Bobble Stripe Baby Blanket – Free Crochet Pattern

Using Caron One Pound yarn, crochet a bobble stripe blanket that's bright, modern, and perfect for baby showers and birthdays. Free pattern!

Bobble Stripe Blanket Inspiration

When I started planning how to crochet a blanket for my cousin’s new baby girl, I knew I wanted it to be:

  • Colorful, but not standard pink
  • Modern and fun
  • Textured (babies love bobbles, right?)
arm holding crochet bobble stripe blanket with text reading "bobble stripe blanket - free crochet pattern from you should craft"

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Enter the Bobble Stripes Blanket! It features stripes of alternating bobbles in blue and purple, separated by a rows of half double crochet in a classic medium grey.

After wrapping the finished blanket with three rows of single crochet, I posted an Instagram poll to figure out if I should add bobbles or leave it as sc, and y’all voted for MORE BOBBLES. So now, on top of all the bobbles in the stripes, it also has a fun, zig-zag bobble border.

corner of bobble stripe blanket with hand and crochet hook

The Yarn

I chose to use Caron One Pound because it’s inexpensive, comes in a ton of different colors, and is machine washable (so important for kiddos!). I stood in the yarn aisle for so long trying to pick colors, but finally land on purple, light blue (Robin’s Egg), darker blue (Ultramarine), and grey. The color combination is a teensy bit girly, but the blues and the grey mellow it out.

The finished throw will use about 1170 yards, which, if you bought four full skeins of Caron One Pound, leaves a ton leftover for other projects. I used scraps of the purple and blues in my Madigan C2C blanket (from Meghan Makes Do) and still have a huge pile of each color.

furls crochet hook, an in-progress bobble blanket, and three skeins of yarn

The Hook – Streamline Swirl

Other than the birth of a child, my primary reason for crocheting this bobble blanket was testing out my brand new (at the time), Cookies n Cream Streamline Swirl hook from Furls Fiberarts. DO YOU SEE HOW FREAKING BEAUTIFUL IT IS?! Each one is unique, so if you buy a couple in different sizes, your hooks will all have their own pattern. I’m a “one in every color” kind of gal, so after falling in love with the Cookies n Cream, I picked up Streamline Swirls in Virgo, Andromeda, Cream, and Cafe.

I went with an I 5.5 mm hook, which is one size larger than what was recommended on the yarn. Since blankets don’t need much structure (and are more comfortable with a looser tension), I always go one or two sizes up from the recommendation. You can use an even bigger hook, but you may end up with a larger blanket and a higher yardage requirement.

Share Your Bobble Stripe Blankets!

Did you make your own bobble stripe baby blanket? Or maybe it’s your latest WIP? Share your progress and finished projects with @youshouldcraft on social media! Tag me (@youshouldcraft) or use #YSCbobblestripeblanket and #youshouldcraft to share your creations.

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Supplies / Materials

Size / Gauge

4 x 4 inches = 12 rows of 12 hdc

Finished blankets will measure approximately:
39 x 36 inches (with border)
33.5 x 30.5 inches (without border)

Abbreviations / Techniques

  • ch – chain
  • st – stitch
  • sc – single crochet
  • hdc – half double crochet
  • sl st – slip stitch
  • yo – yarn over
  • bobble stitch – dc5tog cluster, no chain

Pattern Notes

  • Turning ch 1 is not counted as a stitch
  • The bobble stitches don’t have the ch 1 at the top
  • To customize the width of the blanket, chain a multiple of 12 + 6

Bobble Stripe Baby Blanket Pattern

With an I 5.5. mm hook and Color A (Grey), ch 90

Row 1: hdc in second ch from hook, hdc across (89)

Row 2-7: ch 1, turn, hdc across (89). Switch to color B (Ultramarine)

Row 8: ch 1, turn, *hdc in first 5 stitches, bobble* 14 times, hdc in last 5 stitches (89)

Row 9: ch 1, turn, hdc across (89)

Row 10: ch 1, turn, hdc in first 8 stitches, *bobble, hdc in next 5 stitches* 13 times, hdc in last 3 stitches (89)

Row 11: ch 1, turn, hdc across (89)

Row 12: Repeat Row 8. Switch to color A (Grey)

Rows 13-15: Repeat Row 2. Switch to color C (Purple)

Row 16: Repeat Row 10. Switch to color A (Grey)

Row 17-19: ch 1, hdc across (89). Switch to color D (Robin’s egg)

Rows 20-24: Repeat Rows 8-12. Switch to color A (Grey)

Rows 25-27: ch 1, hdc across (89). Switch to color B (Ultramarine)

Row 28: Repeat Row 10. Switch to color A (Grey)

Rows 29-31: ch 1, hdc across (89). Switch to color C (Purple)

Rows 32-36: Repeat Rows 8-12. Switch to Color A (Grey)

Rows 37-39: ch 1, turn, hdc across (89). Switch to color D (Robin’s Egg)

Row 40: Repeat Row 10. Switch to color A (Grey)

Rows 41-43: ch 1, turn, hdc across (89). Switch to color C (Purple)

Rows 44-48: Repeat Rows 8-12. Switch to color A (Grey)

Rows 49-51: ch 1, hdc across (89). Switch to color B (Ultramarine)

Row 52: Repeat Row 10. Switch to color A (Grey)

Rows 53-55: ch 1, hdc across (89). Switch to color D (Robin’s Egg)

Rows 56-60: Repeat Rows 8-12. Switch to color A (Grey)

Rows 61-63: ch 1, turn, hdc across (89). Switch to color C (Purple)

Row 64: Repeat Row 10. Switch to color A (Grey)

Rows 65-67: ch 1, hdc across (89). Switch to color B (Ultramarine)

Rows 68-72: Repeat Rows 8-12. Switch to color A (Grey)

Rows 73-79: ch 1, hdc across (89). Switch to color D (Robin’s Egg) and continue into the border.

Bobble Border

The bobble stripe blanket’s border consists of three rounds of single crochet and one round of bobbles/chains. For help with round 4 (the bobble part), check out my photo tutorial or video tutorial.

Round 1: ch 1 and turn. sc across top (89), sc 2 extra in corner, sc down side (79), sc 2 extra in corner, sc across bottom (89), 2 extra sc in corner, sc up side (79), 2 extra sc in corner, join to first sc with sl st

Round 2: ch 1, turn, sc down side (81), 2 extra sc in corner, sc across bottom (91), 2 extra sc in corner, sc up side (81), 2 extra sc in corner, sc across top (91), 2 extra sc in corner, join to first sc with sl st. Switch to B (Ultramarine)

Round 3: ch 1, turn, sc across top (93), sc 2 extra in corner, sc down side (83), sc 2 extra in corner, sc across bottom (93), 2 extra sc in corner, sc up side (83), 2 extra sc in corner, join to first sc with sl st

Round 4: *ch 7, turn (the wrong side of the project should be facing you), 4 dc in 3rd ch from hook (both loops), ch 3, 4 dc in 3rd ch from hook, join to bottom of first bobble with sl st, ch 4, sk 3 st, sl st*

Repeat * section until you reach a corner — if there are less than 4 stitches left before the corner, sl st to corner then ch 7 and start over on the next side.

When the border is completed, trim yarn and weave in ends.

grey office chair with a crocheted bobble stripes blanket over the arm