Tuesday 10 September 2013

My Babette


Autumn has definitely arrived.  There was a real chill in the air this morning when I did the school run, and indoors is a little nippier than I'd like.  But since it was only a little, I opted to wrap myself up in the Babette blanket I crochted a couple of years ago and read the latest copy of Homemaker Magazine.  As I was snuggled happily into its warmth, I thought that you might like to see it.

A few years ago I wanted to make a blanket for our living room to both brighten it up, and to tie in the almost terracotta orange of the chimney breast with the duck egg blue accents I was slowly starting to add to the room.

Little hints of blue
I remembered seeing the Babette blanket in an old issue of Interweave Crochet and thought that I could perhaps adapt it to suit the colours I had in mind.  When I went to unearth the magazine, I discovered that I'd tossed it, in a fit of misguided decluttering.  Whoops!  And to make matters worse, the price for a back-issue was astronomical (at the time).  I gulped, and decided to make up my own pattern.

(The Babette pattern is now available at a jolly reasonable price from Interweave Press btw.)

A close-up of one of my favourite squares
I studied almost every close-up I could find of the Babette to figure out the pattern of the basic squares, and then I sketched out a layout on the back of an old envelope.  I wish I'd kept my notes so that you could all see my craziness!

And then, I went and spent an absolute fortune at Get Knitted in Brislington on Rowan cottonyarn.  I went back and spent several more fortunes as the pile of squares grew and grew.  Luckily it was so pretty that I didn't care too much.

I waited until the end to arrange all of my squares and put together the blanket.  The original pattern has you sew them into strips and then sew the strips together, but I wanted to be free to fiddle about with colours as I hadn't worked out the placement of each square down to the finest detail.

First layout attempt for the Babette blanket
I must confess to being a bit of a naughty crocheter.  I didn't block any of the squares before sewing them together.  I hate blocking, but I suspect that my work would probably look a little better if I did.  Boo.

The Babette looking naked without a border
The only downside to making the Babette is the sheer number of ends to work in.  I must confess that there are still a few tails lurking about on the wrong side of my blanket *blush*  If you decide to make a Babette, then I heartily recommend crocheting over the tail from the foundation chain so that you have one less end to sew in per square!

I love my Babette; not only is it gorgeously warm, the colours are perfect for Autumn, too!  I wouldn't mind making another one, maybe with shades of purple...

I'm linking up to the Hooking on Hump Day link party for the fibre arts.

Moogly


Babette resources


The original pattern
Crazy patchwod Klimt blankets
Flickr: Babette Blanket pool

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10 comments

  1. I am so impressed you've made this Babette! I wish I had the patience and skill to do the same x

    www.crazylins.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. Thanks, Anya! It was a lot of fun to make, but I will admit that sewing it all together was a little tedious.

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  2. It's gorgeous. And definitely a jolly reasonable price. Kudos to you! Blocking or no blocking, I don't think I could do this and yours is divine.

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    1. Thank-you!

      I'm a firm believer that anyone can crochet. Yes, it's a big project, but it's made up of lots of small parts. You don't have to do it all at once! xx

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  3. This is amazing, I'd have no idea where to even start with crochet!

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  4. Lovely blanket! I like all the different sized squares!

    Navy Wifey Peters @ Submarine Sunday

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    1. Thank-you! The different sized squares make it much more interesting, I think.

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  5. Wow! This is so beautiful! The Babette has been in my queue forever, I'm so impressed! Thanks for linking up on Hookin On Hump Day!

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    1. You're very welcome, Tamara! Thanks so much for hosting Hookin on Hump Day--I'm really glad I found an awesome crafty link party! xx

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