Crochet Study of Staying Put Blanket Stitch Along

Choice of Yarn

I had a choice: use Bernat Cottage or Bernat Harmony yarn. Both yarns have a similar transitioning look, with the major difference being that Bernat Cottage requires an 8 mm / L/11 crochet hook, while Bernat Harmony recommends a 5.5 mm / I/9 hook.

I chose the Bernat Cottage because the yarn was more muted in color, and I thought that if I find or create stitches, the yarn color will do the magic on its own. Yarnspirations didn't want a Christmas/Festive look, but rather a more middle-of-winter vibe. To me, of the two brands, Bernat Cottage has the look and feel of staying put inside.

Bernat Cottage has transitioning colors within the ball, and it's those colors that gave me the sense of comfort and warmth. I pictured myself with a cup of tea and doomscrolling on my phone. Tucked in and staying put.

Don't Waste the Yarn

Lately, I have been consolidating and organizing stitch concepts on The Crochet Crowd. I ran into stitches I had forgotten about. The only stitch that I really wanted to explore, which I have never done in a project, was the Sedge Stitch.

With bulky-weight yarn, such as Bernat Cottage, doing texture overlays would be highly expensive and a yarn pig. Instead, I opted to find textures that could be done without the front-post, back-post work I typically do. And by the way, the sedge stitch was a chef's kiss choice in my opinion.

I didn't do the sedge spiked stitch, as I felt it would waste yarn and wouldn't let the yarn go as far.

Allow The Crocheter To Explore

Along the stitch, there are 6 defined stitches. They will all work together. If you don't like one of the stitches I created but love another in the stitch-along, you can substitute it. The stitch also allows adjustment of the sizing. The stitch multiple is 6 chains + 2. Just know that if you do any more chains than the pattern suggests, you will need more yarn of each color.

I don't know the yarn quantities if you are substituting Bernat Harmony or another Yarnspirations brand.

Yarn Details & Project Details

Bernat Cottage Yarn: 200 g/7 oz, 214 meters/234 yards

• A = Seashells - 3 Balls
• B = Teal Time - 2 Balls
• C = Rose Blossoms - 1 Ball
• D = Sail Away - 2 Balls
• E = Almond - 2 Balls

Hook: 8 mm / L/11

Gauge: 9 sc and 10 rows = 4"

Blanket Size: 64” with the stripes vertically x 56” wide.

What stitches are inside this stitch-along?

The stitch-along, with the stitch multiple given, will allow you to change the order of any of the stitches provided.

#1 The Crochet Mist Stitch

The blanket will start with the Crochet Mist Stitch for just 4 rows. This stitch is used twice. At the very beginning and at the end, so there is something cohesive. The color, as you see it, is coming directly out of the ball.

Between the stitch sampler bands, there is a striped strategy; it's not just one ball creating the striping effect.

#2 - The Houndstooth Stitch

The houndstooth stitching, shown in blossom color, is used in a lot of crochet clothing because it removes the train-track look of crochet and adds a subtle lift in texture.

#3 The Sedge Stitch

The sedge stitch, shown in Sail Away, was the only stitch I insisted on including in the journey. It provides a different look and textural relief, and kind of resembles the corner-to-corner look, but in rows.

#4 The Primrose Stitch

The primrose rose stitch, shown in almond, was suggested in a social media poll for what to apply to the blanket. I had to re-investigate this stitch from one of my past tutorials. I have never used this stitch in a project before. It's a different relief texture than sege, but nearly as easy to create.

#5 The Slanted V-Stitch

I came up with this concept on my own out of curiosity, but I am sure someone, somewhere, has probably created this stitch before. I'm not going to take credit for developing something new. I personally believe that most, if not all, crochet stitches have been figured out and either used under a different name or buried in historical patterns.

This section was done 4 times to ensure the counts and accuracy were correct during the prototype-making process. I wondered, to myself, what if the V-Stitch was intentionally on a slant? I wasn't convinced initially, but after 3 rows, I could see the incredible texture. This stitch also makes the yarn go farther.

#6 The Bean Squish Stitch

The bean squish stitch, shown in almond, is more interesting in person than the camera can pick up. Knowing that any texture created with this yarn will waste yarn, I did a simplified bean stitch that isn't as bulky, and the next row squishes down between the beans to make them pop. Honestly, I was quite addicted to watching this section play itself out.

The Border

I wanted the border to be simple in execution. The only color I had to pop a fresh ball was sail away, shown in blue. I used the remaining balls from the sampler to fill in what I could, to yield as much yarn as possible.

I was quite glued to the last round of the blanket, as I had never done slip stitching in the back loop on a blanket before. I am obsessed with how it turned out. I will use this technique again in the future.