Baby Rainbow Sampler Blanket (part 4)

Find the other parts of the Baby Rainbow Sampler blanket here:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6
• Part 7
• Part 8
• Part 9
• Part 10
• Part 11

Notes

• Don't forget: Blue colour codes are for the Rainbow version!

Colour layout

Techniques

Granny Clusters

Click here for the tutorial about granny clusters.

Puff Stitches

Click here for the tutorial about the puff stitch.

Shell Stitch

Click here for the tutorial about the shell stitch.

Granny Cluster Section 2 (rows 41-45)

We’ll be repeating the instructions for the previous Granny Clusters here, only we’re starting from the WS instead of the RS and will not change colours as often. I’ve written the complete instructions below. But rest assured, if you’ve done section 1 this will be a breeze!

Row 41 (WS) Join Colour O (H) with a ss in first st, ch3 (counts as first dc), 1dc in same st, *skip 2 sts, 3dc in next st; repeat from * another 46 times, skip 2 sts, 2dc in last stitch, turn. [47 Granny clusters with 3 dc, 2 clusters with 2 dc, 145 dc in total]

Row 42 (RS) Ch3 (counts as first dc), *3dc in space between clusters of previous row; repeat from * another 47 times, 1dc in third ch of begin-ch3 of previous row. Cut yarn, turn. [48 Granny clusters with 3 dc, 2 dc, 146 dc in total]

Row 43 (WS) Join Colour T (I) with a ss in first st, ch3 (counts as first dc), 1dc in first space between clusters, *3dc in next space between clusters; repeat from * another 46 times, 1dc in final space, 1dc in third ch of begin-ch3 of previous row, turn. [47 Granny clusters with 3 dc, 2 clusters with 2 dc, 145 dc in total]

Row 44 (RS) Repeat Row 42. [48 Granny clusters with 3 dc, 2 dc, 146 dc in total]

Row 45 (WS) Join Colour A with a ss in first st, ch1, 1hdc in same st, 143hdc, 1hdc2tog in final 2 sts, cut yarn, turn. [145 hdc]

That last hdc2tog is necessary to reduce our stitch count from 146 back to 145 again!

Puff Stitch section 2 (rows 46-51)

You’ve done these stitches before, aren’t you loving them? The texture these little Puff stitches create is just divine. I like using them as a contrast row, or as an edging. They’re not too big and add just little more visual flair than a regular edging.

For full measure, I’ve written down the instructions for the puff stitch rows below again.

Row 46 (RS) Join Colour Q (K) with a ss in first st, begin-puff stitch in same st, *ch1, skip 1 st, puff stitch; repeat from * another 70 times, ch1, skip 1 st, 1dc in last stitch, turn. [1 begin-puff stitch, 71 puff stitches, 72 ch, 1 dc]

If you look closely at your stitches, you can see that the chains you’re crocheting look like they’re laying on top of the puff stitches!

Row 47 (WS) Ch3 (counts as first dc), puff stitch in first ch-1 space, *ch1, skip 1 st, puff stitch in next ch-1 space; repeat from * another 70 times, 1dc in last puff stitch, cut yarn, turn. [72 puff stitches, 71 ch, 2 dc]

Row 48 (RS) Join Colour E (J) with ss in first st, repeat Row 46, cut yarn, turn. [1 begin-puff stitch, 71 puff stitches, 72 ch, 1 dc]

Row 49 (WS) Join Colour A with a ss in first st, ch1, 1hdc in same st, *1hdc in ch, 1hdc in puff stitch; repeat from * another 70 times, 1hdc in last ch, 1hdc in final puff stitch, ch1, turn. [145 hdc]

Row 50 (RS) 145hdc, ch1, turn. [145 hdc]

Row 51 (WS) 145hdc, cut yarn, turn. [145 hdc]

Shell section 1 (rows 52-58)

We’re going to be crocheting shells in this section. There are many different types of shells. What they all have in common is that they’re worked from one stitch, fanning out (hence the name ‘shell’). They’re a classic stitch. My great-grandma had multiple handmade shawls made out of shells.

I found that tension makes a difference for the next few rows. If your tension is loose, your shell row might start to wiggle and fan out a little bit. You can tell because if you put your blanket on a flat surface and smooth it out with your hands, the shell row will not lay flat. That’s because there’s too much yarn to occupy the space for these rows. If your tension is tight, you will find that the method below will cause your blanket to pull inwards. That’s because there’s not enough yarn for your rows to stretch comfortably. So keep an eye on your tension and get your shells to lie flat after Row 61. Trust me; you’d rather only pull out two rows and do them over, instead of regretting not fixing it for the remainder of the CAL. Part of the learning process is getting to know your tension and make adaptations based on that.

Row 52 (RS) Join Colour G (J) with a ss in first st, (ch4 (counts as first dc + 1 ch), 2dc) in same st, skip 4 sts, *(2dc, ch2, 2dc) in same st, skip 4 sts; repeat from * another 26 times, (2dc, ch2, 2dc) in same st, skip 3 sts, (2dc, ch1, 1dc) in final st, ch1, turn. [28 shells, 2 half shells (one on each end), 28 spaces where you skipped 4 sts, 1 space where you skipped 3 sts]

Row 53 (WS) Skip first dc, 1sc in ch-1 space of first half shell, *(2dc, ch2, 2dc) in space between shells from previous row, 1sc in ch-2 space of next shell; repeat from * another 27 times, (2dc, ch2, 2dc) in space between shells from previous row, 1sc in ch-1 space of half shell, cut yarn, turn. [29 shells, 30 sc]

Row 54 (RS) Join Colour F (K) with a ss in the ch-1 space of Row 52 (so not in the sc that you’ve ended Row 53 with, but in the space below), ch4 (counts as first dc + ch 1), 2dc in same ch-1 space, 1sc in ch-2 space of next shell of Row 53, *(2dc, ch2, 2dc) in next space between shells (this is also the ch-2 space in the first complete shell of Row 52), 1sc in ch-2 space of next shell in Row 53; repeat from * another 26 times, (2dc, ch1, 1dc) in ch-1 space of half shell in Row 52, ch1, turn. [28 shells, 2 half shells (one on each end), 29 sc]

Row 55 (WS) Repeat Row 53. [29 shells, 30 sc]

The next row is a compensation row. You will need to compensate for the difference in height in the shells before we can resume our regular 145 hdc-rows.

Row 56 (RS) Join Colour A with a ss in first st, ch3 (counts as first dc), mark the third ch with a stitch marker, *1hdc in each of the next 2 sts, skip ch-2 space, 1hdc in each of the next 2 sts, 1dc in sc; repeat from * another 27 times, 1hdc in each of next 2 sts, skip ch-2 space, 1hdc in next st, 1hdc2tog in last 2 sts, ch1, turn. [115 hdc, 29 dc, 1hdc2tog]

Row 57 (WS) 145 hdc, ch1, turn. [145 hdc]

The stitch markers placed in the last row of the Shells will help you identify the right chain to crochet in. Remove marker.

Row 58 (RS) 145hdc, cut yarn, turn. [145 hdc]

Continue with part 5 of the pattern.

Diagram