Fifty Shades of 4 Ply: Autumn Jewels Free Pattern

Hello and welcome!

As promised, tonight I'm going to share the free pattern for my Autumn Jewels blanket

The blanket was made using Scheepjes Our Tribe yarn and is beginner friendly. The only tricky bits are joining as you go but I've found a lovely You Tube tutorial that should guide you through! I haven't written a step by step tutorial for this pattern as time has sadly been on my side lately....where on earth do these hours go???!!!!

Ok, ready to make a blanket????

Let's go!

Ingredients

Scheepjes Our Tribe (70% Merino Superwash, 30% Polyamide, 100g/420m)

Yarn A: 984 Old Bewick x 6 balls

Yarn B: 987 Excitement x 1 ball

Yarn C: 989 Optimism x 1 ball

Yarn D: 986 Energise x 1 ball

Size 3mm crochet hook

Scissors

Needle to weave in ends

Blocking materials

Gauge/Tension

Each square will measure 3" after blocking

Finished blanket size after blocking: 44" (112cm) x 56" (142cm)

There are no special stitches in the pattern and it is written in UK crochet terms.

Before we start I just want to say a few things about this yarn. Because it is a single ply construction it may have areas where the yarn is slightly irregular. It isn't a fault, just the nature of the yarn! So if you get some thinner or thicker bits just embrace it, smile, and carry on! This is also what I call "sticky" yarn!!! If you make a mistake and need to rip back a bit be gentle.... slow and careful easing apart is much more successful with this yarn than firmly pulling.

How To

With either Yarn B, C, or D ch4, join with ss to 4th ch from hook

Round 1 Ch4 (counts as tr and ch), into ring (tr, ch1) 11 times, join with ss to 3rd chef first st. [12sts, 12 ch-sps]

Round 2 Ch3 (counts as tr), tr in same st, ch1, (2tr in next st, ch1) rep 10 more times, join with ss to 3rd chain of first st. [24sts, 12 ch-sps]

Round 3 Ss into next st, ss into ch-sp. ch3 (counts as tr), 2tr into ch-sp, ch1, (3tr into next ch-sp, ch1) rep 10 more times, join with ss to 3rd ch of first st, fasten off yarn. [36sts, 12 ch-sps]

Round 4 With yarn A join in any ch-sp and dc, ch3, dc into next ch-sp, ch3, dc into next ch-sp, ch5 (corner), rep 3 more times, join with ss to first dc. [12 dc, 8 3-chs, 4 5-chs]

Round 5 Ss into ch-sp, ch2 (counts as htr), 3htr in same ch-sp, ch1, 4htr in next ch-sp, ch1, (3tr, ch3, 3tr) in corner 5ch-sp. Rep working 4htr in 3ch-sps and (3tr, ch3, 3tr) in corner ch-sps working a ch between each group of sts, join with ss to second chain on first st, fasten off. Weave in ends.

Block squares to 3". You will need to make 154 squares in total using Yarns B, C and D.

Just in case you were undecided whether to block or not...

Just look at the difference blocking makes to this yarn!!!

Joining

Lay your blocked squares out on the floor until you are happy with the placement - 11 squares wide and 14 squares long. I opted to go random! I just picked up squares and placed them. Then I took a photograph and changed it to greyscale so I could check that there was an even distribution of light and dark values....I actually only ended up swapping a couple of squares!

Using a join as you go technique for granny squares, join the motifs together. Bella Coco has a fabulous You Tube tutorial on this technique HERE.

It looks way more tricky than it actually is and once you get the hang of it you'll be done in no time and ready for the border.

*If you really don't want to join as you go, you can simply add another round of 3tr into ch-sps and (3tr, ch3, 3tr) into the corners to the squares and join with your favourite joining technique*

Border

Round 1 Using Yarn A, join in first st of any side, ch3 (counts as tr) and work a tr into every st. Corners are made by working (3tr, ch3, 3tr) into the corner ch-sps, join with a ss to 3rd ch of first st.

Round 2 Ch4 (counts as tr and 1ch), sk st, *tr, ch1, sk st rep from * to corner. Work (tr, ch3, tr) in each corner (ensure you begin each side with a tr), join with ss to 3rd ch on first st.

Round 3 Ch3 (counts as tr), work tr in every st and ch-sp along sides and work (2tr, ch3, 2tr) into corners. Join with ss to 3rd ch of first st.

Round 4 Ch1, dc into same st, ch5, sk 2 sts, dc, ch 5, sk 2 sts. rep to corner aiming to work a dc on the last st of each edge and beginning of next edge so that you have a ch 5 over each corner. You may have to fudge this a little depending on your st count! Join with ss to first dc.

Round 5 Ss into ch-sp, ch 3 (counts as tr) 2tr, ch2, 3tr. Continue to work (3tr, ch2, 3tr) into each ch-sp around the blanket, join with ss to 3rd ch of first st. Fasten off and weave in ends.

Now block your blanket! This yarn really responds well to blocking and it gives great stitch definition and a beautiful drape!!!

I hope you enjoy making your version of Autumn Jewels!

And as promised, here's the photo of the lichen clad stone on Old Bewick that inspired this colour way...