Hi, y’all! Did you miss my new Ravelry ebook release, ShadeTree? Hit the pause button on this post, go read all about ShadeTree Artist Collaboration, Issue 1, then come right back.
Okay, you back? Fab! In that post, I gave a glimpse into the blankets of Issue 1 and the artists that I worked with to produce it. In this blog series, ShadeTree: Behind the Scenes, I want to tell you more about each piece and its inspiration, as well as reveal progress photos and extras. Here are the six parts that you can expect:
ShadeTree: Behind the Scenes, Part 4 of 6
- 1 – 4 Free Floral Granny Square Motifs
- 2 – Colorburst Crochet Blanket Pattern: Triangle Motifs with Free Continuous Join-as-you-go Video Tutorial
- 3 – Birdsong Crochet Blanket Pattern: Intarsia Color Magic with Granny Square Border
- 4 – Indigo Blossom Crochet Blanket Pattern: 2 Large Hexagon Motifs with Free Continuous Join-as-you-go Video Tutorial
- 5 – Spring Flatlay Crochet Blanket Pattern: 5 Floral Granny Square Motifs with Flat Braid Join
- 6 – Tiny Garden Crochet Blanket Pattern: 8 Free Hexagon Motifs with Free Continuous Join-as-you-go Video Tutorial
Introduction
Each ShadeTree blanket starts with an artist or art piece for inspiration, then moves on to my brain where a blanket pattern design is formulated and the perfect Scheepjes yarn is chosen, then I hand that pattern design off to one of my talented Tester Tribe members for prototype construction and photography.
Indigo Blossom Blanket Details
- Price: $5 individually, but just $3 when full eBook is purchased! (Download individually here)
- Special Technique: Flat Braid Join as you go – see below
- Description: Large floral hexagon motifs, mixed in with dramatic lace hexagons for a unique blanket.
- Yarn: Scheepjes Softfun*
- Credits: Sample blanket and photography by Makenzie Pearson of BQueen Collection. Note: Every photo in this post was taken by the talented Makenzie Pearson. Thank you, Makenzie!
Behind the Scenes
Inspiration
The Indigo Blossom Blanket was inspired by photographs of flowers laying on top of indigo dyed cloth napkins – by Jessica Wilkinson of IG @VanillaLemonCake. I knew instantly when I saw Jessica’s photos that I would want to make a blanket inspired by the contrast of the flowers on the indigo color.
Blanket Pattern Design
I chose a yarn that has a watercolor quality to it – Scheepjes Softfun Aquarel – for the “flower” hexagons, and then the Softfun Denim in a dark blue for the lacy hexagons. The lace look of the blue hexies is in contrast to the petal stitches of the flower ones.
Yarn Choice
Try not to drool when you see this next photo! Yarn makes me so happy!
Had way too much fun playing with this yarn! So thankful for those watercolor yarns – really amazing.
Layout Design
When I sat down to design Indigo Blossom, I wanted large dramatic motifs. There was a large, lacy hexagon that I had in my design vault, waiting to be used, and I found it was perfect for this pattern! With a few tweaks, it fit right in. Then, designing the flower hexies was easy, as I knew I just wanted a simple and repetitive pattern.
Flat Braid Join Video Tutorial
Finished Blanket
And here it is, y’all! The finished piece!
I hope y’all enjoyed this deep dive sneak peek into everything that went into the Indigo Blossom blanket pattern. This first issue was about two years in the making from synapse to release, and so worth it. Stay tuned for the rest of the parts in this post series! Can’t wait to share all the cool goodies.
Happy crafting!
Rachele C.
*Disclosure: This post has affiliate links marked with an asterisk. Shopping through these links helps support CypressTextiles and doesn’t cost you anything extra! Yay!