Use up those colored scraps with one of the very first weaving techniques we learn as children – braids! The six strands in each braid are knotted at the ends while extended single crochet stitches around the braided yarn lock the bright colors to the blanket and create a faux spike stitch that fuses the colors together seamlessly.

Skill Level: Intermediate

Size: 30″ x 42 1/2″

Gauge: 2 1/2 shell repeats x 2 rows of shell pattern = 4″ 

Materials

Yarn:

Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice (100% acrylic; 170 yards [156 meters]/100 grams): #860 100 White (MC, 5 balls), #840 108 Bluebell (C1, 1 ball), #840 157 Duckie (C2, 1 ball), #840 138 Pink Poodle (C3, 1 ball), #860 146 Dusty Purple (C4, 1 ball), #860 175 Radiant Lime (C5, 1 ball)
Hook: US size J/10 (6.0 mm) hook

Abbreviations

Esc: Extended single crochet

Special Stitches

Extended single crochet (esc): Insert hook in st, yo, draw loop through st, yo, draw through one loop on hook, yo, draw through both loops on st.

Pattern for Gauge

Ch 22.
Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and each across. (21)
Row 2: Ch 2 (do not count as a st), turn. Lay braid across work. 2 esc, *ch 2, sk 2 sts, esc* across to last st, esc.
Row 3: Ch 2, turn. 2 dc, *sk ch-2, in esc work 5 trc, sk ch-2, dc* across to last st, dc.
Row 4: Ch 1, turn. 2 dc, *ch 2, sk 2 trc, sc, ch 2, sk 2 trc, dc* across to last st, dc.
Row 5: Ch 1, turn. 2 sc, *2 sc in ch-2, sc* across to last st, sc.
Rows 6-13: Repeat Rows 2-5.

Pattern

Braids

Make 21 braids: 5 in C1 and 4 in each C2-C5
Cut 6 strands of a color to 58″ lengths.
Lightly tie a knot on one end leaving 6″ tails.
Pair up the strands and braid until you have 36″ of braid.
Lightly knot end.

Blanket

With MC, ch 112.
Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and each across. (111)
Row 2: Ch 2 (do not count as a st), turn. Lay braid across work. 2 esc, *ch 2, sk 2 sts, esc* across to last st, esc.
Row 3: Ch 2, turn. 2 dc, *sk ch-2, in esc work 5 trc, sk ch-2, dc* across to last st, dc.
Row 4: Ch 1, turn. 2 dc, *ch 2, sk 2 trc, sc, ch 2, sk 2 trc, dc* across to last st, dc.
Row 5: Ch 1, turn. 2 sc, *2 sc in ch-2, sc* across to last st, sc.
Rows 6-83: Repeat Rows 2-5.
Do not cut.

Border

Rnd 1: Turn to sides of rows 83-1. Ch 1 (do not count as a st), *work 5 hdc at the end of each sc row and at the end of the bottom of each trc row* across. Turn to foundation ch. Sk first st, work 5 hdc in next st, *sk 2 sts, work 5 hdc in next st* across leaving last st unworked. Turn to side of rows 1-83. *work 5 hdc at the end of each sc row and at the end of the bottom of each trc row* across. Turn to row 83. Sk first st, work 5 hdc in next st, *sk 2 sts, work 5 hdc in next st* across leaving last st unworked. Join with a sl st. Finish off. Cut yarn and weave in ends.

Assembly

Untie the knot at the end of the braid. Divide strands in half and pull one half to back side of blanket in between the shells. Retie knot at end of blanket.
Repeat for knot on both sides of all the braids.
Trim tails of braids to 5″ lengths.