Crochet Project #4: V Stitch Blanket

20 Feb Crochet Project #4: V Stitch Blanket

Let me tell you the story of a blanket that required a pivot after realising the pattern I was following was awful, yarn that was lost by a courier plus at what price I’d have to retail the blanket based on paying myself minimum wage and materials.

The Crappy Pattern and Books from Which to Run Away

Last night, I finished this V Stitch blanket with a huge sigh of relief. I thought it would never be finished. There were so many hurdles along the way.

The first hurdle was the crappy pattern which is found in Crochet Patterns & Projects published by Publications International Ltd. Run, don’t walk, away from the series of crochet pattern books published by this publishing house. I’ve purchased two crochet books from them. Every pattern I’ve tried contains errors, or in the case of this pattern they titled “Afghan”, had I followed this pattern, it wouldn’t have even covered my lap when finished. I have a small lap.

I didn’t realise this issue until after I purchased the amount of yarn they recommended and began to crochet. I made the recommended starting chain of 61 stitches and stared in bewilderment at what this tiny width was supposed to cover. The pattern called for a super bulky yarn, making it not appropriate even for a baby. So, I did what was appropriate and extended the chain to 161 stitches–V Stitch patterns require any odd number of stitches over five–which came out to roughly my height–more about finished dimensions later–and continued to follow the pattern as written.

Once I finished the first eight rows and used up two of the eight skeins the pattern writer decided I needed, I measured the height of those finished rows and did some math. Eight rows equals 15 cms (six inches) times four equals 60 cms (24 inches). Yeah, no.

I read the pattern once again. Its completed length is 40 rows (or desired length). Then, it calls for three rows of edging. This presented two more issues. The first, I only had enough yarn on hand for 32 rows. The second, the finished length of this pattern, without the edging, would be a measly 75 cms (36 inches). This is the size of a baby blanket, but in a weight not at all appropriate for a baby, on a pattern titled “Afghan.” When a pattern is titled, “Afghan,” there are expectations about size.

Serves me right for not reading the pattern before buying the yarn it recommended.

The Pivot and the Lost Yarn and Amazing Customer Service

At this point, I did what any crafting geek would do. I did more math and designed my own pattern. After first realising how much extra yarn I’d need to stitch a serviceable blanket, I knew I didn’t want it to be one solid colour. That would make for a very boring project. I knew stripes was the answer. The real question was how to configure those stripes.

After writing the pattern, I had to source the yarn. I purchased the initial nine skeins from Amazon. They didn’t carry the additional colours I wanted in the same brand: Bernat Softee Chunky. This is when I discovered Yarnspirations. Remember, folks. I am just coming back to this hobby after a long absence and had no idea where to find what I needed. I just jumped into it without looking. It was Christmas time which meant Boxing Day sales and I pounced.

I purchased what I needed. Yarnspriation said there would be a delay in fulfilling orders because of the increased holiday shopping and warehouse employees being on holiday. Cool! I can live with that!

While I waited, I started and finished another project. And then I started another project. And then another. And another. It was a lot of waiting. My yarn shipped early January. End of January, after my yarn sat for over a week in the second-to-last sorting station from my house, I contacted Yarnspirations to say, I think the courier lost my order. Within 24 hours. Yarnspirations confirmed with the courier that a huge box of yarn was in fact lost in their sorting facility. This is when Yarnspirations when above and beyond to fix things.

Not only did Yarnspirations refund the lost, they also said:

Should the parcel arrive at a later date, please keep it at no charge for the inconvenience. 

Should you wish to place another order, we would be happy to refund any applicable shipping fees and/or promotional pricing you had on your lost parcel.  Simply advise us of your order number, and we will issue a refund to your original method of payment. 

We hope you find this offer helpful after a disappointing experience.

But that isn’t all! When I placed the original order, there were a bunch of clearance colours for the Bernat Softee Chunky which I jumped on. When I placed my replacement order, those colours were no longer available. Also, some of the colours that I originally purchased were not in-stock and I wasn’t going to wait around any longer to get the yarn I needed to finish this blanket. So, I chose other colours at the same weight and quantity of those no longer available or not in stock and Yarnspirations issued the additional refund as if my order was exactly the same as the first order.

Eleven out of 10 for customer services. I definitely recommend you buy yarn from Yarnspirations.

In the first week of February, the replacement yarn arrived and I got to finishing the blanket.

The Finished Project, What I Learned plus Costs

The finished project is slightly bigger than originally planned, I thought it would be 152×183 cms (60×72 inches). It ended up being somewhere around 163×188 cms (64×74 inches), which is great size for a throw blanket.

I learned to always read the full pattern to see if it proper. No more getting caught in this situation where I have to wait over a month to finish a project because the original pattern is nonsense.

If I were to make this blanket again, I’d also make it slightly differently. I hate a chain three as the first double crochet. It leaves awful gap. For this blanket, I chained two for my turning chain then I did a double crochet in the first stitch instead of skipping to where the first V stitch would go. But it leaves a little bit of extra thickness on the sides, which I’m not fond of. While making this blanket, I learned about stacking single crochets, which I also do differently because I don’t like how the commonly used one looks. I’ll make up a tutorial about the way I do it at some point.

Finally costs! Let’s talk labour! I use Ravelry’s “My Row Counter” app to keep track of how much time it takes me to do a project plus as both a row and stitch counter.

This blanket took me approximately 32 hours to finish. Minimum wage where I live is $17.85/hr CAD. This brings the cost bare minimum cost of labour to $571.20 CAD. Add the cost of yarn at regular price for $115.82. For a grand total of $687.02 CAD.

Doing this math is a great way to help keep me from monetizing this hobby. If someone crochets you a gift, it has value, let me tell you!

Anyway, that is that! Questions? Comment? Ask in the comments below. Also, tell me all about your latest finished analogue project!