Ultimate Sugarplum Crochet Afghan -

I know…it’s January! Most of us have our Christmas projects and decor packed away. But December’s Chunky Thread project was ambitious (and I had to wait on yarn color delays) so I’ve just now finished it and can share with you.

I was inspired through an Instagram photo to make a sugarplum version of the Festive Friends Blanket pattern – and did it ever turn out sweet!

So many happy pastel colors played together…I used Songbird, Frosting and Cloud for the main colors, with touches of Riley Aqua, Lagoon and Taffy, trying to get a good retro Christmas vibe. Each block was edged with Riley Gray, which ties it all together.

The main body of the afghan is made of 3 granny square variations. The squares worked up super fast. Often I was able to make 5-6 a day, and found the variety of pattern quite enjoyable.

The pattern (available in both UK and US terms) is very detailed and for the most part I found it easy to follow. Of course, I was working with my own color combinations and amounts instead of the suggested ones.

After I made a bunch of squares, I did my first layout to figure out if I liked the color combinations. I ended up making a few more variations after this photo, and adding in more Lagoon, but I majored on the Songbird squares.

Final layout of all completed 35 squares! Of course there are endless options for layouts…I went with a random one, but I’ve seen some other cute variations online.

This was my first time doing a continuous braid join for granny squares in almost 20 years of serious crocheting, believe it or not. It was hard to get my head around at first. Despite the extremely detailed pattern I still did a bit of online searching to find some visuals. But I have to say that it’s a brilliant method and I absolutely loved it once I figured it out! It creates a lovely border between squares and you have virtually no extra ends to weave in – always a bonus.

The border colors were partially decided by what I had on hand that would be enough to finish it, and I love the result. The final round took AGES – probably as long as the rest of the border combined! But thankfully it’s super cute, to help with the tedium of creating it.

Next up were the 18 appliqués. I only chose a few out of the pattern options, and made them up in different colors. For these I added in small amounts of Pebble, Nutmeg, Tea Rose, Riley Red, and Beehive.

The pattern said to appliqué the squares before assembly, and that would certainly have made the appliqué easier. It’s hard to successfully maneuver a stretchy appliqué onto a stretchy background! But I opted to wait until the end so that I didn’t have to worry about the correct square rotation when assembling.

One tip I can give is to cut off a longer sewing yarn at the end of these than you think you will need! It takes a lot to go around the circumference of some of these, and you definitely want all the edges secure. (Even so it is a hand wash only item.)

The only one I made up myself was the candy appliqué. The rest are from the pattern. The Christmas pudding below on the right is one of my favorites! But I’m also partial to the candy canes and holly.

The last step was blocking. I misted it with water and pinned it flat to dry, which helped a lot with making it smooth and uniform. I’m so happy with the final product – I think it turned out even better than I envisioned!

I’ll have to wait until next Christmas to enjoy it, since it was a late finish for this year, but it was such a fun and rewarding project! Chunky Thread gives it a good weight and feel, and it will hopefully become a family heirloom.