Paragon Blanket – Easy hdc crochet plaid blanket pattern

This beginner-friendly crochet plaid blanket pattern is easy, modern and a great way to learn about crochet colourwork. Perfect for using up your yarn stash, the plaid crochet stitch uses two colours per row but with simple colour changes and a full video tutorial, it’s much easier than it looks. 

When I was designing the blanket I realised that I didn’t know much at all about what to actually call it – I’ve seen this chequered style called all sorts ranging from gingham crochet to buffalo plaid stitch, to tartan crochet and even the lego stitch!

What is a plaid?

The term ‘plaid’ means a chequered or tartan twilled cloth and so I went with a crochet plaid stitch definition in the end as my research showed that you can pretty much call it any of the options but crochet plaid pretty much encompasses all of them! For example, the term tartan is a type of plaid associated with a certain clan and buffalo plaid is generally using a specific colour palette so just plaid felt the right way to go for me!

There’s more on what the differences are and what the other options mean later if you’re interested – I found it fascinating!

You can carry on reading to find the free pattern here in this blogpost or purchase an ad-free, printable PDF version of the Paragon Plaid Blanket pattern in my pattern store to download and print.

About the crochet plaid blanket pattern

As you probably already know, I love designing and making crochet blankets. I love the mindful repetition of the stitches, the fun you can have with colour and the fact that they make amazing gifts.

When Helen from Sunflower Cottage Crochet invited me to take part in the Preemie Crochet Challenge again this year, I knew exactly what I wanted to design – a crochet plaid blanket that could not only be great for preemie babies but for bigger people too!

Having worked as a midwife in the UK for many years I know just how important (and treasured) the blankets are that get used in incubators and cots. They have to be just the right size and let me tell you they have a work out!

They get used for so many varied things and generally not as a blanket to cover the babies when they are so small. The incubator is doing the work of keeping the little one warm and of course, they invariably have plenty of wires and gizmos that need to be easy to see and check.

In my experience these little blankets are used for nests, props and to make the babies feel safe. There is a huge amount of research behind this and parents are also asked to sleep with the blankets before they go in with the baby to help them feel safe and bonded.

It’s amazing the power that a little crochet blanket can have isn’t it?!

You’ll be able to download the pattern for free on 31st August 2021 for a whole week as part of the Preemie Crochet Challenge and we would love you to make one and donate to your local hospital – they will be so happy to receive it!

If you’re here to grab the PDF then scroll down to find the buttons with sunflowers on later in the post.

How easy is the crochet plaid stitch blanket?

The pattern is great for beginners!

The pattern includes instructions for five sizes of blanket from Premature Baby to Single Bed and uses just a US half double crochet throughout – it’s the colours that do the work so the stitches can be super simple.

If you’re a bit worried about the crochet colourwork in the blanket then please don’t be! I’ve made a full video tutorial of the plaid crochet blanket to walk you through all of the steps and you only ever need to use two colours per row.

In terms of colours, you can go traditional plaid colours, make a rainbow or keep it neutral, the choice is yours and will make an incredibly beautiful blanket whatever you decide!

Is there a difference between plaid and tartan?

In a word, yes. There is a difference but lots of people use them interchangeably. Plaid encompasses any kind of crisscross pattern of two or more colours though and so is always the safe bet to use!

I always want to make sure that I use the correct terms for my patterns and so when I was reading up about this one I was surprised how interesting I found it! I thought you might like to know the difference between all the terms that I found too.

So, as I said, a plaid (which is an old Scottish word for blanket or wrap) can describe the crisscross pattern on a fabric, but it can also be used to describe the fabric itself and the garment that it creates. It means so many things!

All the other variations are used to describe a type of plaid pattern from what I’ve read. Here are some examples you may have heard of:

Tartans are plaids that are associated with or identify a community or clan.

Checks are plaids that use a regular pattern and usually only use two colours.

Gingham patterns were originally stripes but evolved after the 17th century to become checked or plaid (think Jane Austen costumes and you’ll know what I mean!). They typically use a smaller size check and generally use white in them with a contrast colour.

Buffalo plaid patterns (also known as buffalo check) originated using red and black and a larger pattern size but there are now many variations in both size and colour.

The thing to note about all of the variations is that they all describe patterns of coloured lines that can be both simple or complicated with endless possibilities! They are all generally built around a plaid pattern of squares making the design equal.

Maybe it’s just me but it’s fascinating don’t you think?!

What other crochet patterns use colourwork in them?

If you enjoy colourwork in crochet then you are in luck! I have plenty of other patterns that use all sorts of different techniques to achieve a wide variety of looks in colour.

You might like to try out my corner to corner scarf pattern, a waistcoat stitch bow tie, or my moss stitch poncho pattern. They all use different techniques that you might enjoy!

If you’re more of a blanket lover then make sure you take a look at my 6 easy crochet blanket patterns for beginners (lots of which are free to download) or if you’re feeling more adventurous then why not have a go at some more advanced colourwork like my Wanderers mosaic crochet blanket which uses the inset mosaic method.

Tension and sizing options

The blanket is really easy to adjust for size but I’ve done all the numbers for you so you don’t need to worry about it!

The gauge for the blanket is 15sts by 10 rows = 10cm by 10cm.

The five sizes, their foundation chain length and number of rows to work are as follows:

Type of Blanket	Finished blanket size (cm)	Foundation chain length	No. of rows to work
Premature Baby	34 x 40	49	41
Baby	78 x 94	115	115
Lapghan	110 x 134	163	163
Throw	134 x 150	199	199
Single Bed	150 x 222	229	221

Yarn for the plaid blanket

To crochet the plaid blanket I used Deramores Studio DK– 100% acrylic, 250m/100g. It’s a really soft and easy yarn to work with that has so many colours to choose from so you can really go for it on your gingham or tartan style!

I chose to work with:

A: Slate

B: Pearl

C: Rosemary

You will need approximately the following amounts for each size:

Type of Blanket	Yarn A approx (g/m)	Yarn B approx (g/m)	Yarn C approx (g/m)
Premature Baby	40/100	20/50	20/50
Baby	220/545	100/250	100/250
Lapghan	445/1115	220/545	220/545
Throw	600/1500	300/750	300/750
Single Bed	1000/2500	500/1250	500/1250

A great alternative yarn if you want something with a little something extra and luxurious is a Swish DK by WeCrochet. It is 100% fine superwash wool and so is really sumptuous and comes in a lovely range of tones.

Finding the right yarn for your projects can be tricky sometimes and depends on so many things like fibre content, yarn weight, budget, colour choices and more. I’ve put together a guide for the best yarn for crochet blankets to help you discover the things I’ve learnt over the years as both a designer and maker that help me choose the perfect one.

Other materials you will need

Along with your yarn, you will need the following:

• 5mm (US H) crochet hook. My favourite is a Furls Streamline Swirl Crochet Hook for this kind of project and yarn.
• Tapestry needle – these bent tapestry needles are great.
• Scissors 
• Stitch markers – I love these Enamel Jewel Stitch Markers.

Crochet abbreviations and glossary

ch(s) – chain(s)

ss – slip stitch

st(s) – stitch(es)

RS – right side

rep – repeat

Crochet stitches used to crochet the plaid blanket

The crochet pattern uses the following crochet stitches:

Standard US Crochet Term	Standard UK Terms
hdc – half double crochet	htr – half treble crochet

How to get the Paragon Plaid Crochet Pattern

If you’re here during the Preemie Crochet Challenge to get your free pattern copy then skip to just before the pattern starts!

This blanket pattern is a free crochet pattern in US and UK terms on the blog for everyone to enjoy, just scroll down to find it.

There are a few ways you can access and enjoy this crochet pattern and help support HanJan Crochet.

1. You can find and use the plaid crochet blanket pattern here on the blog that is supplemented with ads.
2. You can purchase, print and keep the 5 page ad-free pattern PDF in any of my stores below:

Pattern Notes and colour changing tips

Before we get to the pattern, there are a few important notes to make sure you read through first. These will really help to set out on the right track and avoid any mistakes.

The ch1 at the beg of a row or round does not count as a st.

Using multiple colours in crochet can seem really intimidating at first but, like anything, once you get the hang of it you’ll be a pro.

The blanket is worked in one piece using two colours per row.

The colours are carried through the stitches to minimise the amount of ends to weave in. To do this you need to encase the second colour that you don’t need for your current stitch within the stitch you make.

Hold the yarn as close to the previous row as you can to keep it neat and experiment to see what works for you.

Leave the third colour where it is when you turn to work the next row and pick it up again two rows later to work with it again.

When changing colour do so on the last yarn over of the stitch before you need the new colour to start.

Complete the stitch with the new colour to ensure a clean and neat colour change.

Please don’t worry if that doesn’t make sense – I’ve made a video tutorial to walk you through it too.

I’d love to send you another free pattern too!

If you fancy it then just let me know your details and I’ll send it over to you – I’d love to welcome you to HanJan Crochet!

Subscribe to HanJan Crochet for an extra free pattern today!