Big crochet blanket

The blanket that made my new place a home

A few years ago, I moved into a new place. It was bigger and more spacious than the tiny room I had been renting before. Once I’d settled in, I wanted to make it feel more like me—cosy, warm, and lived-in. At the same time, I had that familiar itch to keep my hands busy. That’s how my crochet blanket project came to life.

I knew I’d need quite a bit of yarn for something this ambitious. Since I was on a bit of a budget (new place, new job—you know the story), I headed to a local charity shop to see what I could find. That’s where I stumbled across a Cygnet DK acrylic yarn, in a wonderful variety of colours. I picked up just a few to start—unsure of the final vision, but excited to begin.

I decided to go with granny squares—a classic, comforting choice. The pattern actually came from an old crochet magazine I’d been saving for a cardigan I might make one day. Well… the cardigan never happened, but instead, I ended up creating a huge crochet blanket.

It grew slowly, square by square, as I added new colours and found more yarn during my charity shop adventures. That blanket not only kept me warm, but made the space truly feel like home.

And guess what—I’ve managed to dig out some old photos from when I was working on it! 😊

As I worked on the squares, I realized that some of the yarn colours were quite dark. To keep the blanket from feeling too heavy and dark I decided to mix in lighter shades and create a kind of chessboard-like pattern. I also tried to avoid placing similar colours right next to each other, which meant a lot of arranging, shuffling—but it was honestly part of the fun.

It took a bit of planning (and quite a few yarn rearrangements on the floor!) but in the end, I’m really happy with how it turned out. The balance of light and dark gives the blanket a dynamic, almost patchwork feel.

Once I was happy with the size of the blanket, I finished it off with a crocheted dark border using a deep navy yarn. It added a lovely contrast and really helped frame all the colours—like a picture frame around a patchwork.

This blanket became much more than just a way to stay warm. It was a way to make my new place feel like home, and a reminder that creativity doesn’t have to be expensive.

Crochet cushions

After finishing the blanket, I still had plenty of yarn left—more than enough to start another little project. So I decided to make a couple of cushion covers to go with it.

Both covers are made using the same crochet pattern but one of the covers has reverse side facing out. I love how they turned out—simple, practical, and full of character.