Crossed Double Crochet Baby Blanket

Every new addition to the family needs a blanket that is uniquely their own. Handmade baby blankets are such an heirloom to have, regardless of their complexity or colors. They’re wonderful to have as the child grows and a lovely nostalgic item once they’re older. This blue crochet baby blanket is perfect for just that. With beautiful texture from the crossed double crochet stitch and an easy two row repeat, this crochet baby blanket pattern will be perfect for any new bundle of joy.

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I have to tell you. I LOVE this crochet baby blanket.

The minute it was “hot off the hook”, as we say, I jumped off the couch, held it up and flashed it around in front of my husband (ends and all). He gave an appreciative “ooh”. Aren’t crochet husbands the best?

This crossed double crochet baby blanket was created specifically with my husband’s boss in mind. He and his wife are expecting their second child and you know I cannot miss an opportunity to design and create a baby blanket.

After some to-do about the style and colors, I got to work and landed on the crossed double crochet stitch. I love this stitch for many reasons, but mainly because it is easy, pretty mindless and creates a gorgeous twisted look to an otherwise plain double crochet.

Adding on to the stitch itself, I think my biggest love of the blanket is the yarn I chose. I chose Baby Bee’s Stork Struck in Baby’s Blue. It is a 50% Tencel and 50% acrylic yarn and it has the same feeling and stitch definition that a Caron Cotton Cake does.

Now… let’s be honest here. The Baby Bee skeins are SMALL. I ended up using just about six and a half skeins! I debated working with a different yarn (meaning a larger skein) at first, but I loved the yarn so much I powered through.

And it was worth it, I mean… I really do love this blanket.

What is Tencel yarn?

I’m glad you asked, because I wasn’t sure either.

I did some digging and found this article by Good House Keeping that explains what Tencel is super in-depth. It’s pretty interesting!

Tencel is, essentially, a more eco-friendly and sustainable fiber. It is created with wood-pulp from sustainably harvested trees (like eucalyptus, spruce, birch, etc.). It is even more eco-friendly and sustainable because it uses less-toxic chemicals to produce and these same chemicals are easy to recycle so there is less waste.

The result is a fiber known for it’s softness, durability and absorbency. It also is much less toxic for the workers who make it, so win/win in my books.

If you prefer a premium, ad-free PDF version of this pattern, you can grab one on either my Ravelry or my Etsy shop by clicking the buttons below.

Ravelry

Etsy

Image shows the crossed double crochet baby blanket draped over a wooden decorative crate.

Now, on the note of sustainability, purchasing seven skeins of yarn to use six and a half of them doesn’t sound economical. So I did some comparison shopping to see if we could drive this price down.

So, for the purposes of this comparison, I am going to compare Baby Bee Stork Struck to Caron Cotton Cake. They have a very similar feel and weight. I feel that Caron Cotton Cake would be the best “dupe” for this Baby Bee yarn.

I spent $24.50 (USD) before taxes on seven skeins of Baby Bee Stork Struck. It is retailed at $4.99, but Hobby Lobby always has a deal for 30% off of their yarn, so it comes out to about $3.50 a skein.

If I used Caron Cotton Cake instead, I would need approximately two and a half skeins for the yardage required. At $9.99 a piece, I would end up spending just pennies shy of $30 (USD) before taxes. Now, Michael’s also runs it’s own sales pretty often so that is up for debate on if you could get it cheaper then. I’m using their whole pricing for reference.

In the end, I decided to continue with Baby Bee’s Stork Struck and I’m happy I did.

That’s not to say that you can’t use any medium (4) weight yarn you prefer. This crochet baby blanket pattern can be created with any type of yarn you prefer. Your dimensions might be a little different, but that’s okay!

Let’s get to the pattern!

SKILL LEVEL

Advanced Beginner – This crochet baby blanket pattern uses basic stitches such as chains, single crochet and double crochet. There is one more advanced stitch, the crossed double crochet. This stitch isn’t too difficult to work and is explained in detail below. If you can work a double crochet and you know how to skip a stitch, you can work the crossed double crochet.

MATERIALS

As stated somewhat in depth above, I used Baby Bee Stork Struck in Baby’s Blue (6.5 skeins, approximately 1,352 yards).

You will need a medium (4) weight yarn of your preference. You will need approximately 1,400 yards or about 23 oz.

Should you prefer not to use Baby Bee or Caron Cotton Cake, that’s totally fine. Do keep in mind, though, that your size and yard usage may differ.

TOOLS

5 mm (H/8) hook – Check out my favorite hooks!
Scissors
Tapestry Needle
Stitch Markers

GAUGE

16 stitches x 12 rows in Crossed Double Crochet as written below = 4 inches x 4 inches.

FINISHED SIZE

34 inches x 34 inches

ABBREVIATIONS

In US terms;

ch – chain
sc – single crochet
dc – double crochet
sl st – slip stitch
cdc – crossed double crochet (please see “SPECIAL STITCHES” below for written, photo and video tutorial)

NOTES

If you want a larger or smaller blanket, chain more or less depending on your size preference. This will be most helpful if you’ve done a gauge swatch to check your size and you can accurately alter from there.
The Crossed Double Crochet is worked in multiples of 2. So, regardless of size, you must have an even number of stitches before you get started.
If you haven’t worked the crossed double crochet (cdc) before, please review my video and/or written/photo tutorial and create a practice swatch before jumping into this baby blanket.
Chain 3 at beginning of double crochet rows always count as a stitch.
Chain 1 at beginning of single crochet rows don’t count (so place your first single crochet in the same stitch).

SPECIAL STITCH

In this pattern, you will notice the “special stitch” Crossed Double Crochet which I have abbreviated to “cdc”.

(I searched all over for a standardized abbreviation and there are a ton of different options. The one I saw the most was cdc, so that’s what I’m going with).

Check out the tutorial video, if you’re a video type!

To work a crossed double crochet, you will be working two double crochets close to how you normally would, but you’ll be placing them in different stitches.

Step One: Skip 1 stitch. Yarn over, insert hook into the next stitch. Pull up a loop. Yarn over, draw through two, yarn over, draw through two. First double crochet done.

Step Two: Now we want to place a double crochet IN the stitch we skipped. We do not need to chain, go behind the post or do anything fancy here. Simply yarn over, insert your hook into the skipped stitch, pull up a loop. Yarn over, pull through two, yarn over pull through two.

Image shows the process of how to work the stitch, as explained in the text of the blog post.

Crossed Double Crochet completed! So, when you see the pattern calling to “work 63 cdc”, you will know to work Step 1 and Step 2 63 times across the pattern. Once you’ve completed this row, every stitch of your row will be worked into.

Image shows the crossed double crochet blanket in blue, folded in half and draped over a wooden blanket ladder.

How to Crochet a Crossed Double Crochet Baby Blanket

Ch 129

R1 – Sc second ch from hook and each chain across. (128)

R2 – Ch 3 (counts as stitch), work 63 cdc across the row. Once completed, you should have 1 stitch remaining. Place 1 dc in the final stitch. (128)

R3 – Ch 1, turn. Place 1 sc in each stitch across to end. (128)

For rows 4 through 91, repeat rows 2 and 3 in sequence. Row 91 will be a single crochet row. Do not finish off – We are going to move on directly to working the border.

BORDER

Round 1 – Ch 1, turn. Place 1 sc in first stitch and in each stitch across the row (128 stitches). At the end of the row, chain 2 and, instead of turning to work the other way as you normally would, turn your work 90 degrees so you’re working along the side of the blanket.

Now you will work length. You will place 1 single crochet in the side of each single crochet, and 2 single crochet around each double crochet down the length. (So, 1 single crochet, 2 single crochet, 1 single crochet, 2 single crochet… etc).

If you have placed your stitches correctly, you should have 136 stitches down the side (if you’re missing a stitch, it’s not a huge deal. If you’re significantly missing a stitch, you may want to rework). At the end of this side, chain 2, and turn 90 degrees again to work along the bottom of the blanket.

Place 1 sc in each chain across the row for 128 stitches. At the end, chain 2, turn 90 degrees once more.
Work down the side and place 1 sc in each single crochet and 2 dc in each double crochet down the length just as before. Ch 2, sl st to the first single crochet of the round to close.

You can stop here if you prefer a simple border. The following round will walk you through placing a double crochet border. If you prefer a fancier border, you’re more than welcome to do that, too. The single crochet round helps place a foundation for all borders, intricate or not.

Round 2 – Ch 2 (does not count as stitch), DO NOT TURN. Place dc in the same stitch and in each stitch across to the chain 2 space. In the chain 2 space, place 3 dc. Turn 90 degrees to continue working down the length of the blanket, and place 1 dc in each stitch to the chain 2 space. Place 3 dc in ch 2 space.

Repeat around until you reach the last chain 2 space and place your 3 dc. Then, slip stitch to the first dc (not the chain 2) to close. Finish off, weave ends.

Image shows the crossed double crochet baby blanket folded and tied in wide, dark blue ribbon as a gift.

Ravelry

Etsy

How lovely is this crochet baby blanket? I’m going to have a REALLY hard time handing it off to the baby’s parents when it’s time.

I hope you love your crochet baby blanket and I hope you enjoyed the tutorial. What do you think about using Tencel yarn?

One of my greatest joys is seeing your finished crochet projects from my patterns or tutorials, so when you post to Instagram, don’t forget to tag me so I can show you some love! I’m @theloopholefoxcrochet. You can also share pictures on my recent posts on Facebook or within my Facebook group!

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