Hey Dearies! As you all know, I’ve been working on a temperature blanket all year long! If you are a follower and like my Facebook page, you will know that I have been posting updates and squares, as I go along, but because this was my first ever temperature blanket, I’ve picked up on some tips and tricks to help out anyone who wants to create one.
Now, I want to explain that a temperature blanket isn’t a bunch of granny squares that you sew together as you go. You can choose to use any type of blanket for this, although, if you want to do a C2C blanket, you’ll have to work on a lot of planning to make one of those. Here are a few examples:
Any blanket pattern you can think of, you can pretty much make it into a temperature blanket! If you are still confused about what a temperature blanket is, let me explain a little better:
A temperature blanket is when someone who knits or crochets the temperature of each day for a year. Using different colors to represent all of the temps.
That’s just a quick explanation of what it is. Let’s talk about what you are gonna need to do, in order to actually start this blanket. I really wished I did some more digging on what colors and how big or small I needed to make my squares.
–Making a color chart
This is one of the most important things you need to think about before even starting the temperature blanket! I looked on Pinterest, just to get an idea on what others have done for their temperature blankets, but here’s mine:
90 degrees – Pumpkin (Red Heart Super Saver)
80 degrees – Bright Yellow (Red Heart Super Saver)
70 degrees – Jelly Bean (I Love This Yarn)
60 degrees – Green (Main Stays Basic Yarn)
50 degrees – Turqia (Red Heart Super Saver)
40 degrees – Soft Blue (I Love This Yarn)
30 degrees –
20 degrees –
10 and below – Light Gray (I Love This Yarn)
See anything wrong with it? I had to scratch out the original colors, for a few of the temperatures, due to me not having enough yarn for a few of the temperatures. Not to mention, the way I planned this out, wasn’t the best idea. Let’s look at a few other peoples temperatures charts:
I based my chart off of this person temperature chart, which isn’t a bad idea, but if you are going to do it this way, make sure you have a few skeins stocked for each color, which I did not, hence why I wouldn’t update on time because I ran out of color.
These two examples are what I wished I went with because there are more colors for all the temperatures. When I mean by that, more colors means more yarn, but less likely of a chance of running out very quickly.
Not to mention, more colors, the more you’ll be able to have a rainbow blanket.
If you aren’t a big fan of rainbow colors, it doesn’t mean you have to do them. I’ve seen people do different shades of one color, with the added greys, browns, or whites added in.
The best part of these, you can switch out the ‘purple’ color for any color you wish! Not only are these are a little different than the normal temperature blanket, but these would make a great gift to crochet the temperature of their baby’s first year!
With whatever you decide to do, making a chart by scratch or following someone else temperature chart, make sure you have the extra yarn for each temperature, just in case so you have back up!
-Picking out the supplies
This is another step that determines, not only how much yarn you’ll go through, but also how thick or thin your blanket will me. I used a size 5.0mm hook, which is the normal size that most projects require, I consider this to be the normal hook that most people and beginners, work with a lot.
Of course, you can change the hook to be bigger or smaller, depending on what you are going for.
Remember, the small the hook, the thinner or smaller your stitches will me. The bigger the hook, the thicker or bigger your stitches will be.
Either way, whatever hook size you chose to use, should be decided on the type of yarn you use. Not all yarns are the same. For my temperature blanket, most of my yarn was a mix of ‘I Love This Yarn’ and ‘Red Heart Super Saver’.
I do recommend using the SAME brand when it comes to your temperature blanket. If you want it to look good, I would use the same brand, but if you are going through your stash of yarn, that’s okay too.
If this is your first time creating a temperature blanket, using your stash or straps isn’t a bad idea, but will give you a chance to make trial and errors, when starting this project.
-How to start working at it?
Once you have the temperature color chart ready and what type of supplies you need, its time to make time for this project. Since you are crocheting a color according to the temperature, doing it every day can be a challenge or you may not have the time.
Writing the temperatures is never a bad idea, but I also found it very helpful, especially when I get behind or run out of yarn, you can always look back and have the temperature written down and ready to go when you need it so.
I want to say that I used to crochet a square a day, which wasn’t a bad idea, but sometimes I would forget to do so. That’s why I started writing down the days and what their temperatures were so that I could catch up during the weekend.
This system not only made it easier but also gave me more time to spend with the project itself. Whatever works for your schedule.
-Don’t forget to have fun!
Temperature blankets always sound fun to make in the beginning, but don’t just work on that project, have a few mini-projects to work on along with your temperature blanket. Sometimes only working on a temperature blanket can become boring, especially if you have been doing the same stitch.
If you are like me, and only thought of having one project at a time, versus working on 5 to 6 unfinished projects. I didn’t think I could be someone that got bored, but I understood that once you start a big project, it can get bored or old faster if that’s the only one you are currently working on.
I’ve learned that having a few or more projects unfinished is okay to have, but it keeps the balance of making sure that you are always doing something different versus repeating the same stitch over and over again.
That’s all the tips and tricks I have for you this year! I’m not sure if I’m going to be making a temperature blanket for 2020, but if I do, I’ll let you all know all the details when I do.
Are you working on a temperature blanket? If so, what design are you going for? Let me know in the comments!
Make sure to follow me on my Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram, to keep up with what my final result will be when I finish my 2019’s temperature blanket. Not to mention, I’m usually active on Facebook, especially when it comes to my blog.
And also, have a Happy New Year!
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