How To Crochet Rainbow Star Blanket Pattern + Tutorial

Introducing my Crochet Fluffy Unicorn Afghan featuring the brand new yarn line called Bernat Blanket Brights. This is a 6 point star afghan that took me seriously 9 hours to crochet. Due to the thickness of the yarn, these types of afghans crochet extremely quickly.

I used the colours of the rainbow to inspire me. A crocheter said online to me about it reminding her of Rainbow Bright and then I was thinking unicorns from the Minion Movie as being a Fluffy Unicorn that Gru was trying to win for the girl. This yarn is so vibrant and definitely fluffy. It's an afghan I would want to cuddle with myself.

This pattern is an adaptation from an existing pattern on Yarnspirations. The original pattern is called Bernat Star Blanket featuring the extra lovely Pipsqueak Yarn. Originally, I went into the project thinking it's just a typical star but there is a slight variation that opened my eyes to realize this would be perfect for Bernat Blanket Yarns. In every other row, the space in the center between the points closes up. This means there are not as many gaps. Typically in stars, we see gaps in the points and in the centre points.

If you see my blue example filmed many years ago, you will see the typical gap spaces in between the points. This afghan design is missing that feature so it appears and is more solid between the points of the star. You can try this version, it's called the Starlight Blanket.

Design Considerations

In teaching for Yarnspirations, I have the ability to adapt patterns with their permission. The original pattern still remains Yarnspirations' pattern but I have tweaked it slightly for my new version.

I was exceptionally conscious on the amount of yarn needed to make this afghan. I used up as much yarn as I could without having you to buy a second ball of any of the colours. You will need to pay attention to the final rounds as I had to change the 2nd last round to ensure you had enough yarn to get all the way around.

Rainbows are always in the same order. If you want to change up the colours, that is completely up to you. I used a total of 6 balls of Bernat Blanket Brights Yarn. The rainbow colour order is Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue and Purple. Usually Red is first and purple is last. That's up to you on the order you want.

Bernat Blanket Brights

Bernat Blanket Brights is new to Yarnspirations for 2016. For the first time, Bernat Blanket is now bold and bright. There is 3 different lines in the Bernat Blanket Family of yarn. Those include:

• Bernat Blanket - Original with decor and neutral colours.
• Bernat Blanket Baby - Baby oriented with pastels and nursery colours.
• Bernat Blanket Brights - Bold and bright for kids and those who love electrified colours.

You can substitute for any of these brands as long as you keep the yarn in the solid colour format. The variegated yarns have less yardage and you will run out quicker and may not finish your project.

Each one of these products have different format sizes of balls. You will be looking for the big ball of 300 grams to complete this afghan.

Bernat® Blanket Brights™ (300g / 10.5 oz, 201 m / 220 yds)  

• A - Race Car Red - 2 Balls
• B - Carrot Orange - 2 Balls
• C - School Bus Yellow - 1 Ball
• D - Go-Go Green - 1 Ball 
• E - Royal Blue 1 Ball
• F - Pow Purple 1 Ball

Abbreviations

• Approx = Approximately
• Beg = Begin(ning)
• Ch = Chain(s)
• Dc = Double crochet
• Hdc = Half Double Crochet
• Rep = Repeat
• Rnd(s) = Round(s)
• RS = Right Side
• Sc = Single crochet
• Sc2tog = Single Crochet 2 Together
• Sk = Skip
• Sl st = Slip stitch
• Sp(s) = Space(s)
• St(s) = Stitch(es)
• Yoh = Yarn over hook

Notes

• Each colour that circles around consists of 2 rounds only. It’s been designed for the size that you only need 1 ball of every colour. The purple colour, which is last in sequence will be the least amount of yarn you will have leftover whereas the red, you will have plenty leftover.

• Each colour will appear only twice with red being the exception for a single crochet border.
• As each round gets bigger by 1.5″ in each direction, you will use more yarn in every rotation than the round before it. The final purple round is half double crochet due to the fact if you use double crochet in the final purple round, you will run out of yarn.
• Ch 3 at beg of rnd counts as dc throughout.

Instructions

With A, ch 5. Join with sl st to first ch to form ring.

1st rnd: Ch 2 (does not count as st). 12 hdc in ring. Join with sl st to first hdc. 12 hdc.

2nd rnd: Ch 1. 1 sc in same sp as last sl st. *3 dc in next hdc. 1 sc in next hdc. Rep from * around to last hdc. 3 hdc in last hdc. Join with sl st to beg sc. Break A. 

3rd rnd: With B, attach to next stitch over to where you had slip stitched. Ch 3. (2 dc. Ch 2. 2 dc) in next dc. 1 dc in next dc. *Sk next sc. 1 dc in next dc. (2 dc. Ch 2. 2 dc) in next dc. 1 dc in next dc. Rep from * 4 times more. Sl st to top of beg ch 3. 6 dc per point. 

4th rnd: Sl st in next dc. Ch 3. 1 dc in next dc. *(2 dc. Ch 2. 2 dc) in next ch-2 sp. 1 dc in each of next 2 dc.** Draw up a loop in each of next 2 dc. Yoh and draw through all loops on hook – sc2tog made. 1 dc in each of next 2 dc. Rep from *4 times more, then from * to ** once. Sc2tog over last 2 sts. Join with sl st to top of ch 3. Break B. 8 dc  per point with 1 sc2tog between points.

5th rnd: With C, attach to same stitch as the slip stitch. Ch 3. 1 dc in each of next 3 dc. *(2 dc. Ch 2. 2 dc) in next ch-2 sp. 1 dc in each of next 4 dc.** Sk next sc2tog st. 1 dc in each of next 4 dc. Rep from * 4 times more, then from * to ** once.  Sk last sc2tog st. Sl st to top of ch 3. 12 dc per point. 

6th rnd: Sl st in next dc. Ch 3. 1 dc in each of next 4 dc. *(2 dc. Ch 2. 2 dc) in next ch-2 sp. 1 dc in each of next 5 dc.** Sc2tog over next 2 dc. 1 dc in each of next 5 dc. Rep from * 4 times more, then from * to ** once. Sc2tog over last 2 dc. Sl st to top of ch 3. Break C. 14 dc per point with 1 sc2tog between points.

Rep 5th and 6th rounds with the following colour sequence.

Each round is increasing by 2 sts per point. 

• 2 rounds - D
• 2 rounds - E
• 2 rounds - F
• 2 rounds - A
• 2 rounds - B
• 2 rounds - C
• 2 rounds - D
• 2 rounds - E
• 1 round - F - Continue to use F in next rnd.

In the next round, you are substituting the dc to hdc so that you will not run out of yarn to have the perfect colour sequence. 

Next rnd: Ch 2 (counts as hdc in this case). 1 hdc in each of the next 3 dc. *(2 hdc. Ch 2. 2 hdc) in next ch-2 sp. 1 hdc in each of next 4 dc.** Sk next sc2tog st. 1 hdc in each of next 4 dc. Rep from * 4 times more, then from * to ** once.  Sk last sc2tog st. Sl st to top of ch2. 

Last rnd: With A, join to same last st as join. Ch 1, 1 sc in each st around with placing 3 sc in each ch corner point. Join with sl st to beg sc. Fasten off. 

Video Tutorial