If you missed the first 5 parts of the series, you can find them here:

• Bridgerton House Baby Blanket #1: Introduction
• Bridgerton House Baby Blanket #2: Making the Brick Blanket
• Bridgerton House Baby Blanket #3: Adding the Surface Crochet Vines
• Bridgerton House Baby Blanket #4: Making the Rose Pieces
• Bridgerton House Baby Blanket #5: Making the Wisteria Pieces

Table of Contents

• A Note on Child Safety
• Equipment
• Positioning the Elements
  • The Layout
    • The Wisteria
    • The Roses
• Sewing on the Wisteria Pieces
• Sewing on the Rose Leaves
• Sewing on the Roses
• Final Thoughts

A Note on Child Safety

Obviously, because this is a baby blanket, it’s important to make it as safe as possible for young children. When developing this pattern, child safety was always at the forefront of my mind, so I have used specific techniques for sewing on each of the appliqué elements to make sure everything is attached as securely as possible. Having said this, anything handmade will only be as safe and secure as you make it- if any elements are not sewn on securely, they will pose a serious choking hazard. Additionally, accidents can happen- appliqué elements may become loose after repeated use, or as a result of the wear-and-tear of daily life, so, just to be on the safe side I would not recommend leaving a young child/baby with this blanket unsupervised.

Equipment

To assemble the blanket, you will need the following equipment:

• All of the appliqué elements (i.e. the roses, rose leaves and wisteria pieces from parts #4 and #5).
• Sewing needle (with an eye large enough to fit DK weight yarn).
• Scissors.
• Crochet hook (optional: I used this to help position the elements before I stitched them down, to ensure I was happy with the overall look before attaching anything permanently).

That’s it! If you’ve left long ends on each of the appliqué elements, as instructed in the specific posts (one pink end for each rose piece, one dark green end for each rose leaf and two light green ends for the wisteria pieces), you shouldn’t need any additional yarn at this stage. This means that you will end up with fewer ends to darn in (a major win, if you ask me) and the appliqué elements will be attached more securely.

Positioning the Elements

Before you start sewing, it’s a good idea to lay out all of the elements on the blanket, so you can get an idea of how the finished blanket will look. You can absolutely just lay the elements on top, but I found that all of the loose ends lying on top of the blanket made it difficult to visualise the finished product. This is where the crochet hook comes in! Lay the elements out where you want them, then pull the ends through to the back of the blanket using the crochet hook (the size of the hook doesn’t really matter- use whatever you have to hand). That way, you’ll get a much better idea of how the finished blanket will look.

The Layout

You can attach the appliqué elements in whatever layout you choose, but, if you want to mimic my blanket, here’s a rough overview of how I did it:

The Wisteria

The wisteria pieces are grouped together in clusters of 2 (1 long piece, 1 short piece). You should have 10 long wisteria pieces and 10 small, so you’ll end up with 10 wisteria clusters around the perimeter of the blanket. Start by placing one wisteria cluster in each of the four corners. Then place one wisteria cluster in the centre of each short side. Finally, space 2 wisteria clusters evenly down each long side of the blanket. Like this, you should have ten, equally-spaced wisteria clusters all around the perimeter of the blanket.

When it comes to positioning the individual wisteria pieces, make sure that each wisteria piece sits right on top of (or up against) one of the brown, surface crochet ‘vines’. This is important because that surface crochet is supposed to mimic the wisteria branch, so the wisteria flowers need to look as if they are growing from it! Make sure that the leafy end of the wisteria pieces sits closest to the branch, as pictured. I opted to position all of the clusters so that they were pointing inwards, towards the centre of the blanket, as if they are hanging down from the branch.

The Roses

Each of the spaces between the wisteria clusters is filled with a rose cluster, so you end up with a continuous, alternating pattern all around the perimeter of the blanket: wisteria, rose, wisteria, rose, etc.

For the most part, rose clusters consist of two rose pieces (1 large, 1 small) and one rose leaf piece. The only two exceptions to this are the clusters in the centre of each long side of the blanket: these rose clusters consist of three rose pieces (2 large, 1 small) and two rose leaf pieces. You should end up with 8 x 2-rose clusters and 2 x 3-rose clusters.

Much like how the wisteria pieces should look as if they are growing out of the brown surface crochet ‘vine’, the rose clusters should sit on the green surface crochet ‘vine’, so they look like they are growing from it. The roses can be placed in any orientation, but the leaves should always be positioned so that the round end sits on the green vine, while the pointed end points away from it.

Sewing on the Wisteria Pieces

Each wisteria piece should have two long, green ends left attached for sewing onto the blanket. One end will be at the base of the petals, while the other will be at the top of the petals (i.e. the base of the leaves). The end at the base of the petals will be used to attach the purple part of the wisteria to the blanket, while the other end will be used to secure the leaves. This will add an extra layer of security, while also giving you the freedom to position both the petals and the leaves however you would like.

Let’s start with attaching the petals. Each wisteria piece is sewn on individually, one at a time. I prefer to start with a long wisteria piece and create an organic shape with that, then move onto a shorter piece and ‘nestle’ it alongside the first piece. After both petal pieces are attached, I stitch down both of the leaves. We’ll be using a simple running stitch to stitch the central, green chain that runs through all of the petals to the blanket.

Thread the petal end onto your needle, then insert the needle through the blanket, from front to back, as pictured, where you want the bottom of your wisteria piece to sit.

Bring the needle back up in a slightly different spot, so that it comes through the green starting chain, close to the end.

Bring the needle back down to the other side of the blanket, bringing it back through the green starting chain, a little further along the wisteria piece.

Keep going, weaving the needle up and down through the blanket and the starting chain, until you come to the end of the petals. I prefer to wait until I’ve attached all the elements before weaving in the ends, just in case I want to change any positions, but you can sew them in whenever you want. For the neatest finish, I recommend bringing the end to the front of the work and darning it into the starting chain underneath the petals. This way, the petals will hide it from the front and the back will still look nice and neat.

Once you’ve sewn the first, long wisteria piece on, you can attach the second, shorter wisteria piece. The two pieces should sit snugly alongside each other, to give the illusion of a single, full wisteria bloom. Attach the second wisteria piece in exactly the same manner as the first, using a running stitch that is worked through the central green chain.

At this point, you should have one wisteria cluster with all the petals stitched down. Now, it’s time to attach the leaves. Attaching the leaves will add an extra layer of safety to the blanket and allows you to control how they sit.

I like to stitch the leaves down in a wide ‘v’ shape, so that the top of the wisteria petals sits within the leaves.

Use the same running stitch technique as the petal section for the leaves. When attaching the leaves, I like to run my stitches right down the centre of the leaf piece, so that the leaves on either side can still move and stand up, to make them look more natural.

Start by threading the end (the one from the base of the leaf piece/top of the petals) onto a needle, then pull the needle through to the back of the blanket, where you want the top of the leaf piece to sit.

Bring the needle back up through the blanket, coming up through the centre of the leaf piece, near the top edge.

Bring the needle back down, slightly further along the centre line of the leaf piece to make the next stitch.

Repeat this until you have stitched all the way down the centre of the leaf, stopping just before the end, so that the final little leaf is left free to curl up/move. When sewing in the end, I like to darn it into the leaf piece itself, again, to keep the back of the blanket looking tidy.

Repeat this process for both leaves, then you’ll have your first, completely attached, wisteria cluster! Repeat for all ten of the clusters, aiming to keep the shapes of the petals and leaves as organic and natural-looking as you can.

Sewing on the Rose Leaves

The technique for attaching the rose leaves is exactly the same as for the wisteria leaves. The aim is to run a line of stitching down the very centre of the leaf, leaving the sides and pointed top free to give the leaf some dimension. The long end that we left on the leaf pieces should sit at the base of each leaf (i.e. the rounded end, not the pointy end). We’ll use this to attach the leaves to the blanket.

I like to sew the rose leaves on first, before the roses themselves, so that the roses can overlap the leaf slightly- it just makes everything look a bit more natural.

Start by threading the end onto the needle, then bring it down through the blanket, from front to back, where you want the base of the leaf to sit (i.e. on the green surface crochet ‘vine’).

Come back up through the blanket, from back to front this time, a little bit further down the centre of the leaf, sticking to that centre line. Because of how we crocheted these leaves, it’s pretty easy to see where that centre line is, so use that as your guide.

Then, bring the needle back down through the centre of the leaf and the blanket beneath.

Keep bringing the needle up and down, through the work, until you come to just before the end of the leaf. Leaving the pointed end unattached will help the leaf to look more organic.

Now, you have an attached leaf! As before, I like to leave all the sewing in of ends until I’ve attached everything, but, when you do sew in the ends for the leaves, try to sew them into the leaves themselves, keeping the ends at the back of the leaves, if possible.

Sewing on the Roses

The roses are, unfortunately, the trickiest element to attach to the blanket, but, once you get the hang of it, it shouldn’t take too long to attach each one. Each rose piece should have one, long end for sewing in at the back. The aim is to use this end to work a running stitch all around the base of the rose, in a rough circle. This technique will provide the most strength and security.

Start by threading the end onto your needle, then bring the needle through to the back of the work, anchoring the rose wherever you want it to sit.

Next, bring the needle back up through the work, slightly further around the circumference of the rose, and catch a few stitches from the lower side of the rose as you do this.

Bring the needle back down through to the other side of the blanket, slightly further around the circumference of the rose again, catching a few more stitches from the lower side of the rose as you go.

Work all the way around the rose like this, running the stitches through both the blanket and the rose as you go, until you have stitched a wide circle all around the rose. The wider your circle of stitching, the more secure the rose will be. Don’t go too wide, though, or you’ll be able to see the stitches.

Ta-da! Now you have one attached rose!

Attach any other roses in the cluster in the exact same way, with the circle of stitching. However, when you come to the area where the new rose abuts the old rose, push your needle horizontally through the side of the first rose, as shown (you’re not going through the blanket itself at this stage, just the rose!).

Then do the same thing to the new rose, pushing the needle through horizontally, before continuing on your way around the rose, stitching it to the blanket again.

These two stitches just help to pull the roses together a little bit. This is optional, but will help to make the rose clusters look more organic and less like two separate roses, sitting near each other.

Now you’ll have a perfect little rose cluster! Repeat this process for all of the remaining clusters, then sew in all the ends (once you are happy with your finished blanket, of course!). As with the other elements, I recommend bringing the rose ends through to the front of the work and sewing them into the underside of the roses, for the neatest finish.

Final Thoughts

And… that’s it! Once everything’s sewn on, you’ll have your very own, Bridgerton House Baby Blanket ready to be used!

These instructions may seem a little overwhelming, but once you get into the swing of things, the sewing-up part of the process will go really quickly. Of course, you don’t have to follow my instructions- if you have a preferred method of sewing on embellishments, or just think of a better way to do it, you can absolutely go ahead and do that!

In other news…

Now that this pattern is finally complete, I’ve put it on Ravelry! You can find it here (and you can check out some of my other designs here, if you’re interested!).

I’ve had so much fun designing and developing this pattern for you over the past couple of years- I’m so glad it’s finally yours in its entirety! I hope you love it as much as I do!

Gemma

xxx

• Bridgerton House Baby Blanket #1: Introduction
• Bridgerton House Baby Blanket #2: Making the Brick Blanket
• Bridgerton House Baby Blanket #3: Adding the Surface Crochet Vines

Table of Contents

• Crochet Roses: The Basics
• Making the Large Roses
• Making the Small Roses
• Winding the Roses
  • Not All Rolls Are Made Equal
• Making the Rose Leaves
• Written Pattern
  • Materials & Tools
  • Large Rose (make 12):
  • Small Rose (make 10):
  • Rose Leaf (make 12):
• Final Thoughts

Crochet Roses: The Basics

Each rose is crocheted as one piece, which is then rolled up and sewn together to create the flower shape. The roses are crocheted on a very small hook (2mm). This helps to give the roses more structure and creates a neater finish. If you find using a small hook with DK weight yarn to be too much of a struggle (it can be a bit hard on your fingers!), you can absolutely use a larger hook- just be aware that your roses will be larger in size and less rigid.

For this blanket, you will need to make 2 different sizes of rose: large and small, using 3 different shades of pink. This provides dimension and reflects the roses seen in the show, where the centre of each flower is a darker shade that gradually lightens to the pale pink outer petals. To keep things simple, I’ve opted to use a few different shades to make multiple, plain-coloured roses, rather than incorporate the gradient into each individual rose.

The roses are arranged in clusters around the perimeter of the blanket. For the most part, the clusters are formed of 1 large + 1 small rose, though, in the centre of each long side of the blanket, there is one larger cluster consisting of 1 small + 2 large roses. For my blanket, I made the following number of roses in each shade of pink, but you can, of course, change this to suit your yarn/preference:

• Pale Pink (Stylecraft Special DK in Powder Pink): 4 large, 3 small.
• Mid Pink (Stylecraft Special DK in Pale Rose): 4 large, 4 small.
• Dark Pink (Stylecraft Special DK in Raspberry): 4 large, 3 small.

To help integrate the appliqué roses into the background, rose leaves are crocheted separately and sewn onto the blanket alongside the rose clusters. Each cluster is adorned with one rose leaf, except for the larger, 3-rose clusters, which have 2 leaves. The leaves are crocheted using the same Khaki shade used to make the surface crochet rose vine from the previous instalment. All in all, you’ll need to make 12 rose leaves for this blanket.

Making the Large Roses

You will need to make 12 large roses.

Using a 2mm hook, chain 25. Leave a long end (approx. 30cm) for attaching the rose to the blanket later on.

When starting the first row, work into the 3rd chain from the hook.

Work 4 dc into this stitch. Consider these 4 stitches, combined with the 2 turning chains, as a cluster of 5 dc, or 1 ‘petal’.

Skip the next stitch, so that you will be working into the second chain from your hook.

Slip stitch into that stitch.

Skip the next stitch, so that, again, you will be working into the second chain from your hook.

Work 5 dc into that stitch.

Keep working in this pattern (skip 1 stitch, 5dc in next chain, skip 1 stitch, ss into next) to the end of the row. You should now have 6 x 5 dc clusters (or 6 ‘petals’).

Turn and chain 1 to start the next round.

Skip the first slip stitch, so that you will start by working into the 2nd stitch from your hook (i.e. the first dc stitch).

Htr into each of the next 5 stitches (i.e. into each of the 5 dc from the row below).

Slip stitch into the next stitch (which is also a slip stitch, from the row before).

Continue working in this pattern (htr 5, ss) to the last 5 stitches (or the last petal). Work 4 htr into the next 4 stitches (the 4 dc from the row below), then work one final htr into the top of the ch 2 from the previous row.

Turn and chain 1 to start the next row. From now on, you will be working into the front loops only. This helps to give a delicate shape to the petals.

Dc into the first stitch (the last htr from the row below).

Work 2dc into each of the next 3 stitches, then dc into the next stitch. Finish off this first petal by working a slip stitch into the next stitch.

Work in this pattern (dc, 2 dc in next 3 stitches, dc, ss in next stitch) to the end of the row.

Cut the yarn and sew in this end, leaving the long end from the starting chain to secure the rose after winding/sew the rose onto the blanket.

Making the Small Roses

The smaller roses are made in a very similar manner to the larger roses, except they have fewer petals and are worked up in 2 rows, as opposed to 3.

Using a 2mm hook, chain 17. Leave a long end (approx. 30cm) for attaching the rose to the blanket later on.

Work 4 dc into the 3rd chain from the hook. Like with the larger rose, these 4 stitches, combined with the 2 starting chains, count as a cluster of 5 dc, or 1 ‘petal’.

Skip 1 stitch, then slip stitch into the next. Work in the following pattern: (skip 1 stitch, 5dc in next chain, skip 1 stitch, ss into next) to the end of the row. You should end up with 4 x 5 dc clusters (or 4 ‘petals’).

Turn and chain 1 to start the next row. From now on, you will be working into the front loops only. This helps to shape to the rose petals.

Skip the first slip stitch, then work in the following pattern to the end of the row: (dc, 2dc in next 3 stitches, dc, ss in next stitch) to end.

Cut the yarn and sew in this end, leaving the long end from the starting chain to secure the rose after winding/sew the rose onto the blanket.

Winding the Roses

To take the roses from flat, scalloped pieces to 3D flowers, you need to roll up the crocheted piece.

Start by threading the remaining end onto a sewing needle. You will use this end to secure the roll and it’s much easier to thread it before you’ve rolled up the rose!

Roll the rose up along the inner edge (i.e. the straight, non-scalloped edge), this will form the bottom of the rose, with the scalloped edge forming the top of the petals. Keep the bottom edge level as you roll and aim to roll it nice and tightly, for the most secure rose.

Once you have your roll, you need to secure it. Use the threaded needle and push it through the base of the rose a few times, staying relatively close to that bottom edge and making sure to catch each of layers of the spiral at some point.

Once your rose ‘roll’ is firmly secured, you can remove the sewing needle. Do NOT cut the yarn at this point- you will still need it to attach the rose to the blanket! Just set the rose aside as it is, ready for when you assemble the blanket.

Not All Rolls Are Made Equal

The direction in which you roll the rose does make a difference! Luckily, it just changes the appearance of the roses ever so slightly- so you can roll whichever way you prefer. I’ve used a combination of the two styles for my blanket, but you can do whatever you like!

Consider the initial, flat crocheted piece. Because of the way we worked the final round, working into the front loops only, there is a clear distinction between the two sides of the fabric.

If you roll the rose with the right side facing inwards, you’ll end up with a rose that looks a little like this- it’s got a slightly cupped, bulbous shape, as if the rose hasn’t quite fully opened yet.

If you roll the rose with the right side facing outwards, you’ll end up with a rose that looks like this- the spiral effect is slightly more prominent and the rose looks like it is a little more ‘open’ and ‘in bloom’.

As I mentioned, you can roll your roses whichever way you prefer- or you can be like me and use both! I did choose to roll all of the small roses outward, because they are so tiny I found that, when rolling them inward, they lost a little of their structure and rose-like appearance. Again though, it’s entirely up to you!

Making the Rose Leaves

For the rose leaves, you’ll be glad to hear that it’s very much a one-size-fits-all kind of situation! I used a slightly larger hook for the leaves, compared to the roses, to a) give my fingers a rest and b) allow the leaves to look a little more organic and natural looking (i.e. less stiff). It’s still a pretty small hook (2.5mm), to keep the leaves in proportion to the roses, but it won’t be quite as tight as the roses!

Using a 2.5mm hook and Khaki yarn, start by chaining 7. Leave a long end (approx. 25cm) to attach the leaf to the blanket later on.

Start by working into the 2nd chain from the hook. You’ll only be working into the top loops of the chains for this first part.

Work one dc into the 2nd chain from the hook.

Then, work a htr into the next stitch.

Work a tr into each of the next 2 stitches.

Then work another htr into the next stitch.

Work a dc into the final stitch.

Then, slip stitch into that same stitch.

This will allow you to curve around the base of the leaf, so that you can work back up the other side of your starting chain.

From now on, you’ll be working into the back loops of your starting chain (i.e. into the same stitches as before, just from the other side of the chain!

Work in the same pattern as before (dc, htr, tr 2, dc) all the way back up the starting chain.

To finish off the leaf and create the ‘pointy’ end, slip stitch to the top of the first dc.

Cut the yarn and weave in this end, leaving the long end from the starting chain for attaching the leaf to the blanket later on.

Written Pattern

Materials & Tools

• Stylecraft Special DK in the shades Powder Pink, Pale Rose and Raspberry (for the roses) and Khaki (for the rose leaves).*
• 2mm crochet hook (for the roses).
• 2.5mm crochet hook (for the rose leaves).
• Scissors
• Darning needle

* You can find the specific quantities for each of the yarn colours on the introductory post for this pattern, under ‘Master Material List’.

Large Rose (make 12):

Ch 25, leaving long end to attach onto blanket (approx. 30cm).

R1: 4dc in 3^rd ch from hook (counts as 5dc). Skip 1 stitch, ss into next. (Skip 1 stitch, 5dc in next chain, skip 1 stitch, ss into next) to end (6x 5dc clusters). 

R2: Turn and ch1. Skip first ss. (Htr in next 5 stitches, ss into ss from previous round) to last cluster. Htr in next 5 stitches, working the final htr into the top of the ch 2 from the previous round. 

R3: Turn and ch1. Working in front loops only, (dc, 2dc in next 3 stitches, dc, ss in next stitch) to end.

Cut yarn and sew in short end. Roll and secure (using long end) to form rose (inward or outward). Leave this end attached to sew rose onto blanket later.

Small Rose (make 10):

Ch 17 leaving long end to attach onto blanket (approx. 30cm).

R1: 4dc in 3^rd ch from hook (counts as 5dc). Skip 1 stitch, ss into next. (Skip 1 stitch, 5dc in next chain, skip 1 stitch, ss into next) to end.

R2: R3: Turn and ch1. Skip first ss, then, working in front loops only, (dc, 2dc in next 3 stitches, dc, ss in next stitch) to end.

Cut yarn and darn in short end. Roll outward and secure (using long end) to form rose. Leave this end attached to sew rose onto blanket later.

Rose Leaf (make 12):

Ch 7, leaving long end to attach to blanket (approx. 25cm)

Working in top loops only, dc in 2^nd ch from hook. Htr, tr in next 2, htr, dc. Ss into same stitch.

Work back down the chain (working in back loops now). Dc, htr, tr 2, dc. Ss to top of first sc.

Cut yarn and weave in end. Leave the long end attached to sew leaf onto blanket later.

Final Thoughts

Once you’ve made 12 large roses, 10 small roses and 12 rose leaves, you’ll have all of your rose appliqué pieces ready to go! I’ll be providing detailed instructions for attaching all of these elements onto the blanket in a later post, so keep them safe until then.

I really love these roses, because they’re actually pretty straightforward to make, even though they look a little complicated. They’re also super customisable- you can use any colour of yarn you want, you can roll them up in different directions, make as many/as few as you like and vary the sizes as much as you need. I admit, crocheting DK weight yarn on a 2mm hook is a bit of a trial, but it makes for such neat, structural roses that I really do think it’s worth it. If it’s not feasible for you, absolutely just increase the hook size- a slight improvement in structure and appearance is obviously NOT worth any sort of crochet-induced insanity!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this rose embellishment tutorial! As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not super experienced at writing crochet patterns, so please do let me know if you run into any problems with this and I will do my best to help you out! I’ll see you next week for Part 5!

Gemma

xxx

HAPPY BRIDGERTON SEASON 3 (PART 1) RELEASE DAY!!!!!!

Phew, now that’s out the way- it’s time to celebrate! Bridgerton Watch Party Week may be over, but, evidently, my thoughts of the show never end. This post is the first in another Bridgerton-inspired series, which will be coming out in weekly instalments (interspersed with other, non-Bridgerton posts, though- so please don’t be put off if Bridgerton isn’t really your thing!). Over the next 5 weeks, I’ll be sharing my new, original (and free!) crochet pattern, inspired by Bridgerton. This is my…

🌸🧱BRIDGERTON HOUSE BABY BLANKET🧱🌸

This pattern has been 2 whole years in the making (yep, you read that right. Can you tell I’m somewhat of a perfectionist?). One of the things I love most about Bridgerton is the aesthetic- the effort and thought that goes into the costuming, the settings and the symbolism just makes my heart so happy. This pattern is a direct consequence of that love- it’s me, letting myself be inspired by something that genuinely brings me joy and creating something I’m truly, truly proud of. I can’t wait to share it with you.

In this post, I’ll be introducing you to the blanket and giving you a little bit of backstory on the design process, as well as a roadmap for how the rollout of this pattern will look. I’ve decided to split the pattern up into several posts, to ensure that I can give all of the elements enough attention and consideration (without overwhelming everyone with an insanely long post). Once all of the parts are out, I’ll release the pattern on Ravelry, so that you can save it/link your own projects to it more easily!

Also: this blanket is actually a super versatile pattern- even if you’re not a die-hard Bridgerton fan like me, you can still use the basic brick blanket pattern as a basis for all manner of projects and baby blankets. The possibilities are endless!

Let’s get into it, shall we?

Table of Contents

• Inspiration
• The Design Process
• Trialling Techniques
  • The Brick Blanket
  • The Flowers
  • The Vines
• Putting It All Together
• Master Material List
• Pattern Release Roadmap

Inspiration

As I’m sure you can tell from the name, this blanket is inspired by Bridgerton House, one of the buildings in the show and, unsurprisingly, the home of the titular family. Its deep, red brick stands out among the other, more neutral, stone buildings of the ‘ton’, and purple wisteria runs along the facade. The front courtyard is surrounded by a wrought iron fence, which is decorated with rose bushes that add little splashes of pink, here and there. The building itself is actually Ranger’s House, in London- though, in real life (sadly), the wisteria and roses are nowhere to be seen.

For the blanket, I opted to include three of the most iconic elements of the house: the red bricks, the purple wisteria and the pink roses. One of the most interesting things about Bridgerton is how it blends the regency and modern eras, so I really wanted the blanket to reflect that dichotomy- to seem ornate and opulent, but also simple and elegant- almost minimal.

The Design Process

I first started dreaming about this blanket when I was struggling through some withdrawal symptoms after finishing Season 2. I have a little book where I jot down little notes or sketches of ideas I have for crochet projects and I drew this (super precise and accurate) sketch in the throes of my Bridgerton-induced fever:

I spent a bit of time muddling around with the general concept- trying out different arrangements, designs and elements that I could try to incorporate, until I had a clearer idea of what I really wanted to achieve with this blanket. I then created a slightly more detailed sketch on Procreate, which is an iPad drawing app:

I ended up with this design, which I think really encompassed everything I had hoped to achieve- the blanket itself is fairly simple and minimal, but the flowers and twisting branches add that sense of over-the-top, floral opulence.

Sketching my design like this also meant that I could easily try out different arrangements of the elements- I wanted the wisteria to be pointing downwards (because, you know, gravity), but I also wanted it to go right around the perimeter of the blanket. By fiddling around with my sketch on Procreate, I could try out different options super easily, until I finally came to this half-and-half design, where the top half of the blanket is always pointing downwards. I did end up deviating from the design ever so slightly, here and there, by adding wisteria leaves and positioning the roses in clusters, but, otherwise, I stayed pretty true to my original idea!

Trialling Techniques

Ah, finally. We come to the bit of this project that took me the longest (most of the 2 years, to be exact). Trialling the techniques to work out the pattern for this blanket- to turn my sketch into a reality!

The Brick Blanket

I decided pretty early on that I would create the brick blanket first, then crochet some wisteria and rose embellishments separately to appliqué onto that blanket. Truthfully, I expected the flowers to be the trickiest part of this, but, no, no- it was the bricks!

I started by deciding on what stitch to use for the bricks. I wanted something that had a little bit of texture (because bricks are not perfectly smooth), but also something that looked professional and neat. After a lot of sampling, I settled on using linen stitch (sometimes called moss stitch), which produces a lovely texture and feel- it’s soft, squishy and looks really neat. It’s also super easy to work up, so you can really get into a mindless, crochet rhythm (my favourite thing).

Initially, I had planned to make the bricks separately and crochet them together with a darker yarn (acting as the ‘mortar’) but, ultimately, I just wasn’t happy with the end result. I desperately wanted to leave the edges of the blanket as they were, without a border, for a more minimal, modern vibe, but the edges weren’t smooth enough for that. I tried so many things to get around this, but it just wasn’t working for me, so I had to go back to the drawing board. Eventually, I worked out a way, using colourwork techniques, to make the whole blanket in one piece, bricks and mortar together, which gave perfectly straight, neat sides. It was so perfect (and so much easier), I almost couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it in the first place! Not only does this method make for much neater edges, it also drastically reduces the amount of sewing required for this blanket (which is a huge win, by my standards!).

The Flowers

As I mentioned, I was pretty sure that developing the patterns for the flowers would be a tricky undertaking. Truthfully, it was a challenge, but, after the whole brick saga, it honestly felt pretty straightforward! After (quite a lot) of samples and lots of trialling different hook sizes and petal numbers and colour combinations, I ended up with two different sizes of both the wisteria fronds and the roses. Admittedly, the wisteria isn’t anywhere near anatomically correct (my apologies to all of the botanists and wisteria-worshippers out there), but I think it still gives a pretty good impression of it!

I did also want to include some greenery here and there, so I moved on to trying to create some leaves for each of my flowers. Again, this took a bit of trial and error- the rose leaves were pretty straight forward, but the wisteria leaves took a bit more work. In the end, I worked out a way to crochet the whole wisteria flower, leaves and all, as one piece, which makes sewing the blanket together that little bit easier (a big win)! The rose leaves, on the other hand, did have to be made separately, but I suppose you can’t win them all.

The Vines

Another thing I had to figure out was how to make the vines (is it accurate to call these vines? Or is that just for grapes? Gah- my plant knowledge is severely lacking)- I wanted to include both the woody, twisty, branches of the wisteria plants and the green stems of the roses weaving all around the perimeter of the blanket . After some research (and more testing), I opted to use a technique called surface crochet for this. This is a great technique that produces a similar result to the embroidery technique ‘chain stitch’, but you can use yarn straight from the ball, instead of having to cut a certain length (and recut, when you inevitably either run out or get into a major tangle).

To add even more dimension, I opted to crochet into the surface crochet for my wisteria branches. This allowed me to make the branches thicker, providing some differentiation between the two ‘vines’, and to add some texture to the branches, to make them a little bit more realistic (though I do, of course, use that term very loosely).

Putting It All Together

After months of testing, trialling and researching, I was finally ready to make my blanket. It came out… perfectly. As in, I was kind of amazed at how similar it looks to my design- I’m SO proud of it! Usually with crafting, you’ll have an idea in your head of how something will look and it will turn out completely different- not bad, just different. This blanket looks exactly like the design I had in my head and I’m still kind of baffled by that. Honestly though, for 2 years of work, it probably should, so I won’t complain.

All in all, the final blanket measures approximately 90cm x 65cm. I designed it as a baby blanket, but you could use it as a lap blanket, or perhaps even a wall hanging (if that’s your vibe), instead.

Master Material List

While I will include a list of everything you need to make each stage of the Bridgerton House Blanket in their individual posts, I wanted to include a master post of materials and notions here as well.

To make this blanket, you will need:

• 4x100g balls Stylecraft Highland Heathers DK in the shade Marmalade.
• 1x100g ball of Stylecraft Special DK in the shade Walnut.
• Small amounts of Stylecraft Special DK in the shades: Khaki, Mocha, Pale Rose, Parma Violet, Pistachio, Powder Pink, Raspberry and Wisteria.*
• Crochet hooks (2.0mm, 2.5mm, 3.0mm, 3.5mm, 4.0mm, 5.0mm).**
• 5x yarn bobbins.
• Darning needle.
• Scissors.

For this blanket, I’ve used Stylecraft yarn. Stylecraft is always my (acrylic) yarn of choice- it’s so soft and easy to work with, plus it comes in a great range of colours! You can use a different DK weight yarn, if you prefer, though, for all of the embellishments. I would recommend using the Stylecraft Highland Heathers (specifically in the shade Marmalade) for the main blanket though, because it is the perfect brick-red shade and quite a unique yarn!

* In the interest of being as informative as possible, I did actually work out exactly how much of each of each colour you’ll need for this project, so you can work out if any scraps you may have lying around are large enough. If you are a little under the listed quantities, I would recommend seeing how far you can get with what you have, before buying another ball. Because each element is so small, you don’t need to worry about dye lots/changing colours, so you can always buy more yarn later on, if needed!

** I can only apologise for the ridiculous number of different hook sizes- a number of the elements require multiple different sizes in order to come together properly, so it just kind of happened. I have this set of crochet hooks, which includes every hook size needed for this project. The hooks themselves are really good quality (and ergonomic!), so it’s a great option for this project (or just, you know, in general).

Pattern Release Roadmap

Finally, then, after 2 whole years, this pattern is ready to be shared! As I mentioned, I’ll be releasing it in weekly instalments. I’ll be coming back to this ‘master post’ as each instalments is released, to link in the new posts and make it super easy for you to find all of the sections). Without further ado, though, here’s the roadmap (along with some little sneak peaks of what each post will encompass), so that you can stay in the loop:

• Week 1: Making the Brick Blanket

Linen stitch, main blanket pattern & colourwork using yarn bobbins.

• Week 2: Using Surface Crochet to Add the Vines

Surface crochet, working into surface crochet & interlacing surface crochet paths.

• Week 3: Making the Rose Pieces

Making large and small roses, working with a fine hook & making rose leaves.

• Week 4: Making the Wisteria Pieces

Crocheting a spiral of petals around a central chain & making attached leaves.

• Week 5: Assembly

Positioning, sewing on the elements & child safety tips.

And that’s it! As I mentioned, once all 5 instalments have been released, I will be creating a pattern page for this project on Ravelry, so that you can save it for later, or link your own projects to it.

UPDATE: 

This pattern is now on Ravelry! You can find it here.

I hope you’re as excited as I am for the next 5 weeks- I’ll see you back here soon!

Gemma

xxx