Happy Valentine’s Day to all! My gift to all of you is this pattern for a heart-shaped heart blanket that I call “Hexie Love Blanket”. And it’s not just for Valentine’s! Make it to welcome a new baby, as a wedding shower gift, or a “Thank you, Mom” blanket for Mother’s Day. The centers of the flowers offer a great space to embroider a name, a date, or a little message!
A reason why I designed this blanket is that I want to show how using hexagons in different directions can effect shapes: Depending on how you turn the hexagons, you’ll get a “slim” or a “wide” heart. I wrote about this in the article “Designing with Hexagons: Basic Concepts” … and now you have a project to try it out!
Yarn: I used Hobby Lobby “I Love this Yarn” in colors 466 Drizzle Me This (2 balls) and 950 Pink Neon (1 ball). Of course you can use any colors of your choice … the design would also be great in patchwork colors or colors of the 1960ties or 70ties!
You will need about 500 yds of the background/border color and 250 yds for the hearts and flowers.
Loom: The blanket weaves up quickly on the Original TURTLE Loom™ in R-regular sett for worsted weight yarns. The finished blanket will measure about 42″ wide and 39″ tip-to-top. If you want to make a larger blanket, you could use the same pattern with the TexaTURTLE™ in R-regular sett.
Ready to Weave?
Weave:
(55) white hexagons
(38) red hexagons
(4) white half hexagons (Half A, click here for instructions)
(2) red half hexagons (Half A)
Use the chart to assemble the blanket. I recommend that you turn the chart and begin at the right side. Sew the hexagons into rows first, then rows to rows. A simple whip stitch will be fine. You can see how I sew hexagons together in the Elf Basket video on YouTube.
Sew in any remaining ends and clip to about 1/4″ (the ends will settle during blocking, after which you can do a final clip if needed).
You can add the half hexagons right away, or insert them into their spaces when the rest of the blanket is assembled, as shown here:
Optionally, add a nice touch with a crocheted border. I used the same yarn and a crochet hook G-6/4mm.
The first round is single crochet (sc) stitches. Start anywhere, joining the yarn with a slip stitch. The next picture shows how many stitches to work … along the sides where the yarn makes complete turns, work one stitch in each turn. Along the sides where the yarn makes wavy turns, work 2 sc, skip the next yarn turn, work 3 sc, skip the next yarn turn, work 2 sc. Work 2 sc into each corner, work sc2tog into each bend.
At the end of the row, join with a slip stitch into the first sc.
For the second round, work scallops as follows: Skip 2, then work 5 double crochet (dc) into the next stitch. Skip 2, work 1 sc into the next stitch. Repeat all around the blanket (adjust with sc at the end if there’s not enough space for another scallop).
Join with a slip stitch into the top of the first dc. Break the yarn, weave in remaining ends.
Block as desired. Clip yarn ends if needed.
Enjoy your blanket, and share pictures!
Dear Gabi, I love this heart blanket project! I’m thinking shades of spring green with lavender flowers; woven with the Texaturtle R. Thanks for designing this! Lynne
Oh, my goodness … a spring blanket … YES!!!!
Love this. I’ll be sharing it in my Friday Finds post…and hopefully finding time to make one. I’m about 3 sweaters behind at the moment!
Thank you, Gina, for your kind comment … and I certainly understand (and share) the “I’m about 3 sweaters behind …” phenomenon!