Elayna’s Afghan – Free Crochet Blanket Pattern
Elayna’s Afghan was designed for my oldest granddaughter, Elayna. I chose Lion Brand Yarns Comfy Cotton Blend for this afghan for two reasons: 1 because I wanted a soft afghan with the perfect pop of color and 2 because she gets overheated easily so I wanted to use a lighter weight yarn. Both the yarn choice and simple crochet stitch patterns combine to make Elayna’s Afghan the perfect trans seasonal afghan. Lightweight for cooler summer nights, yet warm enough to take the chill off during the fall.
You can find the free crochet blanket pattern for Elayna’s Afghan in this post below, or an ad-free print friendly version on Love Crafts here, Ravelry here, or on Etsy here.
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YARN
For this crochet afghan, I chose Lion Brand Yarns Comfy Cotton Blend in Whipped Cream & Flower Garden. Comfy Cotton Blend is a great DK weight, cotton and polyester blend yarn that’s available in 12 colorways! You’ll have a hard time choosing colors, but this crochet blanket will look great in nearly any color combination.
I’ve also included a note below on how to adjust for ANY yarn weight and how to make your crochet afghan any size you’d like.
ELAYNA’S AFGHAN – FREE CROCHET BLANKET PATTERN
The free pattern is below, but if you love to work offline, I’ve got a couple other great options for you.
Purchase the ad-free, printable PDF, including all photo tutorials, on Love Crafts here, Ravelry here, or on Etsy here.
Purchase the kit here! Lion Brand also has a full kit of the Elayna’s Afghan, available on their website. The kit includes your choice of color and a digital copy of the pattern below.
Save this pattern to your Ravelry favorites here.
Pin it for later here.
This post contains affiliate links.
Materials
- Yarn: DK Weight / 3 yarn, 2,744 yards, Lion Brand Yarns Comfy Cotton Blend, was used for the crochet blanket shown in the photos. 50% Cotton/ 50% Polyester (392 yards / 358 m / 200 g / 7 oz)
- Whipped Cream (MC): 5 cakes (1,960 yards)
- Flower Garden (CC): 2 cakes (784 yards)
- Crochet Hook: Lion Brand Yarn (1 Skein) C...Shop on Amazon“>J/10/6.00mm (My favorite crochet hooks are the Clover Amour Hooks, I’ve never had an ache in my hand since switching)
- Scissors
- Yarn Needle
- Scrap piece of yarn or stitch marker
Many of these materials are available for purchase through our affiliates below:
Lion Brand Yarn (1 Skein) C...Shop on Amazon Clover 1049/J Amour Crochet...Shop on Amazon Fiskars 154110-1001 Non-sti...Shop on Amazon Lion Brand Yarn 400-5-5002 ...Shop on Amazon
Gauge
- In linen stitch (sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the next st): 14.5 sts = 4″; 9 rows = 2.25″
Difficulty Level
- Easy
Finished Size
- 52″ W x 54.5″ L (easily adjustable)
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch(s): chain(s)
- sl st(s): slip stitch(es)
- st(s): stitch(es)
- sc: single crochet
- puff st: puff stitch (see special stitches below)
- yo: yarn over
- sp(s): space(s)
- rep: repeat
- Rnd: round
- RS: right side
- MC: Main Color
- CC: Contrasting Color
Notes
- Turning chains are not included in stitch count, unless noted otherwise.
- Lion Brand Yarns Comfy Cotton Blend, DK weight yarn, was used for the sample shown in the photos. 50% Cotton/ 50% Polyester (392 yards / 358 m / 200 g / 7 oz)
- Yardage: 7 cakes (approximately 2,744 yards)
- Whipped Cream (MC): 5 cakes (1,960 yards)
- Flower Garden (CC): 2 cakes (784 yards)
- I had approximately 60 yards of each colorway leftover with the size afghan I made.
- Yarns similar in fiber and weight can be substituted.
- Use ANY weight yarn you’d like. I suggest using the size crochet hook that is listed on the ball band of the yarn you’d like to use. Adjust hook size until you get the drape you’d like for your afghan. Gauge is not crucial.
- Chains (for chain spaces) are included in stitch count. When reading the instructions, skipped stitches can be chains or stitches.
- See close-up photos above and below.
Special Stitches
- Single Crochet Puff Stitch (puff st): Yo, insert your hook into the indicated stitch/space, yo and pull up a long loop, (yo, insert your hook into the same stitch/space, yo, and pull up a long loop) 3 more times, yo, pull through all 9 loops on your hook.
- Note: You typically close a puff stitch with a ch 1, but for this design, it is written to ch-1 after the stitch. This ch-1 is used to close the puff stitch and create the next ch-1 space in the design. So only work one ch 1 after each puff stitch, not 2.
Elayna’s Afghan Instructions
Note: Make sure to keep your ch-1’s loose or you work will cinch inwards.
Note 2: All rounds except the puff stitch rounds do not begin with a turning chain. This was done intentionally to help keep the afghan from having an unsightly seam. See photo below for a close-up of the afghan’s seam.
Rnd 1: With MC and a 6.00 mm crochet hook, ch 12, work 3 sc in the 2nd ch from your hook, (ch 1, skip the next ch, sc in the next ch) 4 times, ch 1, skip the next ch, 3 sc in the last ch, rotate to work on the opposite side of the ch, (ch 1, skip the next ch, sc in the next ch) 4 times, ch 1, skip the last ch. Join with a sl st to the 1st st of the round. Turn. (24 sts) *includes ch-1’s
Rnd 2 (MC) (RS): Do not ch-1, (sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the next st) 4 times, sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the next st, ch 1, skip the next st, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the next st, ch 1, (sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the next st) 4 times, sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the next st, ch 1, skip the next st, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the next st, ch 1. Join. Turn. (40 sts)
Rnd 3 (MC): Sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the next st, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the next ch-2 sp, ch 1, skip the next st, sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the next st, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the next ch-2 sp, ch 1, skip the next st, (sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the next st) rep from ( to ) across to the next ch-2 sp, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the next ch-2 sp, ch 1, skip the next st, sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the next st, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the next ch-2 sp, ch 1, skip the next st, (sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the next st) rep from ( to ) the end of the round. Join. Turn. (48 sts)
Rnd 4 (MC): [ (sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the next st) rep from ( to ) across to the next ch-2 sp, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the next ch-2 sp, (ch 1, skip the next st, sc in the next ch-1 sp) 2 times, ch 1, skip the next st, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the next ch-2 sp, ch 1, skip the next st ] work from [ to ] 2 times, then sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the last st. Join. Turn. (56 sts)
Rnd 5 (MC): (sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the next st) 2 times, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the next ch-2 sp, ch 1, skip the next st, (sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the next st) 3 times, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the next ch-2 sp, ch 1, skip the next st, (sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the next st) rep from ( to ) across to the next ch-2 sp, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the next ch-2 sp, ch 1, skip the next st, (sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the next st) 3 times, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the next ch-2 sp, ch 1, skip the next st, (sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the next st) rep from ( to ) across to the end of the round. Join. Turn. (64 sts)
Rnds 6 – 8 (MC): (sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the next st) rep from ( to ) across to the next ch-2 sp, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the next ch-2 sp, [ ch 1, skip the next st, (sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the next st) rep from ( to ) across to the next ch-2 sp, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the next ch-2 sp ] work from [ to ] 3 times, then ch 1, skip the next st, (sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the next st) rep from ( to ) across to the end of the round. Join. Turn. *Stitch count increases by 8 sts per round.
Rnd 9 (MC): (sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the next st) rep from ( to ) across to the next ch-2 sp, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the next ch-2 sp, [ ch 1, skip the next st, (sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the next st) rep from ( to ) across to the next ch-2 sp, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the next ch-2 sp ] work from [ to ] 3 times, then ch 1, skip the next st, (sc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the next st) rep from ( to ) across to the end of the round. Join. Turn. *Stitch count increases by 8 sts per round.
Row 10 (MC): Ch 1, [ (puff st in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the next st) rep from ( to ) across to the next ch-2 sp, (puff st, ch 2, puff st) in the next ch-2 sp, ch 1, skip the next st ] work from [ to ] 3 times, then work (puff st in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, skip the next st) rep across to the end of the rnd. Join. Turn. *Stitch count increases by 8. Approximately 6″ x 8.5″ at this point.
Rnds 11 – 15 (CC): Rep Rnd 9.
Rnd 16 (MC): Rep Rnd 10.
Rnds 17 – 25 (MC): Rep Rnd 9.
Rnd 26 (MC): Rep Rnd 10.
Work Rounds 11 – 26, a total of 5 times. * Each repeat of Rounds 11 – 26 increases the width & length of the afghan by approximately 8.5″ each way.
Do not fasten off. Continue on to the Final Rounds.
Note: If you’d like a bigger crochet afghan, repeat rounds 11 – 16 until your afghan measures the desired size. Then continue on to Final Rounds.
Final Rounds
Rnds 1 – 5 (CC): Rep Rnd 9.
Rnd 6 (MC): Rep Rnd 10.
Rnds 7 – 8 (MC): Rep Rnd 9.
Fasten off. Weave in ends & block, if desired.
Give your work a professional finish by blocking it! Click here to learn 3 different ways to block acrylic yarn. I prefer to steam block, which technique will you choose?
MORE FREE CROCHET PATTERNS FROM A CROCHETED SIMPLICITY
If you enjoy this crochet afghan pattern, you may enjoy these other projects as well. And if you just want to browse, you can find all of our free crochet patterns HERE.
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