space of an already completed hexagon to attach it to the hexagon you are currently working on.



2trcl - 2 treble cluster (US 2dccl):
*yo, insert hook in sp, yo and pull through, yo and pull through 2 loops on hook,* repeat from * to * once more, yo and pull through all 3 loops on hook.



: : HEXIE PATTERN : :

Worked in the round.

JAYG:  You’ll need to substitute some of the 2ch’s on Round 3 (marked in bold) for joining slip stitches as necessary to join to the surrounding hexagons.

Chain 4, ss to 1st ch to form a loop, then work the first round into the loop as follows:

Round 1:  2ch, 1dc [counts as 2dccl], (2ch, 2dccl) five times, 2ch, ss to top of 1st dc of the round.

Round 2:  ss to ch sp, 4ch, 1dc in same sp, *2dc in cl, (1dc, 2ch, 1dc) into next ch sp,* repeat from * to * four more times, 2dc into cl, ss to 3rd ch of beg 4ch.

Round 3:  3ch, *(1dc, 2ch, 1dc) into ch sp, 1dc in each dc,* repeat from * to * to beginning of the round, ss to the top of beg 3ch. 

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: : HALF HEXIE  : :

Worked in rows, turn at the end of each row. 

JAYG: Once the first hexie is made, others are added, using joining slip stitches. hexagons are added after the surrounding ‘Whole Hexies’ are in place, so each the joining slip stitches are written into the instructions.

Chain 3, ss to 1st ch to form a loop, then work the first row into the loop as follows:

Row 1:  3ch, (2dccl, 2ch) twice, 2dccl, 1dc.

Row 2: 3ch, 1dc in same st, *2dc into cl, (1dc, 2ch, 1dc) into ch sp,* repeat from * to *  once more, 2dc into cl, 2dc into top beg ch of Row 1.

Row 3:  3ch [counts as dc], 1jss, 1dc in same st, *1dc in each dc, (1dc, 1jss, 1jss, 1dc) in ch sp,* repeat from * to * once more, 1dc in next 4 dc, (1dc, 1jss, 1dc) in last dc.

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: : THE COLOURS : :

Of course you are welcome to make the hexagons in any weight and colour yarn that takes your fancy but in case it's of any interest, I thought I'd share the colours and yarns that I'm using for my blanket.  Just in case you spotted a 'must have' shade that you'd like to include in yours...

Top Row - Stylecraft Special DK
1.  Raspberry - 1023
2.  Claret - 1123
3. Spice - 1711
4.  Petrol - 1708
5.  Midnight - 1011

Middle Row - Stylecraft Special DK
6.  Cream - 1005
7.  Grape - 1067
8.  Silver - 1203
9.  Grey - 1099

Bottom Row
10.  Jarol Heritage DK: Gold - 140
11.  Jarol Heritage DK: Duck Egg - 152
12.  Stylecraft Life DK: Zing - 2356
13.  Sirdar Bonus DK: Grass - 825
14.  James C Brett DK with Merino:  Pink - DM6

As is my annoying way, I've added other colours into my stylecraft mix.  Partly because I had those yarns in stash and wanted to use them up and partly because, big as the stylecraft colour range is, there are always some colours that aren't quite what you want.  Especially greens, I think they need better greens!

So those are the colours that I've gone for this time.

The trouble is, I know it's really hard to get hold of some of those yarns, particularly when you aren't in the UK.  And, even it you are in the UK, you don't want to be ordering one ball of yarn from here and another one from there... it'll cost a fortune in postage.  So, to help you out a little bit if you want to stick to just the Stylecraft Special range, here's a handy dandy colour comparison for you...

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: : HANDY DANDY COLOUR COMPARISON : :

So, at the bottom are the hexies in the colours I'm using.  At the top are balls of the nearest Stylecraft Special DK equivalents....

1.  Gold - 1709
Pretty much identical

2.  Sherbert - 1034 
As I mentioned when I talked about the Painted Roses blanket, the sherbert is a lot brighter than the Jarol Heritage colour.  Stylecraft don't really have a duck egg colour, but this is their closest.

UPDATE - New stylecraft colour "Duck Egg" - 1820 is another good option

3.  Lime - 1712
The stylecraft colour is quite muddy in comparison to 'Zing' that I'm using.  Slightly more so than in this photo, as the zing really pops beautifully in real life.  But I do like that the Lime balances out the Sherbert, so that works quite well.
UPDATE - New stylecraft colour "Pistachio" - 1822 is a great match

4.  Meadow - 1065
This is the one I struggle with most.  For me, the Meadow doesn't show enough contrast against the Lime in the stylecraft colours.  Whereas the two greens I've chosen are clearly very different.  It is the closest Stylecraft match but you may want to check out their other greens to find a shade you are happy with.
UPDATE - New stylecraft colour "Cypress" - 1824 is a much better pick

5.  Fondant - 1241   or   6. Clematis - 1390
This is a tricky one too.  Again, there's nothing quite like the pink I'm using available in the Stylecraft colours.  I think Clematis is the closest shade match, although it's a bit darker.  But I think, if it was me and I was going with the Sherbert and Lime, I'd probably plump for the Fondant pink instead.  I thought it'd be useful to show both though, so you can make you own minds up!

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I really hope that helps you get started on your own Weekend Blanket, if you fancy making one.

I'll be back on Friday to give you all the information you need on the 'alonging' so we can get started on cheering each other along and start making some fantastic blanket progress, on blankets old and new!  Not that you need to wait till then to get started of course.

In the meantime, if you'd like to pop over to Cherry Heart's Cozy Corner on Ravelry and have a chat about your plans, we'd love to see you and hear all about it...

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U P D A T E

This blanket is now available as a downloadable PDF

Weekender Blanket

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S x

♥

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