Tickled Pink: There’s a Baby Girl on the Way!

I’ll never forget how DCT told me that she and JT were expecting their first, or how overwhelmed with love I felt when I found out my best friend since pre-K was going to have a little girl of her own. Life is truly amazing!

As soon as I heard that a little chicki was on the way, my mind began dreaming up patterns for my next big crochet project (fun fact: DCT was the very first person I ever crocheted a gift for – somewhere around age of 12 or 13, I made her a striped scarf for Christmas). But, as with most of my baby-to-be crochet projects, I waited to see what she had envisioned for the nursery before getting to work. It’s no surprise that when the registry was made, DCT opted for all things SUPER GIRLY and PINK, and I couldn’t wait to be inspired.

Here’s the beautiful bedding collection she chose from Restoration Hardware. What a gorgeous set to be inspired by <3

With this beautiful bedding set in mind, I knew there would be a few key elements to incorporate into a baby afghan – pink, a touch of white, florals and ruffles. After all, I always strive to make pieces that will compliment and not compete with the overall decor of the nursery and the recipient’s specific style.

YARN: I was off to Michael’s to pick up yarn, which would have to be soft, warm and most importantly washable. I scoured the aisles for the perfect baby pink and quickly snagged three balls of pink and one ball of white Bernat Softee Baby Yarn (which happens to be one of my favorite yarn brands for projects like this one). Crochet Tip: For a baby afghan, you will need approximately four balls of standard sized yarn.

TOOLS & CROCHET HOOKS: I used a 5mm crochet hook, which is perfect for keeping the baby blanket soft and flexible. You will also need a yarn needle (plastic or metal) to sew in the tails of your work, and a sharp pair of craft scissors.

CROCHET STITCHES & PATTERNS: For this project, I decided to create a contemporary, but sweet quilt. My very first quilt was made for my adorable nephew who was born last year and I couldn’t wait to create a girlier and frillier version for Baby Girl T. Much like the previous quilt, it would require joining individually crocheted squares, but to up the girly factor, I went with starburst granny squares. The starburst pattern allows you to create the illusion of a little flower in the center of each square by highlighting the puff stitch with a contrasting yarn.

For this quilt, you will need to know the following basic stitches, how to make a solid starburst granny square and how to join the granny squares:

Progression of a Starburst Granny Square

BABY AFGHAN SIZING: I created a 36″x 36″ square quilt (each square is approximately 12″x 12″ (three 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:

Crib blanket 45″x60″
Crib quilt 36″x50″
Knit throw 32″x39″
Stroller blanket 22″x30″

STEPS TO CREATE THE QUILT:

STEP 1: Crochet nine 12″ starburst granny squares. For this pattern, I crocheted four all pink squares (L) and five squares with white puff center detail (R).

STEP 2: Join three alternating starburst granny squares to create a row. Repeat until you have three rows. Then join all rows together to create one large square.

STEP 3: Add a half double crochet border along the perimeter of the quilt.

STEP 4: Add two rows of double crochet in pink around the perimeter, then follow with one row of puff stitch in white, and finally two additional rows of double crochet in pink.