Temperature Blanket Template
Jun. 4th, 2021 07:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fuzzyredAt the beginning of the year, ysabetwordsmith posted a bunch of ideas for projects and goals and such, and one of those projects was a temperature blanket. For those not familiar with what that is (it's okay, I wasn't either when I first saw it), it is a blanket made to keep track of the daily temperature. You can use a few colours or lots of colours, depending on how big you want each range of temperatures to be; if you go by 5 degree Fahrenheit increments, you will need more colours than if you go by 10 or 15 degrees per range. All of the blankets I saw were for the entire year, and either knit of crocheted one row for every day.
Doing a whole year seemed like a heck of a lot of work to me, and would have been a bunch of different colours, since my area can go from about -10 degrees Celsius all the way up to about 35 or 36 degrees Celsius in the course of a year (about 15 degrees Fahrenheit to about 95 degrees Fahrenheit). And on top of all the new goals I was trying to establish and maintain in January, starting such a big project wasn't feasible. Instead, I decided I would do a summer blanket, for the months of June, July, and August. That gave me time to settle in to my other goals, time to plan the project, a shorter amount of time to make the project, and a smaller range of colours I needed to buy. I also decided to crochet squares instead of rows, since I find that a little easier, and it makes the colour changes much easier.
I still wanted a decent size blanket, because I am usually cold enough to need them, so I went with six inch squares. The size is also because of the two patterns I chose to use, one has a set number of rounds and ends up being about six inches big. With 92 days (ugh) in three months, I am going to do a blanket that is 9x10 squares, and use the last two days to do a border around the edge of the blanket. This should give me a blanket that is roughly 54x60 inches, which is a good size for something like a couch blanket. I will put my pattern and all other blanket information under a cut, so that anyone could make a blanket like mine, if they wanted. I'll do my best to make it logical and coherent, but I don't have much experience with writing out patterns, so if it needs revision or clarification let me know and I'll do my best to fix it.
Ranges and colours used:
>= 35 degrees Celsius (95 F): Undecided
30 - 34 degrees Celsius (86 - 94 F): Impeccable Loops & Threads: Claret
25 - 29 degrees Celsius (77 - 85 F): Impeccable Loops & Threads: Pumpkin
20 - 24 degrees Celsius (68 - 76 F): Impeccable Loops & Threads: Forest
<= 19 degrees Celsius (67 F): Impeccable Loops & Threads: Putty
I am also putting a border on each square to indicate precipitation for the day:
Rain: Impeccable Loops & Threads: Camo Tweed (Dark green with black brown and maybe grey flecks in it)
No Rain: Impeccable Loops & Threads: Walnut Tweed (dark brown with darker flecks in it)
ETA: All yarn is Medium 4 weight, with a recommended crochet hook size of 5mm or U.S. H/8
* I had help picking the colours from my sister, since she's better at matching than I am. I've made to squares so far and the border colours seem to be fine with the main colours, and the main colours should be fine with each other. I don't expect to have many 35+ degree days, so I'll buy that colour when I need it. It will probably be a deeper red or burgundy.
Approximate Dimensions:
The blanket will be 9 squares across, and 10 squares long, with days 91 and 92 (August 30 & 31) each being the border for one short and one long side. Each square is between 6 and 6 1/2 inches, with a little extra for the border. I haven't decided yet on the pattern for the outside border, or how I'm going to stitch it together, but I suspect I will "sew" the squares together using a yarn needle and one of the border colours.
List of relevant abbreviations
***English terms, American terms will be in brackets
Wrh = wool round hook (I always say this as wrap round hook in my head)
Ch = chain
Sl st = slip stitch
Sc = single crochet (Amer. = slip stitch)
Dc = double crochet (Amer. = single crochet)
Tr = treble crochet (Amer. = double crochet)
Dble tr = double treble crochet (Amer. = treble crochet)
Sp = space
**I'm going to copy the patterns from the book as is, so all abbrevations will be referring to the English terms. For consistency's sake, any time I need to talk about a stitch or add instructions, I will also be using the English terms, even though I'm used to my grandma using the American ones. If anything is unclear, let me know, and I'll do my best to clarify.
*I will be making two different kinds of squares for this blanket. I will be switching patterns any time I have a colour change, though you could change patterns any way you choose, or simply stick with one of these for the whole blanket, if one appeals to you more than the other.
Patterns from Mon Tricot Knitting Dictionay 900 Stitches Patterns (I'm not certain of the year)
Old America
Pattern for the "plain" square:
*In the book, this pattern switches colours, but I'm using only one colour per square so I will leave put the colour switching instructions. I am also going to six rounds instead of four, so I will write in the last two rounds myself.
6 Ch, join into a ring with a sl st.
Row 1: 2 ch, 2 tr 3ch, *3 tr, 3 ch into ring, rep from * twice, sl st to first 2 ch.^
Row 2: (2 ch, 2 tr, 3 ch, 3 tr) into first 3 ch sp, * (1 ch, 3 tr, 3 ch, 3 tr) into next 3 ch sp, rep from * twice, join with a sl st.^
Row 3: (2 ch, 2 tr, 3 ch, 3 tr) into first 3 ch sp, * 1 ch 3 tr into 1 ch sp (1 ch, 3 tr, 3 ch, 3 tr) into each corer, rep from * ending 1 ch, sl st to join.^
Row 4: (2 ch, 2 tr, 3 ch, 3 tr) into first 3 ch sp, * 1 ch 3 tr into each 1 ch sp (1 ch, 3 tr, 3 ch, 3 tr) into each corner, rep *, ending 1 ch, sl st to join.^
Row 5: (2 ch, 2 tr, 3 ch, 3 tr) into first 3 ch sp, * 1 ch 3 tr into each 1 ch sp (1 ch, 3 tr, 3 ch, 3 tr) into each corner, rep *, ending 1 ch, sl st to join.^
Row 6: (2 ch, 2 tr, 3 ch, 3 tr) into first 3 ch sp, * 1 ch 3 tr into each 1 ch sp (1 ch, 3 tr, 3 ch, 3 tr) into each corner, rep *, ending 1 ch, sl st to join.^
^My grandma always says to turn the work between each round so that the square is "double-sided," so after joining with a slip stitch, I turn the work and do another slip stitch in the same spot to put the yarn back in the right spot.
ETA: If not switching colours for the square, you do actually HAVE to turn the work between each round. (I didn't realize this until I forgot to do so one time.) This is brcause the pattern necessitates working into the spaces, and without turning you end up facing a solid area. For switching colours each round, the pattern alternates colours (frex 1 & 3 light, 2 & 4 dark) and the new colour is joined with a slip stitch to the first space.
Crochet squares II
Pattern for the "fancy" square:
8 Ch, join in a ring with sl st.
Row 1: 2 ch, work 15 trs into the ring, join with a sl st to 2nd of first 2 ch.
Row 2: 4 ch (1 tr, 2 ch) 15 times, join with a sl st to 2nd of 4 ch.
Row 3: 2 ch, 2 tr into first sp, 1 ch (3 tr, 1 ch) into each sp, sl st to join.
Row 4: *(3 ch, 1 dc into next 1 ch sp) 3 times, 6 ch, 1 dc into next sp *, to end, join with a sl st.
Row 5: 2 ch, 2 tr into first 3 ch sp, 3 tr into next two 3 ch sps, * (5 tr, 2ch, 5 tr) into corner sps, 3 tr into each 3 ch sp *, cont to end, sl st to join.
Row 6: 2 ch, work 1 tr into each st and 2 tr^ into each 2 ch sp at each corner.
Fasten off.
^I did 3 tr in each corner space, to square it off better.
For the border:
***EDITED FOR CLARITY
For the border, I will go once around the squares with the appropriate colour. For the "fancy" squares, I wipl be using one double crochet in each stitch, and two double crochets in the corner stitches (I eye-balled the middle of the corner then chose the stitch on the top side of the corner as the stitch with two double crochets.) I will try to post a picture of this later so that it is easier to see what I mean. For the "plain" squares, I will be using one double crochet in each stitch, and two double crochets in the corners. There will be pictures of this as well for more clarity.
I'm currently working on one of my fancy squares and am taking pictures of each round. The next square is going to be a plain one, so I will take step by step pictures of that one as well, and then post them in a separate post, for any visual thinkers out there.
Let me know what you think, and I'll try to post progress pictures as I go!
ETA: I'm getting all of my temperatures from https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/canada/windsor/historic I typically check them at night, or the following day, just to be sure I don't miss a higher temperature, or some unexpected rain. Whether it's the most accurate site or not, I don't know, but it does seem to be within a degree or two at least.
ysabetwordsmith posted a bunch of ideas for projects and goals and such, and one of those projects was a temperature blanket. For those not familiar with what that is (it's okay, I wasn't either when I first saw it), it is a blanket made to keep track of the daily temperature. You can use a few colours or lots of colours, depending on how big you want each range of temperatures to be; if you go by 5 degree Fahrenheit increments, you will need more colours than if you go by 10 or 15 degrees per range. All of the blankets I saw were for the entire year, and either knit of crocheted one row for every day.Doing a whole year seemed like a heck of a lot of work to me, and would have been a bunch of different colours, since my area can go from about -10 degrees Celsius all the way up to about 35 or 36 degrees Celsius in the course of a year (about 15 degrees Fahrenheit to about 95 degrees Fahrenheit). And on top of all the new goals I was trying to establish and maintain in January, starting such a big project wasn't feasible. Instead, I decided I would do a summer blanket, for the months of June, July, and August. That gave me time to settle in to my other goals, time to plan the project, a shorter amount of time to make the project, and a smaller range of colours I needed to buy. I also decided to crochet squares instead of rows, since I find that a little easier, and it makes the colour changes much easier.
I still wanted a decent size blanket, because I am usually cold enough to need them, so I went with six inch squares. The size is also because of the two patterns I chose to use, one has a set number of rounds and ends up being about six inches big. With 92 days (ugh) in three months, I am going to do a blanket that is 9x10 squares, and use the last two days to do a border around the edge of the blanket. This should give me a blanket that is roughly 54x60 inches, which is a good size for something like a couch blanket. I will put my pattern and all other blanket information under a cut, so that anyone could make a blanket like mine, if they wanted. I'll do my best to make it logical and coherent, but I don't have much experience with writing out patterns, so if it needs revision or clarification let me know and I'll do my best to fix it.
Ranges and colours used:
>= 35 degrees Celsius (95 F): Undecided
30 - 34 degrees Celsius (86 - 94 F): Impeccable Loops & Threads: Claret
25 - 29 degrees Celsius (77 - 85 F): Impeccable Loops & Threads: Pumpkin
20 - 24 degrees Celsius (68 - 76 F): Impeccable Loops & Threads: Forest
<= 19 degrees Celsius (67 F): Impeccable Loops & Threads: Putty
I am also putting a border on each square to indicate precipitation for the day:
Rain: Impeccable Loops & Threads: Camo Tweed (Dark green with black brown and maybe grey flecks in it)
No Rain: Impeccable Loops & Threads: Walnut Tweed (dark brown with darker flecks in it)
ETA: All yarn is Medium 4 weight, with a recommended crochet hook size of 5mm or U.S. H/8
* I had help picking the colours from my sister, since she's better at matching than I am. I've made to squares so far and the border colours seem to be fine with the main colours, and the main colours should be fine with each other. I don't expect to have many 35+ degree days, so I'll buy that colour when I need it. It will probably be a deeper red or burgundy.
Approximate Dimensions:
The blanket will be 9 squares across, and 10 squares long, with days 91 and 92 (August 30 & 31) each being the border for one short and one long side. Each square is between 6 and 6 1/2 inches, with a little extra for the border. I haven't decided yet on the pattern for the outside border, or how I'm going to stitch it together, but I suspect I will "sew" the squares together using a yarn needle and one of the border colours.
List of relevant abbreviations
***English terms, American terms will be in brackets
Wrh = wool round hook (I always say this as wrap round hook in my head)
Ch = chain
Sl st = slip stitch
Sc = single crochet (Amer. = slip stitch)
Dc = double crochet (Amer. = single crochet)
Tr = treble crochet (Amer. = double crochet)
Dble tr = double treble crochet (Amer. = treble crochet)
Sp = space
**I'm going to copy the patterns from the book as is, so all abbrevations will be referring to the English terms. For consistency's sake, any time I need to talk about a stitch or add instructions, I will also be using the English terms, even though I'm used to my grandma using the American ones. If anything is unclear, let me know, and I'll do my best to clarify.
*I will be making two different kinds of squares for this blanket. I will be switching patterns any time I have a colour change, though you could change patterns any way you choose, or simply stick with one of these for the whole blanket, if one appeals to you more than the other.
Patterns from Mon Tricot Knitting Dictionay 900 Stitches Patterns (I'm not certain of the year)
Old America
Pattern for the "plain" square:
*In the book, this pattern switches colours, but I'm using only one colour per square so I will leave put the colour switching instructions. I am also going to six rounds instead of four, so I will write in the last two rounds myself.
6 Ch, join into a ring with a sl st.
Row 1: 2 ch, 2 tr 3ch, *3 tr, 3 ch into ring, rep from * twice, sl st to first 2 ch.^
Row 2: (2 ch, 2 tr, 3 ch, 3 tr) into first 3 ch sp, * (1 ch, 3 tr, 3 ch, 3 tr) into next 3 ch sp, rep from * twice, join with a sl st.^
Row 3: (2 ch, 2 tr, 3 ch, 3 tr) into first 3 ch sp, * 1 ch 3 tr into 1 ch sp (1 ch, 3 tr, 3 ch, 3 tr) into each corer, rep from * ending 1 ch, sl st to join.^
Row 4: (2 ch, 2 tr, 3 ch, 3 tr) into first 3 ch sp, * 1 ch 3 tr into each 1 ch sp (1 ch, 3 tr, 3 ch, 3 tr) into each corner, rep *, ending 1 ch, sl st to join.^
Row 5: (2 ch, 2 tr, 3 ch, 3 tr) into first 3 ch sp, * 1 ch 3 tr into each 1 ch sp (1 ch, 3 tr, 3 ch, 3 tr) into each corner, rep *, ending 1 ch, sl st to join.^
Row 6: (2 ch, 2 tr, 3 ch, 3 tr) into first 3 ch sp, * 1 ch 3 tr into each 1 ch sp (1 ch, 3 tr, 3 ch, 3 tr) into each corner, rep *, ending 1 ch, sl st to join.^
^My grandma always says to turn the work between each round so that the square is "double-sided," so after joining with a slip stitch, I turn the work and do another slip stitch in the same spot to put the yarn back in the right spot.
ETA: If not switching colours for the square, you do actually HAVE to turn the work between each round. (I didn't realize this until I forgot to do so one time.) This is brcause the pattern necessitates working into the spaces, and without turning you end up facing a solid area. For switching colours each round, the pattern alternates colours (frex 1 & 3 light, 2 & 4 dark) and the new colour is joined with a slip stitch to the first space.
Crochet squares II
Pattern for the "fancy" square:
8 Ch, join in a ring with sl st.
Row 1: 2 ch, work 15 trs into the ring, join with a sl st to 2nd of first 2 ch.
Row 2: 4 ch (1 tr, 2 ch) 15 times, join with a sl st to 2nd of 4 ch.
Row 3: 2 ch, 2 tr into first sp, 1 ch (3 tr, 1 ch) into each sp, sl st to join.
Row 4: *(3 ch, 1 dc into next 1 ch sp) 3 times, 6 ch, 1 dc into next sp *, to end, join with a sl st.
Row 5: 2 ch, 2 tr into first 3 ch sp, 3 tr into next two 3 ch sps, * (5 tr, 2ch, 5 tr) into corner sps, 3 tr into each 3 ch sp *, cont to end, sl st to join.
Row 6: 2 ch, work 1 tr into each st and 2 tr^ into each 2 ch sp at each corner.
Fasten off.
^I did 3 tr in each corner space, to square it off better.
For the border:
***EDITED FOR CLARITY
For the border, I will go once around the squares with the appropriate colour. For the "fancy" squares, I wipl be using one double crochet in each stitch, and two double crochets in the corner stitches (I eye-balled the middle of the corner then chose the stitch on the top side of the corner as the stitch with two double crochets.) I will try to post a picture of this later so that it is easier to see what I mean. For the "plain" squares, I will be using one double crochet in each stitch, and two double crochets in the corners. There will be pictures of this as well for more clarity.
I'm currently working on one of my fancy squares and am taking pictures of each round. The next square is going to be a plain one, so I will take step by step pictures of that one as well, and then post them in a separate post, for any visual thinkers out there.
Let me know what you think, and I'll try to post progress pictures as I go!
ETA: I'm getting all of my temperatures from https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/canada/windsor/historic I typically check them at night, or the following day, just to be sure I don't miss a higher temperature, or some unexpected rain. Whether it's the most accurate site or not, I don't know, but it does seem to be within a degree or two at least.
Yay!
Date: 2021-06-08 10:20 am (UTC)Re: Yay!
Date: 2021-06-08 11:27 am (UTC)I will also make sure to post a picture of the blanket when it's all finished.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2021-06-09 01:16 am (UTC)Re: Yay!
Date: 2021-06-09 02:37 am (UTC)And since tomorrow is the 9th and my rows are nine squares long, I suspect I will have a picture od the first row in the next couple days.
I'm really glad I asked my grandma to show me how, and that she is still here to help me learn and do things with. I'm still amazed by some of the things I've seen her knit and crochet and sew. She has the skill level (maybe Master +4?) to tell you what a pattern is just by looking at a picture or a work, and she can make her own patterns. I hope I have even a quarter of that skill by the time I'm her age.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2021-06-09 02:52 am (UTC)Added.
>>The fancy one should be up tomorrow.<<
Yay!
>>And since tomorrow is the 9th and my rows are nine squares long, I suspect I will have a picture od the first row in the next couple days.<<
:D
>>I'm really glad I asked my grandma to show me how, and that she is still here to help me learn and do things with. <<
Yes, you're very lucky.
My grandmother tried to teach me crochet, but I was no good at it. I do better with sewing, although I prefer hand sewing to fiddling with a sewing machine.
>> I'm still amazed by some of the things I've seen her knit and crochet and sew. She has the skill level (maybe Master +4?) to tell you what a pattern is just by looking at a picture or a work, and she can make her own patterns. I hope I have even a quarter of that skill by the time I'm her age.<<
Expert (+4) and Master (+6). If someone doesn't need a pattern, can retroengineer a pattern from a glance, and can make their own patterns, that's Master level.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2021-06-09 03:43 pm (UTC)>>My grandmother tried to teach me crochet, but I was no good at it. I do better with sewing, although I prefer hand sewing to fiddling with a sewing machine.<<
My grandma tried to teach all four of us grand-kids, but I think I'm the only one who actually picked it up. I haven't really done much sewing at all, but I'm impressed with the people who can.
>>Expert (+4) and Master (+6).<<
Whoops, I mixed the numbers up. I knew I was thinking (+4) but I wasn't sure what level that was.
>>If someone doesn't need a pattern, can retroengineer a pattern from a glance, and can make their own patterns, that's Master level.<<
That would be my grandma then. She will use a pattern for things like clothing, or anything that needs sizing, but she can make up her own for the simpler things. She can also tweak a pattern from a book until it does what she wants, if she doesn't like the way the pattern looks. I'm pretty sure she also has Master sewing skills (Expert for sure), because she is a whiz with a sewing machine, can hem just about anything, make things like masks, and she quilts. I never realized how much work and *math* went into quilts, but I watched my grandma plan and make a throw quilt just recently and she did it all from scratch, just started with a Harley Davidson bandana and built around that until she was satisfied.