Spice of Life CAL - Part 2

Well the day has finally dawned and after all the waiting, the crocheting can now begin!

I'm sitting here feeling hugely nervous I must say, but hugely excited to see your blankets start appear too.  So let's not linger, let's get straight on with the things you need to know...


Spice of Life CAL

PART TWO -  SET-UP ROWS AND GETTING STARTED

Time to start our blankets.  So this week we'll be tackling the start chain and pesky first row and then working back and forth in stripes.  Here's so help to get you started.

: :   UPDATE   : :

This pattern is now available to purchase as a complete downloadable PDF file

Please see the Spice of Life Page for details

Spice of Life Pattern

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WORKING WITH COLOUR

Rico Yarn Packs
If you are using the Rico yarn as I did for my original blanket, you will find all the colour changes written into the pattern for you so you can follow my colours exactly if you want to.

UPDATE - Now discontinued, but see the Spice of Life Page for updated links.

Stylecraft Yarn Packs
For those of you using the Stylecraft yarn packs, we've realised that you'd like to be able to replicate Sara's blanket too.  I'm pleased to say that due to popular demand we have now got this information together for you.  See yarn packs for details.

Other colours and yarns
Many of you will want to make your own colour choices and are using other yarns. 
That's great, I can't wait to see what you come up with!

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TIPS FOR BEGINNERS

Written patterns can seem a little confusing when you are starting out.  But don't worry, just take your time and work through things step by step and you'll get there. 

Remember that this pattern is written in UK terms.
If you are in the US, you'll need to refer to the 'Stitch Terms' section to see which US stitches to use.

If you are not sure how to work in rows, change colour or make the stitches used in this part, please see the tutorial links in my post:  Spice of Life CAL - Beginners Special

If you get stuck, come and ask the friendly folks in the Spice of Life Facebook Group

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STARTING CHAINS

Working the starting chain can be daunting when it's one long enough for a blanket.  Here's some tips to help you make things a little easier:

✽ Work the starting chain with a larger hook ✽
Then switch back to your normal size to start making stitches
This will make the chains easier to work into and will stop your blanket pulling in tight at the bottom

✽ Keep track of your chains ✽
It's easy to lose count on a long chain so use markers every 20 or 30 stitches to help you

✽ Make your starting chain longer ✽
It's always horrible to work the first row just to realise you've miscounted and don't have enough stitches.  To avoid this happening, once you have checked the count of your start chain and you think you have enough chains, add some more.  Add 10 more, or 20 even.  Then work your first row as normal, you should have chains over.  Once you are certain you have the right number of stitches, you can undo the extra chains you don't need.

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PART TWO - PATTERN

This part contains the start chain and beginning rows and the first pattern section.
We'll be working a total of 18 rows this week.

Remember that this pattern is written in UK terms
If you are in the US, you'll need to refer to the 'Stitch Terms' to see which US stitches to use.

Stitch Terms

ch - chain

ss - slip stitch

dc - double crochet / US sc - single crochet

htr - half double crochet / US hdc - half double crochet

tr - treble crochet / US dc - double crochet

dtr - double treble / US tr - treble stitch

cl - cluster stitch

puff - puff stitch

For help with stitches see my tutorial site, Crochet Corner

Starting the Blanket

The blanket is worked back and forth in rows, which means you’ll need to turn the work at the end of each row.

To begin the blanket take YARN B and make a starting chain of 159, then work the chains as follows:

First row:  1tr into the 4ch from the hook, then work 1 tr into each chain to the end.  [157 stitches]

TIP ~  Each row will now always have 157 stitches, so you can check you have the correct number of stitches if you need to.  Sometimes the pattern will include some other useful numbers you can count to help you keep track.  But the stitch number will always stay the same.

Treble Row

Throughout the blanket sections you’ll be instructed to work ‘Treble Rows’.  These are rows of plain treble stitches in various colours to split up the sections.  They should be worked as follows:

TREBLE ROW: 3ch [counts as 1st tr], 1tr in each remaining st to end.

Set Up Rows

To start the blanket we’ll work a series of ‘Treble Rows’ in the following colours:

Row 2:  YARN B

Row 3 & 4:  YARN C

Row 5 & 6:  YARN M

Row 7 & 8:  YARN I

Row 9 & 10:  YARN G

Now we can move on to working the sections of different patterns.

Section 1: Grannies

In YARN K work:

Row 1:  3ch [counts as 1st tr], 2tr in same place [1st st] [makes a ‘shell’], *skip 2 sts, make 3tr into the next st,* repeat from * to * all the way along the blanket until only 3 sts remain, skip 2 sts and make 1tr into the last st. [52 ‘shells’]

In YARN E work:

Row 2:  3ch [counts as 1st tr], 2tr between the 1st st, and the 1st ‘shell’ of the row below, *skip 3 sts, 3tr’s between the first and last tr’s that make up the ‘shells’ of the row below,* repeat from * to * all the way along the blanket only 1 ‘shell’ [3sts] remain, skip 2 sts and make 1tr into the last st. [52 ‘shells’]

Row 3:  As Row 2 in YARN K

Row 4:  As Row 2 in YARN E

Row 5:  As Row 2 in YARN K

Now work ‘Treble Rows’ as follows:

Row 6:  YARN J

Row 7:  YARN L

Row 8:  YARN A

Good luck everyone!

: :   UPDATE   : :

This pattern is now available to purchase as a complete downloadable PDF file

Please see the Spice of Life Page for details

Spice of Life Pattern

: :

S x

♥

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