Just before Christmas, a dear friend asked me to make him an afghan. A big afghan. He originally asked for something 4’x8’, but after I did the estimating and we ordered the yarn, asked if it could be 5’x7’.
Since he didn’t know anything about crochet, I started by showing him various classic afghan styles, like ripples, fans, etc. He really liked this very plain pattern called the Moon Shadow Blanket by Anne Thubron. The pattern is free on her site, but is really just the Herringbone Double Crochet stitch, done with a bulky yarn.
The yarn is Paton’s North America Alpaca Blend, in color Butternut. We ordered 19 skeins for the originally planned size, and by a happy accident, they mailed us 20 skeins. The original pattern called for 130 stitches wide, and based on my gauge swatch, I figured I’d need 150 stitches to make it 5’ wide. It ended up about 5’6", so my gauge was a little off, but it turned out just fine.
I basically just did my foundation chain, then 126 rows of Herringbone Double Crochet, until I ran out of yarn, and finished the edge with a slip stitch. Because it’s stretchy, I’m not sure of the exact sizes, but it’s laid out on my king sized bed, and fits edge to edge. I’m thrilled with how it came out, but I’m also so glad to be done with it!
