Receiving Blankets

This is my go-to baby gift - easy, easy and always a hit!

Materials:
*1 1/4 yards good quality cotton flannel, washed and edges trimmed
*size 10 crochet thread - I like using bamboo as it's softer
*size 5 steel crochet hook

1.  Fold the flannel in half and half again - trim the corners, rounding them slightly.

2. A few inches to the left of one corner, turn edge under about 1/4 inch.

3.  Push crochet hook through the fabric from front to the back side.

4.  Pull a loop of crochet thread through to the front.

5.  Chain 1.

6.  Insert hook through fabric a little to the left of the previous time, pull through a loop of thread (you'll have two loops on your hook), pull thread through both loops.  What you're doing is making a single crochet.  Continue piercing the fabric and making single crochet stitches (while folding the fabric over) until you come back to where you began.  Join to the first chain with a slip stitch.  At the top of each corner, make three single crochets in one space.  To keep your fabric from curling, make these stitches fairly loose.

7.  Single crochet in each previous stitch all around the blanket.  At the tip of each corner, make 3 single crochets in one space.

8.  Now you'll be adding your edging - there are lots patterns available free on-line from sites such as Crochet Patterns Central.  This blanket is for a new little boy, so I'm using a simple zig zag stitch.  In the first space chain 1, *half double crochet 1, double crochet 1, half double crochet 1, single crochet 1.  Single crochet in the next space.  In the following space, single crochet 1* and then repeat between the *'s around the whole blanket.  Fasten off.

I've found that I don't need to add extra stitches on the corners, but if your edging looks too tight, then add an additional triangle at the tip of each corner.

And I did it again ... I gave the gift away without taking a photo of it finished.  Basically all you missed was the really cute dinosaur print I bought at Joann's!  Here's a photo of one I did several years ago that gives you an idea of how the flannel blankets look with edging:

Happy Creating!  Deborah