Kelsey Crochets

Would you believe me if I told you I’ve been to 3 different baby showers in the last 6 months? Two for childhood friends, and one that I planned with my mom for my sister’s first baby! Baby showers are a great reason to craft something personalized and handmade just from you that mom and baby can enjoy.

I wanted to make my sister a baby blanket, but I was feeling burned out from my previous baby blanket project for another shower that used the popcorn stitch. It probably didn’t help that I procrastinated and stayed up literally all night trying to finish the blanket. I watched all the Jaws movies AND a few shark documentaries while working on it! I definitely learned my lesson to start earlier next time.

I wanted something a bit simpler and found the C2C method on Pinterest. I watched this tutorial on YouTube to learn how to start the blanket.

1. Before you start, make a sample swatch.

I wanted to make a blanket around 30 inches x 30 inches in size. I skipped making a sample swatch in the beginning, and by the time I got to be around 25% done, I was getting close to the 30 x 30 size. I used Stitch Fiddle to create my pattern and track my progress, and at that point I had to delete rows from my tracker to keep the blanket in line with my desired size, but unfortunately the blanket didn’t end up like I envisioned.

Make a sample of a couple of your C2C squares using the same yarn, crochet hook, and stitch you’ll be using for the project. After you make the sample, measure the size of the swatch and enter the size in the table on StitchFiddle so you can estimate the size of your finished project.

Stitch Fiddle’s sample swatch table helps you estimate the size of your project.

2. Buy a bit more yarn than you think you need.

I’ll set the scene. It was the day before my sister’s baby shower, and I was frantically crocheting and crocheting trying to finish the blanket. Looks like I didn’t quite learn my lesson after all to start early…I ran out of white yarn with a few more rows to go but had enough black yarn to finish the blanket. Weirdly enough, the white ran out at the end of one row and I used black yarn for the rest of the rows, so it didn’t quite have that randomized look that cowhide has.

Me with my first C2C baby blanket. Can you tell where I ran out of white yarn?

3. Set aside yarn for the border.

Without a border, the blanket looked unfinished to me. I had time left to complete the border, but all I had left was black yarn. The next time I create a C2C project, I’ll be sure to pick a specific color to help frame the blanket better.

4. Give yourself enough time to finish the project.

This one goes for really any crochet project, but especially with C2C, start early! It’s better to finish early than to be struggling to finish before the deadline like me. I personally really enjoy doing a set amount of crochet each day, like one row a day for a temperature blanket.

5. Learn how to change colors effectively.

If your C2C project uses more than one color, you’ll have to learn how to switch colors neatly. I used this tutorial and it works super well! I use this every time I have to switch colors on any project. It’s simple, easy, and secure so your project won’t unravel.

Do you agree with these? Is there anything you would recommend for C2C first-timers? Leave a comment below.