Changing Tides – Week 1

We’re here, it’s starting!! I can hardly believe that after all these months of planning, designing and making we are now ready to start this blanket journey! Welcome to Week 1 of my new blanket crochet along (CAL) – the ‘Changing Tides’ Blanket! It’s so lovely to have you here and I hope you will love making this blanket and enjoy the journey as much as I have loved designing it… 🙂

Have a look here for an introduction to the CAL which I posted back in February which has all the details and information about yarn.

The full written pattern for Week 1 is below in UK crochet terms. At the end of this blog post I’ve provided the pattern for Week 1 in US terms too.

If you would like the pattern in a PDF format suitable for printing then here’s a link to my Ravelry where there is a small one off payment for the whole pattern. It includes both UK and US terms and is 46 pages long with lots of step by step photos included too.

Ravelry – Changing Tides Blanket

And here it’s available in my Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/985192208/changing-tides-blanket

A big part of a CAL is the sense of crocheting together so do share your progress in the Facebook Coastal Crochet CAL Group or on Instagram using the hashtags #changingtidesblanket and #coastalcrochetcal . It will be wonderful to see your progress and just like during last years CAL, I plan to share a round-up of blankets each week… 🙂

And here’s a reminder of the actual changing tides on my local beach which have provided me with so much inspiration for this blanket design…

So this week we begin by crocheting the first 15 rounds. This is a blanket worked from the centre so the rounds start off small and it will grow quickly this week. When we get to later weeks we’ll be doing fewer rounds because it will take much longer to crochet right around the blanket.

Tension and Hook Size
I used a 5.50mm hook for my blanket but I strongly recommend that you crochet a small sample square of at least the first 4 rounds to really see which hook size will suit you best and give you results you will be happy with. This is especially important if you’ve purchased a yarn pack as I don’t want anyone to run out of yarn which could happen if your tension is much looser than mine and you don’t use a smaller hook. My sample tension square of the first 4 rounds using Aran weight (US Worsted) yarn and a 5.50mm hook measures 11cm x 11cm. My tension tends to be tighter so do use a smaller hook if needed. Many people may benefit from using a 5.00mm hook or even smaller.

If you’re using DK weight (US light worsted) yarn then your sample square will be smaller. I recommend using either a 4mm or 4.5mm hook but see which suits your tension best…

Here goes… 😊

Our first rounds are inspired by the changing blues of calm waters, and the tide going out with waves tipped by white sea spray revealing patches of sand…

And here’s the first YouTube tutorial to help get you on your way. There are further links below to more YouTube tutorials to accompany this first week if you find them helpful…

Abbreviations in UK Crochet Terminology. See bottom of blog post for US terms.
ch: chain, ch-sp(s): chain space(s), dc: double crochet, dtr: double treble, dtr7tog: double treble 7 together (see below), htr: half treble, RS: right side, ss: slip stitch, st(s): stitch(es), tr: treble, WS: wrong side

dtr7tog: double treble 7 together: Wrap yarn around hook twice, insert hook into stitch, yarn over hook and pull through (you will now have 4 loops on the hook), yarn over hook, pull through 2 loops, yarn over hook again and pull though 2 loops (you will now have 2 loops on the hook), repeat from the start 6 more times (each time you will gain an extra loop), at the end you will have 8 loops on the hook, yarn over hook and pull through all the loops on the hook.

Pattern Notes
Just like the sea tides that turn, this blanket is worked by turning at the end of each round. This ensures that the square is kept as straight as possible. The starting chains count as the first stitch throughout the pattern, even on the dc rounds. It may help to put a stitch marker into the starting chains at the beginning of each round making it easier to identify the correct place to insert your hook into at the end of the round.

To Work

Using Yarn A, make 4ch, ss to first ch to join into a ring.

Round 1 (RS) 3ch (counts as first tr here and throughout), 2tr into the ring, (2ch, 3tr into the ring) three times, 2ch, ss to top of first 3 ch to join, turn [12 sts and 4 x corner 2-ch-sps]

Round 2 3ch, *(2tr, 2ch, 2tr) in corner ch-sp, 1tr in each of next 3 sts, repeat from * two times, (2tr, 2ch, 2tr) in final corner ch-sp, 1tr in final 2 sts, ss to top of first 3 ch, fasten off, turn [7 sts on each side with 4 x corner 2-ch-sps]

Round 3 (RS) Join Yarn B to any corner ch-sp, 3ch, (1tr, 2ch, 2tr) in same corner ch-sp, * 1tr in next 7 sts, (2tr, 2ch, 2tr) in corner ch-sp, repeat from * two times, 1tr in final 7 sts, ss to top of first 3 ch, turn [11 sts on each side with 4 x corner 2-ch-sps]

Round 4 2ch (counts as first htr), 1htr in next 9 sts, * (2htr, 2ch, 2htr) in corner ch-sp, 1htr in next 11 sts, repeat from * two times, (2htr, 2ch, 2htr) in corner ch-sp, 1htr in final st, ss to top of first 2 ch, turn [15 sts on each side with 4 x corner 2-ch-sps]

Half Treble stitches are unique in that they have 3 strands at the top of the stitch. Make sure that in Round 5 you are inserting your hook into the top 2 strands as normal, leaving a front strand/loop to the front of the work which will be crocheted into on Round 6.

Also, when crocheting into a round of half treble stitches it’s less obvious which is the first and last stitch of each side. These photos show it clearly…

The last stitch of the side…

The first stitch of the next side…

Round 5 4ch (counts as 1 tr and 1 ch), miss 1 st, 1tr in next st, 1ch, miss 1 st, (2tr, 2ch, 2tr) in corner ch-sp, continue with * (1ch, miss 1 st, 1tr in next st) to end of side, 1ch, miss 1 st, (2tr, 2ch, 2tr) in corner ch-sp, repeat from * two times, (1ch, miss 1 st, 1tr in next st) five times, 1ch, miss final st, ss to 3rd ch from first 4 ch, do not fasten off (place a st marker in loop to secure whilst you remove hook ready to work on Round 6), do not turn [8 x 1-ch-sps on each side and 4 x corner 2-ch-sps]

Here’s a YouTube tutorial to help with Round 6

Round 6 With RS of work facing, join Yarn C to front loop of any htr st from Round 4 inserting hook from the bottom, 2ch, 2htr in same place, 1ss in next front loop, continue with (3htr in next front loop, 1ss in next front loop) all around on each side, ss to top of first 2 ch, fasten off and weave in ends.

Round 7 Re-join hook to loop from end of Round 5, now turn work so WS of work is facing, 1ch (counts as first dc), (1dc in next ch-sp, 1dc in next st) six times, 1dc in final st of side, (2dc, 2ch, 2dc) in corner ch-sp, continue with 1dc in each ch-sp and each st around working (2dc, 2ch, 2dc) in each corner ch-sp, ss to first 1 ch, fasten off, turn [23 sts on each side]

Round 8 (RS) Join Yarn D to any corner ch-sp, 3ch (counts as 1 dc and 2 ch), 1dc in same corner ch-sp, continue with * (2ch, miss 2 sts, 1dc in next st) to final 2 sts of side, 2ch, miss 2 sts, (1dc, 2ch, 1dc) in corner ch-sp, repeat from * on next three sides ending with ss to first ch of first 3 ch, fasten off, turn [8 x 2-ch-sps on each side and 4 x corner ch-sps]

Round 9 (WS) Join Yarn A to any corner ch-sp, 3ch, (1tr, 2ch, 2tr) in same corner ch-sp, continue with * 3tr in each 2-ch-sp to end of side, (2tr, 2ch, 2tr) in corner ch-sp, repeat from * on next three sides ending with ss to top of first 3 ch, fasten off, turn [28 sts on each side]

Round 10 (RS) Join Yarn E to any corner ch-sp, 2ch, (1htr, 2ch, 2htr) in same corner ch-sp, continue with 1htr in each st around working (2htr, 2ch, 2htr) in each corner ch-sp, ss to top of first 2 ch, fasten off, turn [32 sts on each side]

And now we begin 4 rounds of ‘Pebble Lace’ stitch. When I first came across this stitch I fell in love with it and knew it had to be in our blanket! It’s a stitch full of texture created by clusters of double treble (US treble) stitches… yes, these are those huge bobbles many of you have been swooning over in my sneak preview photos these last couple of months! 🙂

…it does use a lot of yarn!

I live close to beaches filled with grey pebbles, some of which are really quite large. And it always amazes me how the power of the sea can shift tons of these pebbles across the beach. After a storm or particularly high tide, the pebbles can be swept away by the sea to reveal sand. And then in the next tides, the pebbles are put back!

This stitch really resembles those pebbles don’t you think… 🙂

And here’s the YouTube tutorial if that helps…

Round 11 (WS) Join Yarn F to any corner ch-sp, 3ch, (1tr, 2ch, 2tr) in same corner ch-sp, * 2ch, miss 1 st, 1dc in next st, continue with (2ch, miss 1 st, dtr7tog in next st (close this with 1ch and push the cluster to the back (RS) of the work), 2ch, miss 1 st, 1dc in next st) and repeat to end of side, 2ch, miss final 2 sts, (2tr, 2ch, 2tr) in corner ch-sp, repeat from * on next three sides ending final side with 2ch, miss 2 sts, ss to top of first 3 ch, turn [7 dtr clusters on each side]

Round 12 4ch (counts as 1 dc and 3 ch), 1dc in top of next dtr cluster (not in the 1 ch made to close the cluster), * (3ch, 1dc in next dtr cluster) to last cluster on this side, 3ch, miss 2 ch-sps, 1dc in final 2 sts, (1dc, 2ch, 1dc) in corner ch-sp, 1dc in next 2 sts, repeat from * on next three sides ending with 1dc in final st (after final corner ch-sp), ss to first ch, turn

Round 13 3ch (counts as 1 dc and 2 ch), miss 2 sts, * (2tr, 2ch, 2tr) in corner ch-sp, 2ch, miss 2 sts, 1dc in next st, (2ch, dtr7tog in second ch of 3 ch going under both top strands (close with 1ch), 2ch, 1dc in next dc st) and repeat to end of side, 2ch, miss final 2 sts, repeat from * on next three sides, after final dtr7tog make 2ch and end with ss to first ch of beginning 3 ch, fasten off, turn [8 dtr clusters on each side]

Round 14 (RS) Join Yarn D to the left tr st on any corner ch-sp and repeat Round 12

Round 15 2ch, 1htr in next 2 sts, * (1htr, 2ch, 1htr) in corner ch-sp, 1htr in next 3 sts, (3htr in ch-sp, 1htr in next st) to final ch-sp on this side, 3htr in final ch-sp, 1htr in next 3 sts, repeat from * on next three sides, after final ch-sp ss to top of first 2 ch, fasten off, turn [43 sts on each side]

And there you have it… Week 1 complete! I really hope you enjoy crocheting along… 🙂

I’m going on a narrowboat holiday for the very first time next week – crochet seems to go very well with life on a narrowboat so I’m really looking forward to it! I will try to respond to any comments but internet connection may be hit and miss so please bear with me. A blog post of our narrowboat adventures will no doubt follow at some point. 🙂

Thank you for being here and Happy Crocheting! 😊❤️

PATTERN IN US TERMS

Abbreviations in US Crochet Terminology
ch: chain, ch-sp(s): chain space(s), dc: double crochet, hdc: half double crochet, RS: right side, sc: single crochet, sl st: slip stitch, st(s): stitch(es), tr: treble, tr7tog: treble 7 together (see below), WS: wrong side

tr7tog: treble 7 together: Wrap yarn around hook twice, insert hook into stitch, yarn over hook and pull through (you will now have 4 loops on the hook), yarn over hook, pull through 2 loops, yarn over hook again and pull though 2 loops (you will now have 2 loops on the hook), repeat from the start 6 more times (each time you will gain an extra loop), at the end you will have 8 loops on the hook, yarn over hook and pull through all the loops on the hook.

Pattern Notes
Just like the sea tides that turn, this blanket is worked by turning at the end of each round. This ensures that the square is kept as straight as possible. The starting chains count as the first stitch throughout the pattern, even on the sc rounds. It may help to put a stitch marker into the starting chains at the beginning of each round making it easier to identify the correct place to insert your hook into at the end of the round.

To Work
Week 1
Using Yarn A, make 4ch, sl st to first ch to join into a ring.

Round 1 (RS) 3ch (counts as first dc here and throughout), 2dc into the ring, (2ch, 3dc into the ring) three times, 2ch, sl st to top of first 3 ch to join, turn [12 sts and 4 x corner 2-ch-sps]

Round 2 3ch, *(2dc, 2ch, 2dc) in corner ch-sp, 1dc in each of next 3 sts, repeat from * two times, (2dc, 2ch, 2dc) in final corner ch-sp, 1dc in final 2 sts, sl st to top of first 3 ch, fasten off, turn [7 sts on each side with 4 x corner 2-ch-sps]

Round 3 (RS) Join Yarn B to any corner ch-sp, 3ch, (1dc, 2ch, 2dc) in same corner ch-sp, * 1dc in next 7 sts, (2dc, 2ch, 2dc) in corner ch-sp, repeat from * two times, 1dc in next 7 sts, sl st to top of first 3 ch, turn [11 sts on each side with 4 x corner 2-ch-sps]

Round 4 2ch (counts as first hdc), 1hdc in next 9 sts, * (2hdc, 2ch, 2hdc) in corner ch-sp, 1hdc in next 11 sts, repeat from * two times, (2hdc, 2ch, 2hdc) in corner ch-sp, 1hdc in final st, sl st to top of first 2 ch, turn [15 sts on each side with 4 x corner 2-ch-sps]

Half Double Crochet stitches are unique in that they have 3 strands at the top of the stitch. Make sure that in Round 5 you are inserting your hook into the top 2 strands as normal, leaving a front strand/loop to the front of the work which will be crocheted into on Round 6

Also, when crocheting into a round of half double crochet stitches it’s less obvious which is the first and last stitch of each side. The photos above show it clearly…

Round 5 4ch (counts as 1 dc and 1 ch), skip 1 st, 1dc in next st, 1ch, skip 1 st, (2dc, 2ch, 2dc) in corner ch-sp, continue with * (1ch, skip 1 st, 1dc in next st) to end of side, 1ch, skip 1 st, (2dc, 2ch, 2dc) in corner ch-sp, repeat from * two times, (1ch, skip 1 st, 1dc in next st) five times, 1ch, skip final st, sl st to 3rd ch from first 4 ch, do not fasten off (place a st marker in loop to secure whilst you remove hook ready to work on Round 6), do not turn [8 x 1-ch-sps on each side and 4 x corner 2-ch-sps]

Round 6 With RS of work facing, join Yarn C to front loop of any hdc st from Round 4 inserting hook from the bottom, 2ch, 2hdc in same place, 1sl st in next front loop, continue with (3hdc in next front loop, 1sl st in next front loop) all around on each side, sl st to top of first 2 ch, fasten off and weave in ends.

Round 7 Re-join hook to loop from end of Round 5, now turn work so WS of work is facing, 1ch (counts as first sc), (1sc in next ch-sp, 1sc in next st) six times, 1sc in final st of side, (2sc, 2ch, 2sc) in corner ch-sp, continue with 1sc in each ch-sp and each st around working (2sc, 2ch, 2sc) in each corner ch-sp, sl st to first 1 ch, fasten off, turn [23 sts on each side]

Round 8 (RS) Join Yarn D to any corner ch-sp, 3ch (counts as 1 sc and 2 ch), 1sc in same corner ch-sp, continue with * (2ch, skip 2 sts, 1sc in next st) to final 2 sts of side, 2ch, skip 2 sts, (1sc, 2ch, 1sc) in corner ch-sp, repeat from * on next three sides ending with sl st to first ch of first 3 ch, fasten off, turn [8 x 2-ch-sps on each side and 4 x corner 1-ch-sps]

Round 9 (WS) Join Yarn A to any corner ch-sp, 3ch, (1dc, 2ch, 2dc) in same corner ch-sp, continue with * 3dc in each 2-ch-sp to end of side, (2dc, 2ch, 2dc) in corner ch-sp, repeat from * on next three sides ending with sl st to top of first 3 ch, fasten off, turn [28 sts on each side]

Round 10 (RS) Join Yarn E to any corner ch-sp, 2ch, (1hdc, 2ch, 2hdc) in same corner ch-sp, continue with 1hdc in each st around working (2hdc, 2ch, 2hdc) in each corner ch-sp, sl st to top of first 2 ch, fasten off, turn [32 sts on each side]

Round 11 (WS) Join Yarn F to any corner ch-sp, 3ch, (1dc, 2ch, 2dc) in same corner ch-sp, * 2ch, skip 1 st, 1sc in next st, (2ch, skip 1 st, tr7tog in next st (close this with 1ch), 2ch, skip 1 st, 1sc in next st) and repeat to end of side, 2ch, skip final 2 sts, (2dc, 2ch, 2dc) in corner ch-sp, repeat from * on next three sides ending final side with 2ch, skip 2 sts, sl st to top of first 3 ch, turn [7 tr clusters on each side]

Round 12 4ch (counts as 1 sc and 3 ch), 1sc in top of next tr cluster (not in the 1 ch made to close the cluster), * (3ch, 1sc in next tr cluster) to last cluster on this side, 3ch, skip 2 ch-sps, 1sc in final 2 sts, (1sc, 2ch, 1sc) in corner ch-sp, 1sc in next 2 sts, repeat from * on next three sides ending with 1sc in final st (after final corner ch-sp), sl st to first ch, turn

Round 13 3ch (counts as 1 sc and 2 ch), skip 2 sts, * (2dc, 2ch, 2dc) in corner ch-sp, 2ch, skip 2 sts, 1sc in next st, (2ch, tr7tog in second ch of 3 ch going under both top strands (close with 1ch), 2ch, 1sc in next sc st) and repeat to end of side, 2ch, skip final 2 sts, repeat from * on next three sides, after final tr7tog make 2ch and end with sl st to first ch of beginning 3 ch, fasten off, turn [8 tr clusters on each side]

Round 14 (RS) Join Yarn D to the left dc st on any corner ch-sp and repeat Round 12

Round 15 2ch, 1hdc in next 2 sts, * (1hdc, 2ch, 1hdc) in corner ch-sp, 1hdc in next 3 sts, (3hdc in ch-sp, 1hdc in next st) to final ch-sp on this side, 3hdc in final ch-sp, 1hdc in next 3 sts, repeat from * on next three sides, after final ch-sp sl st to top of first 2 ch, fasten off, turn [43 sts on each side]