And here it is… my latest design with the full pattern available now!
This is my Causeway Coast Blanket… 💙💚
A blanket fully inspired by the beautiful Causeway Coast – the stunning, exhilarating, and dramatic coastline of Northern Ireland!
The pattern is now available to purchase in my Etsy and Ravelry stores.
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1543359744/causeway-coast-blanket-crochet-pattern
Ravelry: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/causeway-coast-blanket
If you choose to crochet this blanket please do feel free to share your progress in my Facebook group or over on Instagram. I absolutely love to see your crochet and although this pattern is not being hosted as a crochet-along, by sharing your progress it can certainly feel like one! It’s always wonderful to share a crochet journey together with others…
Now let me share the background and inspiration behind my Causeway Coast blanket… 😊
My very first visit to Northern Ireland was in 2021 when I was invited to speak at the Spinning Yarns Festival. You can read more about that here. It’s a wonderful festival and at the time we used the opportunity to explore the coastline. We hired a car and spent a whole day stopping off at various places along this diverse and beautiful coastline. I fell completely and utterly in love! It’s simply beautiful…
I returned to the Spinning Yarns festival in 2022 to give another talk and then again today when I launched and revealed this Causeway Coast Blanket for the very first time to a wonderful audience! That felt extra extra special – to reveal a brand new design at the Spinning Yarns Festival which is a festival which led to me creating this design in the very first place was absolutely perfect… 💙
Thank you to everyone who was there… 💙
Back in 2021, standing on the famous UNESCO World Heritage site, the ‘Giants Causeway’ with over 40,000 hexagonal columns, I knew that a blanket inspired by this whole coastline was something I would love to create. The Giants Causeway itself is like a huge patchwork hexagonal blanket, it was impossible for me not to feel inspired!
And two years later here it is…
My ‘Causeway Coast’ inspired blanket simply had to be based on a hexagonal design. Hexagons are the base for this blanket – 95 individual hexagons to be precise!
It’s the first blanket I’ve designed where the base for construction has been so clearly inspired by the theme. For me a Causeway Coast inspired blanket would simply not feel right without hexagons featured somewhere – it was an obvious design choice for me. This is also my first hexagon based blanket…
The Giants Causeway is incredible but there’s so much more to this stunning coastline too… Beautiful sandy beaches, cliff paths, caves, awesome views and magnificent waterfalls! The stitches, textures, and colours used in this blanket capture and reflect the essence of many different parts of the gorgeous Causeway Coast…
I’ve designed 10 different hexagons, some of which are repeated in different colour ways. I’ll now share the inspiration behind each one:
The clear waters of Ballintoy Harbour
Crystal clear waters can be seen at Ballintoy Harbour with a shallow sea at low tide. A beautiful calm sea is reflected in this simple first hexagon. It was very important for me to perfect a hexagon design. As always in crochet there are different ways to do things with subtle variations. It took time for me to be completely happy with my first hexagon!
Rocks along the shore at Whitehead
Walking north towards Blackhead Lighthouse, large rocks can be seen near the shoreline at Whitehead. Known locally as the Wren’s Eggs! Textured popcorns like wren’s eggs are featured in this next hexagon.
The Dark Hedges
A beautiful avenue of beech trees planted over 200 years ago. Made famous by the TV series ‘Game of Thrones’ this tunnel of trees is a sight to behold, a little inland from the coast. The tree trunks, leaves and darkness created by the natural tunnel are seen in this hexagon.
The Giants Causeway
The spectacular Giants Causeway – over 40,000 basalt volcanic columns, many of which are hexagonal shaped. Awe inspiring and iconic, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These hexagons are crocheted in layers to create a raised tiered effect just like the Giants Causeway.
Seaglass at Ballygalley and Cushendall
Searching for sea glass around the Causeway Coast can be a delight! Beautiful pieces of glass which have been smoothed over time by the constant movement of the sea can be found, with beautiful blues too.
West to Derry
The coastline continues and stretches onwards west to Derry, with lush green countryside as well as the possibility of a scenic railway journey.
Benone Strand
Benone Strand forms part of the longest sandy beach in Northern Ireland. With soft golden sands stretching for miles.
The Gobbins
A dramatic coastal walk! A stunning walk along the cliff face on pathways, across bridges, past caves and through a tunnel. A wonderfully unique experience on the Causeway Coast with an interesting history. The tubular bridge is captured in this hexagon.
Runkerry Beach
Walking past sand dunes and beach grass to emerge onto the wide golden sands of Runkerry Beach. Meet friends and enjoy s’mores as the sun sets. And then maybe, just maybe, you’ll see dolphins out at sea!
Torr Head
A breath-taking drive along the Torr Head Scenic Route with incredible views of the Causeway Coast. At Torr Head itself stand at this rugged headland and admire views across to Scotland and Rathlin Island.
Glenoe Waterfall
A magnificent waterfall nestling in the glens of Antrim. Hear the water get louder as you approach the waterfall. A hidden gem…
Cushendun Caves
Incredible caves near the beach at Cushendun. Stunning rock formations and a dramatic cave entrance make this a wonderful place to visit on the Causeway Coast. The darkness at the centre of this hexagon entices us in, just like the caves!
And there you go… all my hexagon designs inspired by different parts of the Causeway Coast. I’m really happy with them and hope you will enjoy crocheting them.
The hexagons are joined together in a way that reflects the merging of land with sea, just like a proper coastline! I thought very long and hard about the placement of the different colours and hexagon designs, and I’m really pleased with how it’s turned out. Creating long diagonal rows by placing the colours together gives a wonderful effect. And there’s also a central hexagonal shaped collection as a tribute to the Giants Causeway of course!
It’s a blanket design that I’m so incredibly happy with… 😄
The Scheepjes yarn quantities and the colours I used are all listed in the pattern. A couple of the colours are currently out of stock so I’m suggesting these alternatives if you don’t want to wait…
Lighthouse Yarns in Whitehead Northern Ireland are stocking yarn packs… it’s where I purchased my original yarns from and it’s great to be able to support small independent businesses!
I revealed the blanket for the first time today in person at the Spinning Yarns Festival. It was a fabulous occasion!! Thank you so much to everyone who came along and made me feel so welcome.
I’ll share more about that soon and while I’m staying here on the Causeway Coast I’m also planning on getting more photos of my blanket actually in position on the coastline that inspired it! That will be fun and I can’t wait to share some of those.
In the meantime, here’s Salty with my original yarn – she was there still with us at the start of this blanket journey… 💙
Thank you so much for all your ongoing support – I hope that you’ll love this blanket as much as I do!
Happy Crocheting Everyone… 😄💙
