{Crochet Tutorial} Ripple Blanket

I recently posted this photo on my Zoey Makes facebook page. (in case you didn’t know, Zoey Makes is my little handmade business, where I sell some of the handmade goodies that I make.) Anyway, I had a lot of positive feedback about this lovely textured blanket, and a lot of interest in a tutorial. So here I am, about to embark on my first attempt at a crochet tutorial. Including a video. Eek!! Wish me luck!

The ripple blanket is not a new thing, and it’s not an original thing. Your grandma probably has a pattern for one floating around, and there are a bazillion of them online, too. I had done a lot of reading of various freebies, tried out a few… they all work with basically the same idea, just different lengths and numbers of stitches. After experimenting I came up with this particular variation, which I think creates a good length ripple and a nice texture.

For this project you’re going to need a 5mm crochet hook. I’m using the Carnival Soft Acrylic 8ply from Big W. It’s lovely and soft, and a good price. I live in a town with very few options for yarn, but if you can access a nicer yarn than this, go for it! I’m using five colours, and with one ball of each colour, I’m probably about a third of a way through my blanket. I would guestimate that 3 balls of yarn for each colour is about what you’ll need.

If you are crocheter who knows what they’re doing, I’m gonna give you the pattern straight. I know that I sometimes get frustrated when I find a website with a great pattern and have to sift through pages of explanations and photos to find the actual guts of it. If you just want to see the pattern, without the step-by-step how-to, scroll to the bottom now!

This pattern requires for you to really only know one stitch: the double crochet. The internet is a wonderful place to learn how to crochet; in it’s mainly how I learned! Once you find a pattern you like, jump on to youtube and look up the stitches you need.. there are loads of fantastic tutorials. I am going to recommend that you watch this video if you don’t know how to do a double crochet. Have a practice while you watch until you get the hang of it. That video is exactly how we’re going to start off this project.

In the above video, she chained 15 stitches to begin with. For our ripple blanket, you’re going to need to chain 146. This will make your blanket around 90cm wide. Then you need to miss two of your chains, and double crochet (dc) into the third chain, just like she did in the video. You need to do this six more times, so all up you’ll have 7dc, and the 2 chains you skipped will form an 8th. Into the next chain, you need to work 3dc, all into the same stitch. This is how you increase, and it will create the peak of your ripple. Then, you double crochet into each of the next 6 chains.

The next step is a little tricky, which is why I’m making a video. So if this doesn’t make sense in written form, hopefully the video will help you! You are going to double crochet three stitches together (of which the fabulous abbreviation is dc3tog), which means that you will have 3 dc but with only one top! Confused? Sorry! What you need to do is the first part of a double crochet: put your yarn over the hook, hook through the next chain, and pull up a new loop. Pull your new loop through the first two loops on your hook (just like usual). Then, instead of pulling it through your remaining two loops, leave them there. You’re going to repeat this first step of a double crochet again. Put your yarn over the hook, hook through the next chain, and pull up a new loop. Pull your new loop through the first two loops on your hook. Now you should have 3 loops remaining on your hook. Do this one more time, into the next chain, and you will have 4 loops left on your hook. Now, pull your yarn through all four of the loops on your hook to finish the stitch off. Phew!  You’ve just made your first valley! 

Now you need to double crochet into the next six chains, then work 3dc into the next chain. Keep repeating this pattern (6dc, dc3 in next chain, 6dc, dc3tog). Do this all the way to the end. You’ll have two stitches left over after your last 6dc. You need to double crochet those two stitches together. This is worked in exactly the same way as a dc3tog, except you only need to do it two times: put your yarn over the hook, hook through the next chain, and pull up a new loop. Pull your new loop through the first two loops on your hook (just like usual). Then, instead of pulling it through your remaining two loops, leave them there. You’re going to repeat this first step of a double crochet again. Put your yarn over the hook, hook through the next chain, and pull up a new loop. Pull your new loop through the first two loops on your hook. Now you should have 3 loops remaining on your hook. Pull your yarn through all three of those loops to finish the stitch off. Finally, chain 2 to finish the row off, and turn, ready to start your new row!

It might look a bit wonky at the moment, but doing your next row will help to neaten things up. To start the new row, skip the stitch that your ch2 is coming out of, and work a double crochet into the next stitch. **Now work dc into the next 6 stitches, then work your 3dc peak into the next. If you look at your previous row, you will notice that you are working these 3dc into the middle stitch of your previous 3dc peak. Work a dc into each of the next 6 stitches, and then work your dc3tog over the next three stitches. Repeat this sequence from the **. Again, you will have two stitches left at the end for you to work a dc2tog. Chain two to finish the row off, and turn ready to start your next row.

That’s it! You just keep repeating that second row over and over until your blanket is at your desired length.

I like to do two rows in each colour, then change. When I change colours, I work my stitches into the back loops of the previous row (I explain this in the video). This gives it a really cool layered texture, and makes the ripple look really effective. I also explain how I change colours in the video.

And…. here it is: my first ever video tutorial (eeek!!). Near the end we had a massive roll of thunder, and Mayana comes out a bit scared… I don’t have the skills/time to edit, so sorry about that!

My video tutorial!

I really hope that you find that helpful, please comment if you need clarification on anything! When I’m finished my blanket and decide if/how I’m going to edge this thing I will post an update with a tutorial for that too.

Now for people who were just after the pattern: here it is!

The Pattern! 5.00mm crochet hook, 5 colours, three balls of each. I am using US crochet terms. This pattern yields a blanket of just under 90cm in width, and you can repeat the pattern until it is your required length. Basically your initial chain needs to be a multiple of 16, plus two stitches extra. If you want your blanket smaller or longer, adjust your initial chain accordingly. Special Stitches: Double crochet three together dc3tog: Yarn over, hook through stitch, pull up a loop, pull through two loops (2 remain on hook). Yarn over, hook through next stitch, pull up a loop, pull through two loops (3 remain on hook). Yarn over, hook through third stitch, pull up a loop, pull through two loops, then through 4 remaining loops. Double crochet two together dc2tog: yarn over, hook through stitch, pull up a loop, pull through two loops (2 remain on hook). Yarn over, hook through next stitch, pull up a loop, pull through two loops, then through 3 remaining loops. Row One: ch 146. Skip first 2 chains, dc into 3rd chain. *Dc into next 6 chains. Work 3dc in next ch. Dc in next 6 chains. Dc3tog over next 3 chains. Repeat from * to end, working dc2tog in final two chains. Ch2, turn. Row Two: Skip first stitch (where the 2ch comes from), dc in next 7 stitches. Work 3dc in next stitch (this will be the middle of your dc cluster from the previous row, and will form the peak of your ripple). *Dc in next 6 stitches. Dc3tog over the next three stitches (the second of these three stitches will be the top of your dc3tog from the previous row, and forms the concave of your ripple). Dc in next 6 stitches, work 3dc in next stitch. Repeat from * to end, working dc2tog in final two stitches. Ch 2, turn. Repeat row two until your blanket is at desired length! I do two rows in each colour, then change. In the rows where I introduce a new colour, I work into the back loops only. This gives a layered texture, and is definitely my preferred ripple style. The second row of each colour I work into both loops. Now, I’m not finished my blanket yet so I haven’t gotten to the part where I edge it.. in fact I haven’t even decided how I want to do it yet! I have found this great tutorial on pinterest through, and it is probably something I’d like to try.. I will be back to update this post once my blanket is done!

I would really appreciate any feedback on this pattern/tutorial. It’s my first attempt at anything like it, and if I’ve made any mistakes or caused any confusion, please let me know! And if it’s brilliant and you learn something from it I’d like to hear that too… ha!

Thank you!

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