Yay… it’s finally time to share all the details about my next blanket crochet along (CAL) design which is called ‘Picnic on the Beach’! 🙂 And in this blog post you’ll have all the information you need to get ready if you want to crochet along… 🙂
The CAL will be 8 weeks in total starting with the first instalment on Friday 26th February and the final instalment on Friday 16th April.
I’m so excited about the picnic theme. Just thinking about packing a picnic basket and heading to the beach fills me with a warm feeling and this blanket design draws so much inspiration from all things picnic related!
We really are going to go on a lovely picnic journey together! ❤️
And I would love for this crochet along to be more than just about crocheting the blanket… let’s enjoy that picnic theme together! 🙂❤️
It will be wonderful if we can share with each other our favourite picnic spots around the world, favourite picnic foods and recipes, fond picnic memories and then all those picnic plans! 🙂
Especially as we emerge from the worldwide pandemic and can begin to look forward to picnic gatherings once more…
I’ve designed this blanket in two colourways – ‘Summer Picnic’ and ‘Autumn Picnic’.
Yarn packs are now available from The Knitting Network and by clicking on the link below you’ll be taken to their website. I earn a small amount of commission for each pack sold through this link which is very much appreciated… thank you! 🙂
Click on this link:
https:www.theknittingnetwork.co.uk%2Fblog%2Fpicnic-on-the-beach-cal
Here are the inspiration photos for the two colourways…
Summer Picnic…
Autumn Picnic…
My last crochet along the ‘Beachcombing Blanket’ brought people together from all over the world as we crocheted through the first Covid-19 lockdowns. And nearly one year later we’re still in difficult times… but there is hope, and picnics on the beach will surely be possible again soon! 🙂
The best places to connect with others and share progress as we crochet this blanket together is in the Facebook Group ‘Coastal Crochet’ or over on Instagram.
The Facebook Group is a really friendly and welcoming group. 🙂
Join the group here:
Coastal Crochet Facebook Group
Sharing over on Instagram is amazing too – just use the following hashtags and when you search the hashtags you’ll be able to see each others photos:
#picniconthebeachcal
#picniconthebeachblanket
#coastalcrochetcal
And here’s everything you’ll need to create this blanket:
Materials
I have used 7 colours for this blanket and I used Stylecraft ‘Special DK’ (100% acrylic, 295m/322yds) in the following colours and quantities:
Summer Picnic colours:
Yarn A: 3 x 100g balls White (1001)
Yarn B: 2 x 100g ball Blush (1833)
Yarn C: 1 x 100g ball Lipstick (1246)
Yarn D: 2 x 100g balls Sherbert (1034)
Yarn E: 2 x 100g ball Citron (1263)
Yarn F: 2 x 100g ball Spring Green (1316)
Yarn G: 2 x 100g balls Stone (1710)
14 x 100g balls in total.
Yarn Packs are available here:
Yarn Packs at The Knitting Network
Autumn Picnic colours:
Yarn A: 3 x 100g balls Cream (1005)
Yarn B: 2 x 100g ball Lavender (1188)
Yarn C: 1 x 100g ball French Navy (1854)
Yarn D: 2 x 100g balls Cornish Blue (1841)
Yarn E: 2 x 100g ball Dandelion (1856)
Yarn F: 2 x 100g ball Cypress (1824)
Yarn G: 2 x 100g balls Vintage Peach (1836)
14 x 100g balls in total.
Yarn Packs are available here:
Yarn Packs at The Knitting Network
• You’ll need a 4.00mm and 4.50mm hook (or hooks to match tension). The Tunisian Entrelac uses a normal standard crochet hook but it’s recommended to go up half a hook size for this part.
• Stitch marker, yarn needle and scissors.
Shade cards have been created exclusively for the CAL by Veronica at ‘Simply Shade Cards’ and they’re available here…
If you click on the links below then it takes you to a PDF showing each blanket in full laid flat. That’s helpful if you’re indecisive about which colour to go for!
Of course you can always choose your own yarns and colours too… 🙂
It’s a rectangular blanket measuring approximately 135cm x 105cm (53 inches x 41 inches)
I’ve used lots of different crochet techniques so there’s plenty to learn if you haven’t tried these stitches before. I will be doing YouTube videos for the less familiar stitches.
There’s Tunisian Entrelac, Basketweave and plenty of raised stitches to give you an idea. And there had to be some gingham checks in there somewhere! Inspired by the quintessential picnic colours for blankets and tablecloths…
And I’m very happy to announce that both Amanda from ‘Mrs G Makes‘ and Liz from ‘KoPoUK’ have designed and created a set of stitch markers especially to accompany this CAL… how wonderful they are! 😍 The stitch markers are available to purchase in their Etsy shops…
Mrs G Makes Summer Picnic Stitch Markers:
Mrs G Makes Autumn Picnic Stitch Markers:
KoPoUK Summer Picnic Stitch Markers:
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/694630821/summer-picnic-stitch-markers-miniature
Aren’t they lovely?! It’s so nice to be able to collaborate with other independent sellers and I can highly recommend both Mrs G Makes and KoPoUK for their fabulous stitch markers… and stitch markers really can be a crocheter’s best friend! 😄😍
Back to our blanket and here’s a little more about how it’s constructed…
The pattern starts with the central square which is crocheted using Tunisian Entrelac to create the Gingham pattern. Traditional crochet stitches are then crocheted around this square. The rest of the blanket is built up by joining panels as you go and working in long rows to create the finished rectangular blanket shape. A border is crocheted around the entire blanket.
The pattern will be published here on my blog in both UK and US crochet terminology and will be available for free here for everyone to enjoy. But there will also be a printer friendly PDF available in my Ravelry to purchase for a one off payment at the start of the CAL. This is a good way to support my work financially and I truly appreciate each pattern sold!
I came up with the idea for a picnic inspired crochet blanket last year. And I had so much fun setting up my own ‘Picnic on the Beach’ photo shoot back in July…
This was a really hot day (a real summer picnic) – just look at little Salty seeking shade underneath me! 🙂 🙂
As you can see I absolutely loved choosing these summer picnic colours… one of my very favourite parts of the design process is deciding which colours to use, and drawing inspiration from a fun picnic theme was just wonderful!
The autumn colours were carefully chosen too and I really love the different feel these colours give. They were a joy to crochet with and I genuinely don’t have a favourite colourway… I adore them both! 😄
Just looking through all these photos has made me yearn for those picnic days…. ❤️❤️❤️
It will be fabulous to have you crocheting along. You now have all the information you need to get ready… and I can’t wait to go on this picnic together with you all… it’s going to be fun!!
Happy Crocheting Everyone… 🙂 🙂
Wow! What a post! I love the pattern.
Awww… thank you so much Sandra! A picnic feast!! 🥰💙💙☀️
I am making the seaside stash blanket at the moment but looking forward to doing the Picnic on the beach blanket with the crochet along!
Wonderful! Yes, it’s nice to do it alongside others! 🥰💙❤️
Good morning these are beautiful. Can I just confirm, is there any plan to have a cotton colour pack alternative like there was last year with the beachcombing blanket?
Thank you
I won’t be offering a cotton pack this time but of course you could always crochet it in cotton… just now sure about yarn amounts… 🥰💙🧶
Thank you
I’m in the United States and would love to join the crochet along but don’t have access to the yarns in the UK. Do you have a list of the amount of each color I would need for the autumn picnic CAL so I could order the colors locally?
Hi Betsy… All the details about yarn quantities and colours are in this blog post… just scroll down… so you can get yarns elsewhere and still join in! 🙂💙
Lovely! I have been looking forward to this.
Yay!! 🥰💙
Wow, such gorgeous blankets Eleonora. What an amazing amount of work has gone into their design. I particularly love the summer version. Everyone is going to have so much fun making these. It was delightful looking at the flat version ; without zooming in part of the long pattern appeared to be sail boats and upon zooming other little clusters appear to be bananas. Delightful 😍
Wow! Thank you so much Tracey! 🥰💙
Oh my goodness I’m in love with this pattern. Can’t decide which to do so I’ll have to do both 😳 I loves the Beachcombing cal last year and can’t wait for this one to start. Thank you for yet another challenge xx
You’re very welcome Penny! Happy you like it… 😄💙
Just clicked on the link. Says the autumn colour way is coming soon……..
Soo looking forward to this.
Shouldn’t be too long to wait! 🥰💙
You’ve SURPASSED yourself Eleanora, this is an AMAZING design! Can’t wait! Thank you, thank you!
Awww… thank you so much!! Happy you like it… 💙🥰
Both colours look amazing, I would love to do this but have never tried Tunisian entrelac before is it suitable for beginners? I managed the beachcomber blanket last year thanks to your video tutorials 😊
Absolutely… it’s much easier than it looks and I will be doing a video tutorial.. 🥰💙
Really looks wonderful and different techniques I’ve never done entrelac crochet so can’t wait to try that!!! Thanks for both colourways now to decide also which stitch markers!!! decisions!!! decisions!!! but all gorgeous can’t wait to start xxx
Beautiful blankets! I just ordered my autumn colors! Looking forward to the start and learning some of the techniques!
Fabulous! 🥰💙💙
Hi Eleonora. Wow, what an absolutely amazing design, I love it. I just looked on Knitting Network and they only seem to have the one colourway, the summer one but I am ordering it now. I hope I can manage the Tunisian bit. I only tried that briefly many years ago so I’m not really familiar with Tunisian crochet. Do the two hook sizes you mentioned cover what is needed for the Tunisian part? Also, I noticed you said the pattern will be available on Ravelry when the CAL starts so I guess it won’t be available till end of February and will that be available as the whole pattern or is it only available to download in parts each week? You are amazing with your blanket designs x 🙂
Hi Marilyn… so happy you like it! A standard ordinary crochet hook is fine for the Tunisian part… no special hook needed. The pattern will be released in weekly instalments and the pattern on Ravelry is updated each week with the next part… so at the end of the 8 weeks the pattern is complete on Ravelry along with my blog. Will be lovely to have you crocheting along! 🥰💙
Eleanora, I live in the US and when I try to order from your yarn site, it says that International shipping has been suspended due to Covid. Are there other yarns or yarn sites where we in the US can order the yarn (or substitute yarns) from? Thanks for your help.
Kathy
Hi Kathy… there are other places that do ship internationally… try Love Crafts??
I live in the US and I love Wool Warehouse for ordering Stylecraft and other DK yarns. They ship to the US and even with the shipping the cost is very comparable to what I might find in the stores here.
They look beautiful, I thought I liked the summer until I looked at them both flat and now I’m not so sure! Have never done a CAL before so this may be a first for me…
Fabulous!! 🥰💙
WOW!!!! Can’t wait to do this pattern! The color combinations are very pretty. When will the amounts of each color be coming out? You have some really pretty patterns. I have a ton of yarn I could find some matches for this one, but then again, can anyone ever have too much yarn?!?
All the yarn amounts are in this blog post.. just scroll down.. 🙂💙
Good thing I wear glasses! LOL!!! Thank you!!
They are listed properly further down!! 😄😄💙💙
Ps I also ordered stitch markers in the summer colourway from both designers you mentioned and the tins to keep them in! I felt really down today and quite tearful so this was a Godsend and I have just had an email from Knitting Network to say that the colourpack is ready for despatch! I have never followed your CALs before. I was making the SSBB I think when you had the CAL for the Beachcombing Blanket but I followed that anyway, although I wasn’t taking part because I love your blog posts and videos – I feel as if I am there with you and darling Salty. pps So glad the blanket is in Stylecraft Acrylic, I love that yarn. Very relieved it is not in Scheepjes Catona Cotton!!! 🙂 xx
I’m glad it lifted your spirits today… this will certainly be something to look forward to… and yes Stylecraft is great (I know how you feel about the cotton… 🤣) – take care… 😘
This is going to be an amazing challenge. It all looks so beautiful.
Thank you so much! 🥰💙
Oh Eleanora, in a world that is nothing but grim even for those lucky enough to be safe and well, this post has made my day. It is full of sunshine, love and shared community spirit reminding us all that happier times will come back. I absolutely love the blanket and it really does look like a summer/autumn picnic and it is inspired. Thank you so much for making our days brighter. I am smiling looking at the photos and thinking of good days to come.
Oh Valerie… these are such beautiful words… thank you so much! 🥰💙💙
A beginner here at following patterns but I am going to try this. Love it
Go for it!! 🥰💙
What a great design and I just love the summer colours! I´ll be doing it as a gift for one of my sisters. I received so many compliments for my beachcombing blanket last year and many, many “hints” that it would make a wonderful gift! But I love my blanket so! Coudn´t give it to anyone, but if I start out making one for others, then I can happily part with it.
Wonderful idea! 🥰💙
I am so excited!!! I have to hurry and finish my beach combing blanket.
You have a little time!! But no pressure, as you know! 😘😘
Darn. The adorable, colorful, picnic stitch markers are sold out!
Hi Julie…. Liz from KoPoUK says she will be getting more in stock at the beginning of February… 🙂💙
Both colourways are beautiful. I’ll be following with great interest.
Thank you! 🥰💙
These blankets are just gorgeous! I’m so looking forward to the start of the CAL! Thank you for sharing your wonderful design with us all!
You’re very welcome Wendy! Will be lovely to have you crocheting along… 🥰💙
Just had to read your post through again for the second time to take it all in , and all the comments making me quite tearful with such joy that this cal will bring to us all , I am already a fan of MrsGMakes , only lives down the road from me , so close, thank you for your uplifting creativity you give to everyone in these sad times
Thank you so much Joan… yes, it really is emotional and I hope this CAL will give us that uplift… 🥰💙💙
this has been a year, yarn is been out of stock in many places, But I am going to join in on this. Love your patterns. Gave two away for Christmas you would think I gave them Gold. Thank you for youre time
You can’t beat a homemade gift from the heart… 🥰💙💙
YOUR DESIGN is really brilliant and such a wonderful blanket just to look at, a piece of art….congrats
Thank you so much Janet… 😊💙
Very excited to see the Picnic Blanket!
I am on the last leg of the Stashbusting Seaside blanket – the largest project I have ever under taken. I’ve enjoyed doing it totally, and it’s been a godsend during lockdowns!
I do so want to join in the CAL Picnic, but would ask: can you please say how much wool is needed to complete it? I have such a lot of DK leftovers, it really isn’t necessary/would be very wasteful for me to buy the whole kit. I can see that it uses 7 colours, I just need to know how much of each.
Hi Trudy… scroll right through the blog post and you’ll see that I have listed all the details about yarn quantities and colours already… 😄💙💙
I can’t find details of yarn amounts and colours for the Autumn one anywhere. I scrolled through to the end but…..
Hi Sue…. they are definitely listed here… 🙂🙂💙💙
Hi Eleonora, I use ergonomic crochet hooks. The ones that have a rubber covering on the handle. There’s 3cm of metal hook to crochet on. Is this enough or will I need to buy plain metal hooks? Your patterns are awesome. So beautiful Thank you
Hi Alyssa… that will be absolutely fine! I use Tulip ergonomic hooks and for the Entrelac it’s perfectly ok… 🥰💙💙
I adore living by the sea and I just love your ‘picnic on the beach’ idea. Can’t wait to join in with this cal – thank you. 🌊 🏖
Can’t believe the summer is already sold out !
I keep looking at this, I love the autumn colours – will the sew along be with youtube videos that I can keep going back to watch??? I’m a beginner and very nervous to spend so much and not know how to do it???
Hi Debbie… if you can do basic crochet stitches then you can do this! There will be lots of step by step photos and yes I do YouTube video tutorials for the trickier stitches… all the instructions stay on my website so you can do it in your own time… 🥰🧶💙
I havent crotched for years and then it was all from videos, I only know how to create the first chain thats my problem???
The CAL starts in 4 weeks so you have time to master those basics! 😊💙
Hi I’m just a basic crocheted. I have never been able to read a pattern. I see there is Tunisian crochet in this which I have never done before. What are my chances of doing this picnic blanket.
Hi Phyllis…. I will be doing YouTube videos for the Tunisian part and other parts too… so it’s a little like holding your hand as we work through the written pattern! 😊💙
Thank you for sharing ….will b waiting for first episode
You’re very welcome! 😊💙
I have done all of your blanket CALs and I can’t wait to do this one. I am going with the summer colorway. Great colors and great design!
Thank you Holly! ☺️💙
My first ever project was the seaside stash buster, i loved it and have moved onto other projects since. You really helped me to learn how to do my new hobby, thank you for that. I am just getting ready for the picnic blanket (which I just love) and i wondered if you provide the symbol patterns rather than the worded pattern. I have only recently leaned how to use the symbol patterns and absolutely love them, i now find the worded patterns hard to read. Thanks Judith
Hi Judith… it’s so lovely to hear you enjoyed the seaside stash busting blanket… symbol patterns are brilliant but I’m afraid I don’t have the computer programmes or software to create them commercially. 🙂💙
Oh my… I cannot wait to start this blanket – I just ordered both colorsets since internationally shipping is available again (I’m from Germany). The patterns are so wonderfully combined and so joyfully. I will love to work these blankets. Thank you for sharing, I hope the yarn will arrive soon and the pattern of course.
Yay! That’s brilliant to hear Kerstin! 🥰💙💙
And today the yarn arrived – just in time 🙂 I’m so excited.
Fantastic!! 🥰🧶🧶
I am from Israel .waiting to join along this lovely project .first time here .beautiful designs .I live near the beach .love to all
It will be wonderful to have you crocheting along! 😀❤️
So this will be my first CAL, my pack for the summer blanket has arrived, ready and waiting on my bag. Looking forward to getting started on this beautiful design.🌞
Wonderful! It will be lovely to have you crocheting along… ☺️💙
How exciting. I can’t wait to start! Can I say too, how beautiful all your photos and “styling” is. The food and recipe books look perfect; such a special touch.
Thank you so much Sandra! It will be lovely to have you crocheting along…. 🥰💙