Ladder Joined Blanket

[fantasticmio]

I can't remember what we were talking about, specifically, but the other day mr.fantastic asked me if you could use the Jacob's Ladder technique to join motifs together (keep in mind, he doesn't crochet at all - apparently he just pays really close attention!).

I, of course, had to try this out as soon as possible.  


IMG354.jpg by fantasticmio, on Flickr

Closer:

IMG355.jpg by fantasticmio, on Flickr

Closest:

IMG357.jpg by fantasticmio, on Flickr


Granny squares are super quick for me to make up, especially when they're in a single colour, so I made 36 of them, about 5" wide, with a sc border.

Then I used a different colour to create ch10 lines joining the squares together.  I first went one way:

IMG348.jpg by fantasticmio, on Flickr

IMG350.jpg by fantasticmio, on Flickr

Then the other:

IMG352.jpg by fantasticmio, on Flickr

IMG353.jpg by fantasticmio, on Flickr

I worked on the wrong side to minimize the amount of the dark blue yarn you could see on the front.  After making a ch10 and joining it to the next square, I slip stitched up three stitches on the square before making another ch10 and linking back to the first square.  When leaping to the next pair of squares, I did a ch2 before joining to the square above, then went back to ch10, back and forth.


After that it was simply (ha!) a matter of laddering it up.  I wanted each ladder to alternate between going over and under the crossing ladders, but that turned out to be trickier than I imagined.  Usually when I cross ladders, I go by with the one that goes under before going by with the one that goes over.  For this, though, I ended up sometimes having to take a ladder under an established ladder... absolutely possible, but tricky.

I used pipe cleaners to hold the ladders in place once I was done so that I could remove the blanket from the bed to add the border (which eventually holds the ladders in place).  

After that, I added a reverse single crochet border, and then it was just a matter of weaving in the ends.

I'm pretty happy about how it turned out.  This blanket was started as a proof of concept, and now that I know it works, the blanket will be donated to charity.  For the next one I make, I'm trying to find some self-striping yarn that I'm not allergic to (I'm allergic to animal fibres and also to Bernat Mosaic  It's been quite the challenge!)

[Kookaloo_Starr]

fantastic! 

[fantasticmio]

Thanks!

Oh! Almost forgot - here's the back:

IMG358.jpg by fantasticmio, on Flickr

[craftADDchick]

Mio, you (and Mr. Fantastic, too, in this case) truly live up to your name! That's a fantastic idea! It looks so cool, too. I'm definitely bookmarking it for a future project. I love how you're able to take an idea and make it a reality, and then share your brilliance with us!

[alwaysinmyroom]

What a clever way to join squares and get a unique look!

Mr. Mio and you are a good team!

[peachessunshine]

So beautiful! You always crochet the neatest things.............