I promised you the pattern for The Chunk a few weeks ago, and I am here to deliver.
I have finally finished it, and we love, LOVE, LURVE this blanket.
I’ve been working on this idea for a couple of years, just letting it percolate because I wasn’t really sure of the details. I knew I wanted a bed-sized blanket in white or cream. I knew I wanted it to be thick & squishy. I knew NOT what pattern to use. I knew NOT what super bulky yarn to use. Did I try several? Oh heck yeah, I tried and frogged lots. And then lots more. And then ignored the urge for some months. But it kept nagging at me. I wanted a fisherman’s sweater for my bed. The inspiration pieces from designers on Pinterest I could find were great, but they were all knitted.
When I gave up on the fisherman’s sweater look with complicated cables in a super bulky yarn, it finally clicked for me. If I wanted a simple and classic monochromatic afghan, I needed a simple stitch pattern. Instead of reinventing the wheel, I looked back at my favorite patterns from the past. Lo and behold, I realized the Dreamy Layers Afghan from back in 2011 could rock a single color with a nice pebbley, nubby texture. At that time, I had only bought 8 of the massive Bernat Blanket Yarn skeins I thought I needed. Little did I know it would take double that! In the end, you can make it whatever size that works for you, but I’m not gonna lie ~ it’s really awesome to have it basically end up king-sized on a queen-sized bed.
Expensive? Yes.
Also. Totally. Worth. It.
the chunk afghan pattern::
C2C:: this is a corner to corner blanket worked in 1 piece and makes the piece a square
16 skeins of Bernat Big Ball Blanket (10.5 oz/220 yd, so 3520 total yardage) ~ it’s super bulky chenille and cloud-soft. ****note:: Yes, I said 16 for king-sized, so this is a very expensive blanket to make. I used JoAnn’s coupons to purchase my yarn over a period of several weeks and brown-bagged my lunch to justify it. I wanted this blanket whatever it took. Any even number of skeins will do if you wish to make it smaller****
“N” hook
****note:: no I cannot afford Furls hooks, but if you like my lime green hook, Hobby Lobby has these acrylic & ergonomic large hooks that look & perform much like those from the luxury brand****
row 1:: ch2, in 2nd ch from hook make hdc, sc, hdc; ch 1 and turn
row 2:: inc in 1st stitch (hdc, sc), hdc in next stitch, inc in last stitch (sc, hdc), ch 1 and turn
row 3:: inc in 1st stitch (hdc, sc), hdc, sc, hdc, inc in last stitch (sc, hdc), ch 1 and turn
row 4 – center of blanket:: inc in 1st stitch (hdc, sc), repeat *hdc, sc, hdc, sc, hdc* across to last stitch inc of (sc, hdc), ch 1 turn
****note:: I used 8 skeins to get to the center (and widest point) of my blanket, then I began the decreases with skein #9****
At your desired widest point *this is where you can make the over-all size larger if desired by continuing the increases or begin the decreasing in a similar manner to the increase rows – decrease the 1st 2 stitches and the last 2 stitches tog*
center row – opposite corner:: dec 1st 2 stitches (sc 2 tog), repeat *sc, hdc, sc* across to last 2 stiches (sc 2 tog) ch 1 and turn (make sure to stitch all 3 stitches tog on final row)
I’m completely smitten with The Chunk paired with my Amazing Technicolor Dreamghan. And now, with these 2 in the done column, my bed is complete and we can handle whatever cold this winter has to offer. I say, bring it on old man winter!
Thanks so much for stopping by & if you should decide to make The Chunk, please do come back to share your FO!