Coral Story Blanket: with love to brioche crochet

Brioche crochet is one of my (many!) favorite techniques. I am literally obsessed with brioche at the moment. And more I am using it, more I am amazed at how natural it is for shaping. My love affair with brioche crochet started a few years ago. First I tried it as a part of overlay technique, then I began looking for a way to make fabric more draping. I used it for my latest Brioche Lane Sweater design. And today I am very excited to introduce something new.

Add this pattern to your Ravelry Queue

Please, welcome – my Coral Story Blanket (credit for a fabulous name goes to my lovely husband; that was he who noticed similarities in the stitch pattern with coral’s shapes. By the way he also said that wrong side of this blanket looks like Starry Night by Van Gogh – but that’s another story…)

To celebrate release, Coral Story Blanket pattern is available with 20% discount on Ravelry HERE and Etsy HERE - through Monday, June 1st, 2020. The price you see is final, and no codes are needed. Just add the pattern to your cart and enjoy.

Coral Story Blanket is one of those designs which grow very fast and straightforward. I’ve been growing an idea of brioche mandala for a while now, but in the end it became a cute hexagon. Which then transformed into a blanket.

The pattern includes two motifs – full brioche hexagon and a kind of “solid” one for adding interest to the texture (credit for this idea goes to my everyday muse Laura Jackson of @taemombo). And then half hexagons were created to fill the gaps along the edges and polish the blanket’s shape.

My blanket is approx. 135 x 145 cm large, but you can easily make it bigger by adding two more rows of motifs and/or rearranging them differently. The pattern includes yarn amounts for each motif, and it should be easy to calculate final yardages. Just don't forget to order something extra for join and border.

Coral Story Blanket is not only about stitch pattern but also about the colors and their changes. I chose Scheepjes Our Tribe yarn for my sample. And I am curious if you can recognize this color palette… It’s actually a copy of Rozeta Twilight colorway! Looks a bit different in a new design, but the play of colors is equally gorgeous.

You will find Our Tribe yarn in your local Scheepjes shops, or via online retailers:

Wool Warehouse*, Black Sheep Wools* (both in UK with international shipping; please note that shipping might be limited in times of COVID-19 worldwide quarantine);
Caro’s Atelier* (NL and Europe)
Taemombo* (US and Canada)

Our Tribe yarn with its softness and amazing gradual changes of colors is just perfect for this blanket.

If you are looking for alternative yarns, please pick something very light and soft. Brioche crochet is a “yarn eating” technique. And with wrong yarn your blanket might become stiff and heavy. So yarns with soft content and generous yardages are recommended… For another blanket I would probably look into combination of Scheepjes Whirls and Whirlettes…

Four different colors were used for my blanket: Iris Garden as main color (x8 skeins), and one skeins in each of three contrast colors: Felted Button, Miss Neriss and Haak Maar Raak. You might say I am lazy in not thinking about new colorways, but honestly – I am simply in love with Rozeta Twilight colors! Such a gentle rainbow across the night sky (or colorful coral colony in deep ocean).

If you are wondering about other color options, please, have a look at small samples made by my wonderful tester’s team: Sarah Fabbri, Jenna Bowers, Macarena Marskell, Lisa Marlow, Pam Hibbert, Loele van den Bergh, Elizabeth Kalka.

And here is another sample created by Laura Jackson. She decided to make fewer motifs and arrange them into hexagons. Small triangles were added to fill into the sides. And obviously, Laura used less yarn for her blanket. Check all details about her project HERE on Ravelry.

 

Photo credit: Laura Jackson

I should probably give a short introduction into brioche crochet, just in case you feel unsure about your crochet level while looking at pictures here. Brioche crochet IS EASY to do. And it uses basic simple crochet stitches. You will be making lots of front post stitches and chains. Only one color is used for each round, and there is no yarn cutting and weaving in hundreds of tails. 

The pattern is building itself. Very naturally. And you only need to be attentive while placing your stitches. A heavy photo-tutorial is waiting for you in the pattern showing each round. So honestly, there is nothing to worry about.

And here is how the wrong side looks, in case you are wondering... That's my husband's Starry Night :)

Just pick a bigger hook than you would normally use for your yarn, and try to crochet in a relaxed way not pulling and tightening your stitches. You want a soft and airy fabric.

Do you feel inspired to try brioche crochet? Grab the pattern of Coral Story Blanket and give it a try!

Just to remind you, the pattern is on SALE through Monday, June 1st, 2020 both on Ravelry HERE and Etsy HERE with 20% off. Enjoy!

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