sloum

fiber arts : crochet : ferris wheel blanket

At the post office near our home is a little free library. One day while picking up our mail I noticed someone had left a copy of The Granny Square Book by Margaret Hubert. I had always wanted to do something with granny squares but had never managed to get started on a project. I brought the book home and spent a few days combing through it for the square I might want to try out. In the end I settled on the "Ferris Wheel" square (square #23, page 56). It is an attractive square that is dense enough to be useful as a blanket. It was also listed as a beginner square, but still looked impressive.

The final blanket was made from 48 squares (8 by 6). It seemed like soooo many at the time. I think I miscalculated the size at some point, because what I ended up with is more of a lap blanket. That said, I really love it. It is a nice blanket to have while sitting in the reading chair we have by the window; nice to curl up with. I slip stitched the squares together with the same yarn/hook I used for the squares. I did the stitching at the end, not as I went, and then did a round of single crochet around the outside. For a first blanket I am pretty happy with it. It is not perfect, but is very nice and I have fond memories of making.

Images

12 ferris wheel granny squares laid out on the floor ferris wheel granny square blanket spread out on bed ferris wheel blanket laid over the back of a red chair

Information

Hook Size
5mm
Yarn Weight
4 / Worsted
Yarn Type
Acrylic
Yarn I used
Caron Jumbo Ombre
"Lake Mist" color
3 Skeins (at 595 yds/skein)
Other supplies
Scissors
Tapestry needle
Stitch marker(s) Optional

Pattern / Instructions

See the pattern guide for descriptions of the terms/abbreviations used in the pattern.

The "Ferris Wheel" Square

  1. Make a slipknot
  2. 8 CH, SL into first chain to form a ring
  3. 3 CH (counts as DC), 15 DC into ring, SL into 3rd chain to join
  4. 5 CH (counts as DC and 2 CH), [1 DC, 2 CH] into each DC, SL into 3rd CH (of the CH 5) to join
  5. SL in 1st 2CH SP, 3 CH, 2 DC in same SP, 1 CH, [3 DC, 1 CH] into each 2CH space, SL into 3rd CH to join
  6. SL to first 1CH SP, 1 CH, SC in same SP, {[3 CH, 1 SC] in each of next 3 SPs, 6 CH, 1 SC in next SP} repeat around, SL into beginning SC rather than into the last SP to join
  7. SL into 1st 3CH SP, 3 DC (the first DC of the round being a 3 CH instead) in each 3CH SP and [5 DC, 3 CH, 5 DC] into each 6CH SP, SL into 3rd CH (fake DC) to join
  8. 3 CH, {1 DC in each ST to corner, [1 DC, 3 CH, 1 DC] in each 3CH SP} repeat to end, SL into 3rd CH to join, tie off and weave in tail

Assembling the blanket

  1. I used 48 squares in a 6 by 8 grid to make the blanket. Other grid dimensions supported by your square count will work fine
  2. Make a slip knot, slip stitch (or other style of join) the rows to each other using the back stitch only, leave tails on each side as needed
  3. Do the same for the columns, working from the same side, leaving tails as needed
  4. Make the border: make a slip knot, SL onto any stitch, 1 CH, 1 SC in each ST to corner (covering the tails with your SC stitches as you go), 3 SC in cornermost stitch of the blanket (not each individual square), continue doing 1 SC to corner and repeating the corner procedure until you land back where you started, SL into 1 CH, tie off and weave in