I think there were very few of us design-loving folks that didn't hear the call of Missoni for Target drawing us out of our homes this morning. What about you? Did you get there bright and early? Did you fill your cart to the rim with every chevron adorned item you saw? Or did you have a specific list of items that you knew you couldn't live without? I for one had a hard time narrowing down what I wanted to buy, knowing that I couldn't realistically bring everything home with me (drat). If you were eying the Missoni chevron throw but couldn't fit it in your cart, here's the next best thing.
If you are the crafty sort, I'd bet you've heard of Vickie Howell, knitting/crochet instructor, author, TV host, extraordinaire. She has come up with a free crochet blanket pattern inspired by the Missoni for Target chevron blanket. Here you can see her sample blanket in which she used her own (new!) yarn line for Caron.
As you can see, depending on your color palette, this blanket could be used as a decorative accent in a child's room, nursery, the family living room - the chevron pattern is a classic! I had the chance to play with some of Vickie's beautiful yarn and try out this pattern myself. As a person that mostly uses acrylic, nylon or cotton blends because of skin allergies, I can vow that Vickie's wool blend is really soft and not itchy. I love the jewel tone colors as well. And as a novice crocheter myself, I found her pattern to be easy to follow. Here's a photo of my progress:
Download Vickie's free pattern here. Find Vickie's Sheep(ish) yarn line at select stores near you or buy online from Caron.
Thanks Vickie for this fabulous free pattern!
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It's been quite a while since I was impressed with the quality of Target's "designer" merchandise. I think the best quality item I purchased was the beautiful Libertine dress in rippled cotton that doesn't require ironing (I love that dress). So, no... I did not rush to Target this morning. I will take a peek at the leftovers on my next trip.
There are zillions of these blankets on eBay, already made. Missoni was first popular in the 60s, so decades of crafters have "made their own."
I was going to say what Lisa did - I have a few of these purchased on ebay and thrift stores ... even the colors are similar!
I might consider a knit pattern instead. While, I did one like that in high school, except the colors matched.
YES YES YES! Crocheting is also a perfect way to start autumn. It's a win-win situation here!
Fellow knitters - any idea where I could find a pattern/directions on this? My brain/hand interface will not allow me to crochet, but I do love this look for an expecting friend...
lovely. another beauty is at "posie gets cozy" blog; search for her ripple blanket.
to minuet42: will this pattern do? hope so.
http://www.bernat.com/pattern.php?PID=4511&cps=21191
@minuet42, I had that same interface problem for some time but my mum's helped me figure out crochet... I still think knitting has lots of advantages, though - more economic use of yarn being one of them. I think knitted chevron stripes are quite easy - it's just done with increases/decreases. Try this: http://www.knittingonthenet.com/stitches/chevronstripes.htm . You choose how often to change colours. Also, I think you can probably make the chevrons bigger/further apart by simply putting more stitches between your shapings.
My grandmother crocheted these to use up old yarn :)
Don't get me wrong - I love the Missoni blankets, but they're just glorified bargello patterns. Any quilter could recreate the pattern and colors in a Missoni.
My grandparents had an old blanket like this for years--never knew til the Target hype started that it was a "thing"!
i was just thinking i wanted to crochet one lik that! CHEERS to excellent timing.... and i should note that it's more my grandmom's crochet than missoni :)
Crocheters looking for a ripple pattern, here's one from Attic24, a blog I love:
http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/neat-ripple-pattern.html
Note that 1) it's British, so what Americans call a double crochet, she calls a triple; and 2) she deliberately chooses soft curves rather than pointy corners. But she has wonderful photo illustrations on how to make what she made!
@ Really? and art is necessary:
Thanks so much! That Bernat pattern suits right down to the ground!
I would love to learn to crochet - if nothing else to do pretty edges on my knitted projects - but I just can't figure it out. I figure I'm due to try again though - I cycle through every three or four months: try, get insanely and profanely frustrated, swear to never try again, then curiosity gets the best of me.
no no no, big no to this piece
Hey this makes me want to learn how to crochet again but I am afraid my blanket would turn out all wonky like it did when I was a kid and make one with granny squares.
Let me get this straight: a designer for Target is designing chevron-decorated blankets, and we're supposed to grab a new pattern to crochet to imitate them? Sure looks a lot like the twenty or so afghans I crocheted in the 70s and still use. A better question would be, When will Target start selling yarn???
i totally wanted that throw but they ran out. love this post. however, im no knitter :( this one is better than the missoni for target!
My local Value Village has dozens and dozens of these. Color combos are a hit and miss, but I would definitely check there before making one. (I'm a knitter who likes SMALL projects. Blankets are boring.)
Missioni for Target collection has more than a whiff of the granny going on for it. It does nothing for me.
Those looking for patterns, projects and inspiration for crochet and knitting, go to Ravelry.com and register. I don't have anything to do with running the place, just am a very happy user. It's like a hub for everything related to knitting and crochet.
That said, yeah--this is just a slight variation on a decades-old pattern. The colors don't even look that different from ones used in older throws.
The only reasons I would make one of these would be to use the exact colors of my choosing and to make it in natural fibers, not cheap acrylic yarn!
For the Knitter's, the closest Missoni-esque blanket pattern I've found is the Zig and Zag Sock Yarn Baby Pram Blanket by Debbie Orr. It's a free pattern on Ravelry.com (also free).
I love the look of Missoni, but don't quite get the frenzy that caused the line to sell out in 11 minutes at my local LA Target. Cute stuff, no doubt.
Can't help but chime in... my grandmother and great-grandmother made blankets like this. Of course not everyone has/had grannies that made blankets, but to credit Missoni/Target with that design I think is a little silly.
Here's a free pattern for a knit chevron blanket that's Missoni-inspired, but much nicer than the Target offerings (in my opinion).
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/missoni-inspired-chevron-blanket
I always think Missoni zig-zags look like grandma's knitting
I was just coming here to post the link to the Debbie Orr zig-zag knitted (!) blanket that's on Ravelry. Glad to see someone else thought of it, too! I think it's quite a bit more interesting than the one above, and much more in the style of Missoni.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/zig-and-zag-sock-yarn-pram-baby-blanket
spanky, that ravelry blanket is awesome. and you are right--way more "missoni" than the one above, but I like that too.
Missoni chevron-I can only thing of Charlie Brown's shirt...
I heard about the Target hype. I still don't undertsand it.
thing=think. Oops.
Apparently my grandma was way cooler than I ever thought possible--she used to crochet blankets in this pattern like it was her life's mission or something.
@minuet42 again - just in case you haven't already started your blanket :-)...
http://www.purlbee.com/the-purl-bee/2011/9/15/whits-knits-chevron-baby-blanket.html
And by the way, that blog has an astonishing number of lovely tutorials (sweet shop in NYC too).