Hurricane Sandy Relief Baby Blanket

I've recently started to knit and crochet for charity so a few weeks ago when I was out shopping for yarn and I came across a great deal on a pound of yarn, I thought it would be perfect for charity projects.  I was surprised at how soft and pretty the yarn turned out to be. I thought it would be perfect for a baby blanket and that's exactly what I used it for.

One of my favorite LYSs (Local Yarn Store), Old Town Yarnery, put out a call for knitted or crocheted hats, gloves, and blankets last weekend. They will be shipping off the items to New York and New Jersey for people who have been hit the hardest by Hurricane Sandy. Right away I thought about the yarn I'd just bought for this exact purpose and so with only a week to spare, I got to work. I decided to crochet the blanket since I'm a much faster crocheter than I am a knitter. Plus, I had an easy pattern for a granny square blanket who's square pattern is easy to remember.

The pattern is from Crochet Today, Nov/Dec 2008 and it's called Soft & Comfy Throw. The squares are 9"x9" and they crochet up fairly quickly, especially once you've memorized the pattern. Since I used a "mystery" yarn, I won't be able to give you any information on it but I recommend a Red Heart Soft Yarn (this is a pretty and inexpensive yarn that has a nice sheen to it and comes in lots of pretty colors). I would use a size J or K crochet hook since the bigger the hook, the lacier the square. You can obviously use different colors in your granny squares to crochet a colorful blanket but using one solid color gives the blanket a bit more sophistication. You can also choose a few different colors and crochet each square in one solid color and then sew them all together.

There are 9 rows in each square. 

Sewing the squares together. I used a simple whip stitch and the owner of Knit 2 Unwind (my other favorite LYS), Robin (who is one my current knitting yodas), suggested I sew into the back loops only to give the edges a pretty ridge look. I really liked this effect. Plus, it helps to keep the blanket supple and flat. 

The completed blanket with a shell border. Since this is a baby blanket, I only crocheted 12 squares. For an adult sized blanket/throw, I would do at least 20, although, the pattern calls for 30!

I've recently started sewing labels onto my finished projects but since this is a donated item, I wasn't planning on putting one on. A friend of mine convinced me to put one on with all of the info you see here. She thought the family who ends up with this handmade blanket will be happy to know who made it, where, and when. 

Bundled and ready to go!