This Cable and Bobble Stitch Blanket was designed and made for my little niece Lienke, who has finally arrived in all her wrinkly awesomeness and hairy cuteness.  I wanted a blanket that was a little bit more complicated than just single crochet but wouldn’t take me months (or even weeks) to finish.  By using 3 strands of double knit yarn at the same time, this blanket grows very quickly.

I used the Attic24 Yarn Pack (which I bought a while ago) to make this particular version.  Right at the bottom of the post, you will find instructions for making an exact replica, but you can use any yarn you fancy.  The yarn and hook suggested below will give you a blanket that is roughly 80 cm wide by 90 cm long (31.5″ x 35.5″).

You do not have to go cheerful and chunky as I have gone.  By using a smaller hook and thinner yarn (or less strands of yarn) and increasing the amount of repeats per row, you can make a more dainty version.

You could also go completely crazy and make a king-sized blanket…

Basic Cable and Bobble Stitch Blanket Pattern

Suitable for Advanced Beginners

The cable and bobble pattern repeats every 15 st’s, so if you want to make a bigger blanket, just start with multiples of 15 stitches and take away 1 stitch.  For example, for 10 repeats:  10 x 15 – 1 = 149.

Materials

• 3 Strands of Double Knit yarn (Light Worsted Weight/#3/8 ply) together OR 2 Strands of Chunky yarn (12 ply) together
• 8 mm crochet hook (US 11/L) – (You can also use a 9 mm crochet hook (US 15/N).  Just remember that your blanket will come out slightly bigger.)
• Yarn Needle  (This is optional.  I suggest that you crochet OVER your tails of yarn, but if you don’t like crocheting over your yarn ends, you are more than welcome to work them away with a yarn needle.)

Please see Attic24 Yarn Pack at the bottom of this post for the specific yarn/colour combination I used.

Abbreviations

US Terminology Used.

• Ch – Chain
• Dc – Double Crochet
• Fdc – Foundationless Double Crochet – video tutorial here.
• BPtr – Back Post Treble Crochet
• FPtr – Front Post Treble Crochet – video tutorial for both front AND back post treble crochet here.
• St/sts – Stitch/stitches
• () – Repeat all instructions in parentheses the number of times specified.

Special Stitches

• {Cable 2} – Dc2tog and skip the next st. BPtr in the next 2 sts.  Now go back to the st below the last st of the dc2tog and BPtr around that st.  BPtr around the next st, which doesn’t contain a st yet.  You will need to twist your work quite a bit to be able to do this.  Now dc2tog, starting in the st at the top of the last BPtr.
• {Cable 3} – Dc2tog.  FPtr in the next 4 sts, working around the posts of the BPtr’s from the previous row.  Dc2tog, starting in the st at the top of the last BPtr.
• {Cable 4} – Dc2tog and skip the next FPtr. BPtr in the next 2 sts.  Now go back to the FPtr below the last st of the dc2tog and BPtr around that st.  BPtr around the next FPtr, which doesn’t contain a st yet.  Dc2tog, starting in the st at the top of the last FPtr.
• Popcorn Stitch:  Make 4 dcs in the same st.  Drop the loop from your hook.  Insert your hook into the first of the 4 dcs and pull the dropped loop through the stitch.

Notes

Change colour on the last yarn over of the last stitch of the row before the colour change.

Pattern

Please Note:  The turning chains are NOT counted as a stitch.

Using your 8 mm crochet hook and 3 strands of double knit yarn (or 2 strands of chunky/bulky yarn):

1. Start with 74 Fdc (not including the initial ch-3).  Turn.  {74}
2. Ch 2 (doesn’t count as a st throughout).  Make a dc in each of the first 4 sts, starting in the st at the base of the beginning ch-2.  {Cable 2 – as in the instructions above}.  (Dc in the next 9 sts, {Cable 2}) 4 times.  Dc in the last 4 sts and turn.  {74}
3. Ch 2 and make a dc in each of the first 4 sts, starting in the st at the base of the initial ch-2.  {Cable 3}.  (Make a dc in each of the next 4 sts, make a Popcorn in the next stitch, dc in the next 4 sts, {Cable 3}) 4 times.  Dc in the last 4 sts and turn.
4. Ch 2 and dc in the first 4 sts, starting in the st at the base of the initial ch-2.  {Cable 4}.  (Dc in the next 9 sts, {Cable 4}) 4 times.  Dc in the last 4 sts and turn.

Repeat Rows 3 and 4 until your blanket is as long as you want it to be.  My blanket ended up being 52 Rows long.

At the bottom of this post, you will find instructions for bordering your blanket with a round of single crochet.

To make my Rainbow version of the Cable and Bobble Stitch Blanket, you will need to buy yourself some Stylecraft Special DK Yarn (15 balls to be exact), but don’t worry, this yarn is incredibly affordable.  Let’s talk about the yarn first, because it’s the most important part of the Rainbow Blanket.

Attic 24 Yarn Pack

Stylecraft Special DK Yarn

Yarn specifications

• 100% Acrylic
• 295 m/322 yards per 100 g ball
• Machine washable at 40
• Cool tumble dry, cool iron
• Knitting needles:  UK 8/US 6/4 mm

Most of you will have heard of Lucy from Attic24.  And even if you haven’t heard of her, you’ll have seen one of her blankets on the internet…you just might not realize it.

Lucy has some gorgeous blanket patterns.  My favourites are her Ripple Blanket and her Granny Stripe Blanket.  Her colour work is amazing, so it’s no wonder that you can now buy the “Attic 24 Yarn Pack”, inspired by her Granny Stripe Blanket, from quite a few yarn retailers.

This post contains a list of all the colours in the Yarn Pack (17 in total), as well as Lucy’s personal experience with working with Stylecraft Special DK.

Please Note:  You don’t HAVE to make this blanket with Stylecraft.  If you can’t get your hands on any, you can use the colour chart below to buy colours that are similar to the ones I have used.  But if you CAN get your hands on an Attic24 Yarn Pack, I suggest that you do.  Unpacking those 17 balls is a feast for your eyes and I can bet you that you will be inspired to make so many pretty things that you won’t know where to start.

Making the Rainbow Cable and Bobble Stitch Blanket

To make the Rainbow Cable and Bobble Stitch Blanket, you will follow the pattern for the Basic Version, but you will start with 3 strands of yarn, each in a different colour (as specified in the colour chart below).  You will work the first 4 rows in these 3 colours.  This is your first 4-row strip.

At the end of the fourth row, you will cut one of the colours (Plum in this case) and add in the next colour (Clematis in this case).  You will then work the next 4 rows.  At the end of that 4-row strip, you will again cut one colour and add in the next colour (following the colour chart below).  You will continue in this way until you have made thirteen 4-row strips.

Adding and taking away one colour at a time like this gives the blanket a variegated rainbow feel which I am crazy about.

Important Notes

• I did not use the Lipstick and Lavender yarn from the Attic 24 pack.  This was not by choice.  They got lost in the move.
• The blanket eats approximately 900 g (2 lb) of yarn.  That is roughly 2.6 km (1.6 miles) of yarn.  Yikes!
• Each 4-row strip takes about 23 g of each colour (70 m/76 yards), and I didn’t use more than one ball of any one colour.  In fact, you should have enough left to make a Crochet Ten Stitch Blanket with.
• Before you start, you will need to wind 25 g (just to be on the safe side) of Saffron, Spring Green and Meadow into separate little balls, because you will need to use 2 strands of the Saffron and Spring Green at the same time in the 7th and 8th 4-row strips respectively, and 2 strands of Meadow for the binding.
• Occasionally, you will need to cut 2 colours at the end of a 4-row strip and add 2 new ones.

Click on the image below to open the pdf version of the colour chart.

Border For The Cable and Bobble Stitch Blanket

Everyone has a different way of finishing off their blankets.  Sometimes you don’t want to add a border at all!  But for this blanket, I suggest that you at least add one round of single crochet all the way around the blanket, because the first stitch will buckle slightly at the beginning of each cable column.  You are more than welcome to add any kind of border you want.

To bind your blanket, start with 2 strands of Meadow and 1 strand of Spring Green.  With a slip knot already on your hook and the right side of the blanket facing you:

Sc in each st of the last row of the blanket.  In the last st of the last row (the corner stitch):  sc, ch 2, sc.  Turn your blanket through 90 degrees and continue working around, this time making 2 scs in the end of each row down.  Turn your blanket through 90 degrees and (sc, ch 2, sc) into the first available st of the foundation double crochet row.  Make a sc into each st of the first row.  When you get to the last stitch, (sc, ch 2, sc) into it.  Turn your work through 90 degrees again and make 2 sc’s into each row up the side of the blanket.  Ch 2 and make a sc into the stitch that contains the first sc of your border round.  Join to the top of the first sc with a sl st and fasten off.  Work away your tails of yarn.

You can find an excellent tutorial for bordering a blanket HERE.  It is by Crochet Happy and is chock-full of photos.  Just remember that your blanket is made up of double crochet stitches, so you will need to make 2 scs into each row, not one as she does.

I hope this tutorial is clear enough.  If you have any questions or suggestions, please leave me a comment.

Other than that, have fun!

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