It’s a Suprise! Neutral Crochet Quilt

When JDB and JB announced they were expecting, naturally, the entire family was over the moon about the little one to be and I, immediately began envisioning my next crochet project. After months of nightly crocheting for Baby Olivia and Baby K last winter and spring, I had to take a short hiatus (my hands were tired!), but was ready to get back to my favorite pastime this winter.

Unlike SDP and JY, JDB and JB are keeping the gender of the baby a surprise, so planning my next design was slightly more challenging. I couldn’t rely on color to carry the design and they had not yet chosen a nursery theme that I could use for inspiration. I played with the idea of using gender neutral colors, like yellow or gray, but after some thought, decided to go with something clean and classic (much like JDB’s personal style), and relied on patterns and textures, rather than color, to create visual interest in creating the design for a quilt.

Traditional quilts are often very colorful, but they also tend to be a bit more country (and grandma-esque) than what I was envisioning. After researching patterns, I decided on using classic solid granny squares to create the quilt, but to keep the overall look contemporary, I went with all (natural) white.

Yarn: I often purchase yarn at craft stores, like Michael’s. But, I recently discovered a boutique specialty yarn store right in my neighborhood, School Products Yarns, and couldn’t wait to see what they offered. With a little help from the lovely owners of the store, I found the softest, most gorgeous, undyed natural white cashmere yarn. I knew the intricate design of the quilt would require quite a bit more than other projects (a standard size baby afghan usually requires four balls of standard yarn or one 1lb ream), so I bought two 1lb reams.

Here’s a peek into School Products Yarns.

Tools & Crochet Hooks: I used a 4mm crochet hook for the entire afghan, including the trim. You will also need a yarn needle to sew in the edges, and a good pair of fabric scissors.

Crochet Stitches & Patterns: To create the quilt, you will need to know the following basic stitches, how to make a solid granny square and how to join the solid granny squares.

Quilt Size and Baby Afghan Size Guide: I created a 40″x 40″ square quilt (each square is approximately 5″x 5″ (eight squares across and vertically). In order to figure out the overall size I wanted, I pieced together squares on the floor. Here are some other typical sizes for baby afghans: