Waikiki Wildflower Blanket Pattern Anew

When I contemplate the beginnings of Felted Button, one of my fondest memories is the creation of my Waikiki Wildflower Blanket inspired by my trips to the beaches of Hawaii. The yarn that I used to make it was a brightly-colored superwash wool that has since been discontinued, so I decided an update was in order.

I recruited the help of a friend, Sabrina, who has a knack with both crochet and photography. You can see some of her beautiful crochet on Instagram at SabrinaStitches. She offered (or rather I coerced her) to remake the blanket with some bright and happy Scheepjes Cahlista* a delightfully soft and "easy-on-the hands" no fuzz, 100% cotton yarn. Wanna see?

Photo used courtesy of Sabrina Newton.

I've always loved the way the flowers nest each other, the texture and the little popping yellow flower centers. These are the colors of Cahlista that I chose:
Lemon, Watermelon, Cyan, Delphinium, Cherry, Apple Green, Vivid Blue and Freesia. I love them--and I love them together, but remember, if these brights don't "float your boat" than there are exactly 109 colors of Scheepjes Cahlista to choose from in all. This blanket used 3 balls of each color and measures 31" x 39" (79 cm X 89 cm) but can easily be made larger by adding more motifs. I also included a blanket color placement diagram in the pattern so you can grab your colored pencils and go to town making it uniquely yours.

Photo used courtesy of Sabrina Newton.

When I designed it, I knew that the flower motifs needed to be joined-as-you-go to give it the look I wanted. So that's how they are joined. If you've never done this kind of joining before, no worries because I include detailed instructions and images to help you visualize it with each step. My favorite part about jaygo is that when it's done, it's done and there's no business of trying to join a bazillion motifs. One drawback, however, is the lack of "crochet-on-the-go" because you have to take the whole blanket with you. I came up with a very simple solution for this that I share in this post here. With this method, you can take a ball or two of yarn on the bus, train, or waiting room, work the motif up to the final round and then complete the motif and join it the blanket when you've got a few minutes at home.

Photo used courtesy of Sabrina Newton

One of my favorite things about this blanket--and something I try to achieve in most of my blanket designs--is to make the back of the blanket as pretty as the front. With the Waikiki, I think I achieved it--in fact, I think I like the back better than the front with the way the petals layer around each other.

If you would like to try your hand at the Waikiki Wildflower Blanket, you can find the pattern in my Etsy shop here. And if you've never tried your hook at the Scheepjes Cahlista, you can get it from any of the following places--all with international shipping:

Wool Warehouse* (UK)

Deramores* (UK)

Knotty House* (CA)

Stitched Naturally (US)

Black Sheep Wools* (UK)

Hobby Lobby

This is a list of where you can get Scheepjes yarns near you, all around the world: Local Scheepjes Stockists.

I also designed another blanket using all 109 colors of this yarn using the Scheepjes Cahlista Colour Pack* that is free here on my blog called Every Bit a Blanket.

Ok. Let's look at the beautiful pictures of the Waikiki Wildflower by Sabrina one more time...

Photo used courtesy of Sabrina Newton

Sigh. Can't you just feel the cool sand between your toes and the warm sun on your skin? It makes me want to book a ticket to the beach today!

Watch this space for some new exciting crochet designs--I've got loads of WIPs but one in particular that excites me as it is a real stretch out of my comfort zone. Wanna guess what it is?

I'll see you soon--possibly on Facebook here, in my Facebook Crochet Community here, or on Instagram @Felted Button. In fact, I'm Felted Button everywhere.

| On the Board | -- Keep your face always towards the sunshine and the shadows will fall behind you. ~~Walt Whitman