O Mio Bambino

A yarn review and new pattern!

This year has been a bit of a roller coast ride for me. And it’s only half over!

The big news was that after 12 years together, Mr. Plum and I were finally going to have a baby. A little girl! Who, for now, is known as Little Miss Plum (LMP for short). She’s due to make her arrival early in December, which should top off our roller coaster year quite well and set us up for another one just in time for next year.

LMP is only about 4 months along at this point, but she’s already caused lots of excitement. For instance, she was so exciting I spent her second and third months curled up in the fetal position on the couch, sure she was going to be the death of me, but waiting for it all to pass. Life was on hold those months. Work was on hold. Eating was on hold. I didn’t even crochet. But it eventually passed and I did find my way back to real life. Well, a version of it.

Getting to yarn and crochet… One of the big, real-life things I was anxious to get back to was a baby blanket pattern I started designing well before I found out I was pregnant and some new Stylecraft yarn they generously sent me to play with. Both of which, were put on hold.

First, the yarn. Meet Bambino DK, a 100% acrylic yarn designed for babies.

Bambino comes in 8 shades that make a beautiful, rather modern, baby palette. While still technically pastels the dusty tones are far from being entirely traditional. Still, they have a classic look about them.

The shades are as follows:

• 7111 White
• 7112 Clotted Cream – a yellowish off-white
• 7113 Soft Pink – a clear and true pink, does not lean towards purple at all
• 7114 Heather – a dusty, even purple
• 7115 Grey Mist – quite possibly the perfect grey, has just a touch of warmth which is perfect for any palette
• 7116 Vintage Blue – slightly bright sky blue, lighter than cyan, but similar
• 7117 Sage – quite possibly the perfect sage color, lots of grey and blue but ultimately it’s a green
• 7118 Little Boy Blue – a truer blue than the Vintage Blue, and more of a medium tone

Mr. Plum can’t get over what I great color the Sage is. He wants at least a hat out of it, which means I’ll have to get more. Oh darn. 😉

Now, at this point in my yarny career, I was pretty sure I’d seen every incarnation of acrylic yarn. I mean, how much more can they do with it? Really? But this lovely and luscious yarn has me seriously impressed. The closest thing I can compare it to is Stylecraft Batik DK, but that’s really only in that the spin used is similar and gives it that plumpness and fullness that so many have come to love about Batik. But the feeling is different. Bambino is 100% acrylic and manages to be smooth, not fuzzy like many US acrlics, and still gives you a fluffy, snuggly project. Really! I can’t stop squishing my project between my fingers. It’s so squishy!

I frayed the end of one of my balls of yarn to show you the spin more closely. My only small complaint may be that I occasionally split the yarn when I’d been on a crochet bender and my hand was getting tired. I also found the ends tended to fray a bit by the end of the project, so I would recommend weaving them in as you go to avoid that. I still think those are tiny things in comparison to the amazing squish you get from this spin.

Now, onto the new pattern! Meet I <3 Granny (you can say, “I Heart Granny”).

The texture is created using post stitches in a similar manner to crochet cables, though the texture is mixed up a bit by adding granny stitch into about half the hearts.

This is an advanced pattern, mostly because stitch placement gets a little hairy in some areas. But, as always, I’ve taken great care to make it as clear and easy to follow as possible. I’ve also included photo diagrams that detail the stitch placement in the hearts (they are not step by step tutorials) that can be used to complement the written instructions.

Also available, and for the first time ever, I’ve made complete crochet charts for both the blanket body and the border. These have been tested independently of the written pattern and can be used alone or along with the written pattern.

Another new thing – this pattern includes both US and UK terminology! Since we’re using British yarn, I thought it was only appropriate to offer the olive branch to my British yarnies. Now, please keep in mind, this is the first time I’ve done this and rather than re-write the whole pattern I’ve used a clever method of changing stitches within my design program. So, please, please, bear with me. Let me know if you find any errors or horribly glaring mistakes. I’ll fix them!

I <3 Granny has been in the works since February, I think. I originally designed it in another yarn, but that was because I’d been too scared to cut into my Bambino stash until I was sure I had it right. Here’s my first, and super bright and cheerful, I <3 Granny made in Lion Brand Mandala.

This is a large baby blanket pattern coming it at 41 by 43 inches. That’s big enough to use for quite a while, though the pattern does include instructions for making your own blanket bigger or smaller to your liking.

It’s also a bit of a yarn eater using about 2,000+ yards of yarn. That hearty texture uses extra yarn but gives you a nice solid blanket that will keep your little one warm.

Scroll down to visit the pattern listings and get more specific details about materials used and what is offered in the pattern.

I <3 Granny is available on Ravelry and on Etsy and is available at a promotional price of $3.99USD for the initial release. Through midnight PST, July 20, 2018, use couple code: iheartgranny

Click here to see the pattern listing on Ravelry. Or, click here to buy now on Ravelry at the promotional price.

Click here to see the pattern listing on Etsy. (coming soon!)

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One last thing before I go. If you’re looking to use Aran weight yarn, it will work fine for this pattern, but will change your size and yarn requirements quite a bit. Please keep in mind these are only estimates, and the pattern has NOT been tested in Aran weight.

Made according to the pattern but in Aran weight yarn, use a 5mm and 5.5mm hook in place of the called for hooks, your final blanket will be around 51 by 54 inches and use between 2,500 and 2,750 yards of yarn, but it’s probably safer to have close to 3,000 on hand just in case.

You can adjust the size of the afghan by adding or removing stitch repeats or row repeats. If you do, you can estimate you’ll add/remove increments of roughly 9 inches of width and 6 inches of height. Because these are only estimates I cannot say how that will affect your yarn requirements.

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Thanks for reading! I hope you <3 this pattern as much as I do.