So, I did not have a wonderful time crocheting this baby afghan, but it was a work of love. Baby Jack is the first grandson of some dear friends of mine. The grandparents have three sons of their own and a cute little granddaughter who is almost four years old. For the granddaughter, Lily, who was born near Christmas, I had made a round ripple afghan that resembled a poinsettia. So, to continue with the theme, I chose a round ripple for baby Jack.
The pattern I used – with some variations of my own design – is no longer available via a regular website. See more about this below. However, there are many round ripple patterns online and I’ve used others with equal success. Now, about the color choices. I used Caron Simply Soft in the colors that were chosen by the mom. While I would not have chosen this color combination, I’m pleased with the results. Since gauge is not of great consequence when making a baby afghan, using a true worsted weight yarn would work well here. And, with a fingering weight yarn, you just add more rows to make the afghan the size you prefer.
Since I , like many crocheters, use a pattern as a guideline – sometimes just a suggestion – to create the finished project. I thought the afghan looked a bit feminine for a baby boy, so I played around with some ideas to make the afghan look more boyish. I think the last few rows I created did the job. With the detail in the picture, I believe you can see how I just added a spike stitch to create a bit of contrast and visual interest that felt more masculine to me, finishing off with a simple row of single crochet rather than any other sort of edging. I also added a simplified picot (single crochet, chain one, single crochet in base of first single crochet) to make the points more exact – also a masculine touch.
Having two deadlines to meet – carpal tunnel surgery in a week and grandparents heading to Texas to see the grandson for the first time – I didn’t have the luxury of time to do more exploration of stitches to change up the design even more. But, as I said, I’m pleased with the results. The idea was to create something special and made with love for a very special baby boy. I think this is it!
Note: The web address from which I printed off this pattern is this:
http://www.angelfire.com/tx5/angelcrafts/patterns/roundripple.html
This does not appear to be an active link. It may be available on the Wayback Archive. if you find an active link for the pattern, please let me know!
Looking for more Crochet patterns using the Ripple stitch check these out on Etsy?
Here are two that I’ve found but haven’t tried. They look like fun, though!
http://idealdelusions.blogspot.com/p/basic-round-ripple-afghan-pattern.html
http://rosereddesigns.blogspot.com/2011/02/rosereds-12-point-round-ripple-free.html
Awesome job…saw it in progress. Like the spike stitch element.
Really nice job on the afghan!
The pattern is available at https://web.archive.org/web/20060113120229/http://project-angel-kisses.150m.com/roundripple.html.
Very L?VELY, Jd! Like you… Gray and Yellow?!? Maybe a Sweater for an Ol’Folk… Smile! Spike Stitch? I wasn’t sure if it’s also called L-O-O-NG DC or SC. Anyhows, Wonderful Afghan!
Very L?VELY, Jd! Like you… Gray and Yellow?!? Maybe a Sweater for an Ol’Folk… Smile! Spike Stitch? I wasn’t sure if it’s also called L-O-O-NG DC or SC. Anyhows, Wonderful Afghan!
I Love that color combination, while looking for colors to update my home, I am finding that gray is the new beige in many decorating publications. you are right in style!