Babette blanket?

[rina]

Has anyone tried to make the Babette blanket from Interweave Crochet Spring 2006?  I don't even have a copy of the mag, but I ran across this flickr pool and am pondering making this my long-term project for the year.  I figure I can keep piling up squares until they're ready to assemble. 

It's gorgeous, but I was wondering if anyone knew how hard it is to make.  I've never attempted anything this big before. 

[anakarina]

*sigh* i want to make the babette. i haven't started because i want to get all my yarn together first. i will not be using the recommended yarn- even when the SO said 'just get it' despite the price- i wouldn't be able to find all the correct colors online.

anyway, so i've been on the lookout for a line of yarn that has tons of bright colors, and i even want to get SIMILAR colors to the ones in the mag. the closest i've found is peruvian highland wool at elann.com but i've never felt that yarn and suspect since it's wool it's really scratchy for a blanket.

but looking at the pattern, it is very easy. the only "hard" part is putting it together and it's only hard because it will take so damn long. but it's put together in sections.

i babble but i hope you decide to make it!

[rina]

You're right, yarn choice is a big issue.  That yarn is waaaay too expensive for a blanket.  Elann Peruvian highland wool is probably scratchy, which doesn't matter to me for a throw but I just don't like crocheting a bunch of scratchy yarn. 

I was thinking of picking a DK weight yarn line that has good and then buying the yarn piecemeal.  Want at least a wool blend. Too bad Plymouth Encore DK is so hard to come by!   

[Miss Violaceous]

What about Elann Sonata? http://www.elann.com/productdisp.asp?NAME=elann%2Ecom+Sonata&Season=&Company=&Cat=&ProductType=5&OrderBy=&Count=14

[rina]

Thanks!  Yes, Sonata comes in a great color selection.  But it's cabled cotton, and I find it rough on my wrists to crochet.  (Boy, don't I sound like the princess and the pea....)   

I just noticed that some of the Babette blankets are done in worsted or even bulky weight yarn and still look great.  So, more yarn choices.  Hmm, Plymouth Encore Worsted?  Too bad woolease--much cheaper--doesn't come in a better color range.  Does anyone know if Encore is at least as soft as Woolease? 

[Miss Violaceous]

You probably won't like this either (maybe do it loosely) but, Microspun? It actually comes in a LOT of colors if you look on a website. I only ever see a fraction of their colors in stores.

[anakarina]

i did look at sonata as a possiblity! but i was wondering if cotton would easily lose it's shape? would it get flabby after a while?

but you bring a good point rina, if i just consider it a pretty throw then i wouldn't care if it was scratchy. it'd be something to throw over the couch or bed and admire.

i started out only considering worsted weight because i wanted the blanket bigger than in the pattern.

miss violaceous, thanks for the tip, i'll take a look. although... i might kill myself if i try to crochet this thing in microspun. what's wrong with microspun anyway? it always unravels on me when i try to make stuff with it . although it bet it'd look pretty.  ( diddn't stop me from getting like 6 skeins of it at walmart when they were on sale- trying to get rid of their yarn)

i do want something i can block.

[Miss Violaceous]

I knew you wouldn't like it. :-p

100% cotton wouldn't block, but you could toss it in the washer and dryer if it started to sag, and it would shrink up a little. You could crochet it loose to begin with and wash it when you finish to make it shrink. FYI, I'm not a crocheter (so I've never experimented with purposefully shrinking crochet) but I have done experiments with 100% cotton yarn. If you have any cotton lying around, you could try swatching it and seeing if you like how it turns out after a spin in the washer.

Which doesn't fix the problem for the person who doesn't like working with cotton to begin with.

[sammimag]

Hmm, Plymouth Encore Worsted?  Too bad woolease--much cheaper--doesn't come in a better color range.  Does anyone know if Encore is at least as soft as Woolease? 

Plymouth Encore on sale here  Yes, Encore is as soft as Woolease. 

[jacquiw]

My girlfriend is doing that blanket and she is a newbie to crochet. She is using the equivalent of your Red Heart acrylic because she can buy any colours any dyelot as she pleases. As its a multi colour project it will look terrific regardless. You wouldn't have to follow the pattern exactly if you didn't want to either . You could make granny squares of any particular pattern that takes your fancy and make big ,small or in between and join them randomly to the size blanket you require. I am doing one in granny squares to use up all the pure wool i have accumulated over many years in  all sorts of dull colours. Stuff i bought from thrift shops etc. Anyway i am 3/4 finished and my son has now decided he wants it for his bed when i am finished. The reason he likes it is its not 'girly or bright' and he likes the randomness of it.So its got a home already and his mates have 'hinted ' they would like similar ones. So looks like i will have to teach their mums to crochet now.Anyway it gives the feeling of freeform but not to wild and way out for my son and his mates.LOL!