Alpine Stitch baby blanket

A beautiful texture and captivating colour gradient: what more could you want in a blanket? The Alpine Stitch Blanket helps you master this delightful stitch that could be a cornerstone of your future projects.

The pattern includes written instructions, a photo tutorial and schematics. It’s suitable for the adventurous beginner and is written in US terms.

Crochet hook

3.5mm (US size E/5).

Measurements

Finished blanket measures 110x90cm (43.3 x 35.5in).

Gauge/tension

Not critical for this project. Make sure not to use more than 12.5g of each 50g ball per 2 rows. I used a little over 10g per 2 rows for this blanket.

Techniques

Alpine stitch

The Alpine stitch is a beautiful textured stitch. It's actually quite simple to make, once you break it down to its basic stitches: Front Post double crochets and single crochets.

The stitch itself is made up out of two rows: One row on the Right side, consisting of alternating FPdc's and regular dc's. The other row is a sc-only row on the Wrong side. The next two rows repeat this, only with a slight offset so the FPdc's fall neatly in between the previous FPdc's. These four rows together form the pattern and can be repeated indefinitely.

First Alpine stitches

Please note: the tutorial starts at Row 4 of the pattern. I used different colours from the pattern to increase the contrast between rows in this tutorial.

To get started with the Alpine stitch, join your new colour with a ss in the first stitch (photo 1). Ch2, these 2 chains count as your first dc (photo 2). You'll now be making a FPdc around the stem of the dc two rows below. To do so, yarn over, insert your hook from the front to the back and to the front again, around the stem of the dc. Yarn over again and pull up a loop. Yarn over again, and pull through the first two loops. Finally, yarn over and pull through all loops on hook (photos 3-10).

Once you've made the first FPdc, go ahead and make a regular dc in the next stitch. Be sure to skip the stitch on the original row behind the FPdc (photo 11, indicated by the arrow). Next, make a FPdc in the dc right below the next stitch (photo 12). See how you're alternating stitches? Continue like this until you're at the end of the row. In the final stitch, work a hdc (photo 13). This helps to prevent a puckering edge.

Ch1, turn work and crochet 1sc in each stitch to the end of your row (photo 14). You can now cut the yarn and turn your work again.

Offset Alpine stitches

You'll be working the next two rows almost identical to the previous two. Join the new colour with a ss in the first stitch, then ch2 that count as the first dc (photo 15). Crochet a regular dc (photo 16), followed by a FPdc in the dc two rows below the next stitch (photo 17). By offsetting the FPdc pattern by one stitch (the first regular dc after your ch2), the FPdc's fall in between each other. Continue alternating dc's and FPdc's until the end of row, make a dc in the second-to-last stitch and a hdc in the final stitch (photos 18-19).

Ch1, turn work and crochet 1sc in each stitch to the end of your row (photo 20). You can now cut the yarn and turn your work again.

That's all! The texture pattern gets more clear as you go along, and after a while, your fingers will know what to do.

Blanket

With Colour A, ch158.

Row 1 (WS) Start in second ch from hook, 1sc to end, ch1, turn. [157 sc]

Row 2 (RS) Ch2 (counts as st), 1dc in each st to end, ch1, turn. [157 dc]

Row 3 1sc in each st to end, cut yarn. [157 sc]

We’re now going to start with the actual Alpine Stitch rows. The Alpine Stitch consists of two rows: one row on the RS with FPdc, and one row on the WS with sc’s.

Row 4 Join Colour B with a ss in first st, ch2 (counts as st here and throughout), *1FPdc around dc 2 rows below, skip st on current row, 1dc; repeat from * another 76 times, 1FPdc around dc 2 rows below, 1hdc in last st, ch1, turn. [78 FPdc, 78 dc, 1 hdc, 157 sts in total]

The final st in each row with FPdc is a hdc. This keeps your row-ends from puckering too much.

Row 5 Repeat Row 3. [157 sc]

Don’t skip the sc in the final stitch (the top of the ch2). It’s really easy to miss!

Row 6 Join Colour C with a ss in first st, ch2, *1dc, 1FPdc around dc 2 rows below, skip st on current row; repeat from * another 76 times, 1dc, 1hdc in last st, ch1, turn. [78 dc, 78 FPdc, 1 hdc, 157 sts in total]

Row 7 Repeat Row 3. [157 sc]

Rows 4-7 form the pattern repeat for this blanket. Rows 6-7 are offset from Rows 4-5 so the FPdc’s fall in between the previous FPdc’s.

Repeat Rows 4-7 with Colours B-V in alphabetical sequence, 4 times in total. This brings your total number of rows to 171. Note that you're not using Colour A in this repeat sequence.

We’re now going to work one last Alpine Stitch row in Colour A, to mirror the beginning of the blanket.

Row 172 (RS) With Colour A, repeat Row 4.

Row 173 Repeat Row 3. Cut yarn.

Border

This stitch tends to pull slightly inwards on the short sides. To still get a straight edge, we’re going to decrease the number of stitches for the edges on both short sides as compared to the starting chain.

Round 1 (RS) Join Colour A with a ss in the last stitch of the last row (top right corner). Ch1, 1hdc in same st, 5hdc, (1hdc2tog, 6hdc) 17 times, 1hdc2tog, 12hdc, (1hdc, ch2, 1hdc) in last st, rotate work.

1hdc in same st, *2hdc in side of next row, skip next sc-row; repeat from * another 85 times, (1hdc, ch2, 1hdc) in corner st, rotate work.

5hdc, (1hdc2tog, 6hdc) 17 times, 1hdc2tog, 12hdc, (1hdc, ch2, 1hdc) in last st, rotate work.

Skip first sc-row, *2hdc in side of next row, skip next sc-row; repeat from * another 85 times, skip last sc-row, 1hdc in same st as where you started this row, ch2, join with ss in first hdc. [139 sts on short sides, 174 sts on long sides]

Round 2 Ch1 (doesn’t count as st), 1hdc in st at base of ch, *1hdc in each st to end, (2hdc, ch2, 1hdc) in corner-sp; repeat from * another 3 times, 1hdc in each st to beginning, join with ss in first hdc. [142 sts on short sides, 177 sts on long sides]

You're making 2hdc on one side of the corner, and 1hdc on the other side. The reason for this is that when you work in Rounds, the slanting of stitches causes the corners to look slightly crooked. By working 2hdc we're offsetting this slant and making perfectly square corners. Trust me, it works!

Rounds 3-7 Repeat Round 2. [157 sts on short sides, 189 sts on long sides]

Fasten off, block to size.

Adjusting Measurements

If you want to adjust the measurements, you can simply add or remove repeats of Rows 4-7 (or stop a pattern repeat after Row 5). To make the blanker wider, simply add more chains to your beginning chain. The pattern has a stitch multiple of 2, so if you crochet an even number of chains you can follow the pattern. Keep in mind that the number of repeats in a pattern row differs if you change the number of starting chains.

One row of Alpine stitches (so a Row 4-5 repeat) measures 1.4cm (0.5in) in height. Two Alpine stitches next to each other (2 FPdc, 2dc) measure 1cm in width (0.4in).

Diagram