It’s been an awfully long time since I shared one of my crochet makes, so I thought it was time I caught up. So here goes the first of a few. 

You may remember back in July 2021, I posted about Abi McIntyre from, Get yer hook on, new pattern, “The Berber Afghan as part of my Crochet Crush series, which you can read here.
I had fallen hook, line and sinker, for Abi McIntyres, “The Berber Afghan.”
It’s absolutely stunning and I couldn’t resist making my own, so on August the 2nd 2021 I started my own.

I always find picking a colour palette, one of the hardest parts about making a blanket. I normally play it safe to go with a monotone colour scheme but when searching through my yarn stash, the brightest yarns just seemed to jump out at me and pulled at my heartstrings, so I decided to go with my gut and step outside my comfort zone. It was exceedingly daunting but I’m glad I did.

I chose 6 different colours.
Pure Black, for my background colour and Neon Pink, Neon Green, Neon Orange, Neon Yellow and Marine Blue, would be my corresponding colours, all in, Paintbox Yarns Simply Aran, from Lovecrafts.com.
Unfortunately it looks like the neon colours have now been discontinued. 😟

Paintbox Yarns Simply Aran, is a super affordable yarn and lovely to work with.
It deliciously soft and not at all scratchy.
It can even be tumble-dried, a must in the rather wet United Kingdom.
It’s one of my most used yarns, as well as their double knit, especially when trying to keep the cost down while not loosing to much quality.

With my, Clover Soft Touch 6.0 mm (J) hook, at the ready, I started with the pure black yarn and made my beginning chain of 100. 96 + 3 + 1 for turning.
I followed Abi’s extremely well written pattern, missing out patterns 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21 and 22, only because I wanted to make a smaller blanket.

I used the following colours for each pattern, always using Pure Black, as my main colour.

Pattern	colour
1, 6, 13	Marine Blue
2, 7, 14	Neon Pink
3, 8, 19	Neon Yellow
4, 11, 20	Neon Green
5, 12, 23	Neon Orange

For some reason, I’m not sure why, but the pattern repeat didn’t quite work out right for me, on pattern 4.
So I started with the BS. And then the repeat of DC, SC, 3DC, SC, 2DC, SC, 2DC, SC, 3DC, SC 5 times finishing with the last sc and the BS.
I must state that there is no fault with Abi’s pattern. It was down to brain fog and lack of concentration on my behalf.

Every stitch when making my smaller version of The Berber Afghan, was pure enjoyment.
It is such an relaxing, easy pattern.
But what makes Abi’s patterns so unique is, she includes tick boxes so you never get confused what line you are on. 👏
Her patterns include charts as well as, written instructions, so if you are new to mosaic crochet, they are perfect for adventurous beginners.
I really do feel Abi’s, Berber pattern, is a great place to start, if you are wanting to learn this technique, especially as Abi’s patterns are up there with the best of the best, they are clear, well informed and beautiful presented.
You really can’t go wrong.

Most mosaic crochet patterns, are worked from side to side, cutting the yarn at the end of the row and then starting the next row at the beginning.
No need for turning your work and trying to work out where the next stitch is.
When I first started to crochet, I found the turning and working into the back side of the stitches, a little complicated and lost/dropped many stitches along the row. After years of crocheting, it’s still is my least favourite crochet method and I still loose stitches along the way.
The way, “The Berber Afghan” and Abi’s other mosaic patterns are worked, are so much easier, especially when learning to crochet in lines/rows. I love this method and the creativity it brings.

The Berber Afghan, uses Tinna Thórudóttir Thorvaldsdóttir, from Tinna Crochet, double border technique but you can also leave longer tails and go for a fringed border or you can weave in all the ends and add your own simple boarder.
I personally love the double border. It gives the blanket that extra special something and adds a slight heaviness to your finished project.
What I love most is there is no weaving in those pesky ends.

Of course I decided on a double border, but put my own twist to it.
For the back side of the double border, I made one row of single crochet and than an additional four rounds of standard double crochets.
And for the front of the double border, I made a round of single crochets in pure black and then following the colour order of the blanket body, starting with Pure Black, then Neon Pink, Neon Yellow, Neon Green, Neon Orange and lastly Marina Blue, I made half double crochets into the third loop.
I then made one more round of double crochet in Pure Black, one again into the third loop and, then joined the two borders with a single crochet.

This made a nice chunky, defined border.
I hope you agree it looks pretty striking.
However it is very thick/chunky. If I was to do this style of border again, I think I would change the yarn to a double knit yarn instead of the aran, which would make it less chunky.
This of course would only be possible if the yarn is available in the same colours.

Overall I’m pretty chuffed with how my Berber Lapghan, turned out. It’s very striking and that is all down to Abi’s amazing pattern.

Another great thing about this mosaic technique, is the back of the blanket looks pretty funky to.

My Berber Lapghan/Toddler blanket, ended up being just under 34 inches wide and 48 inch long unblocked.

I used 4 skeins (804.0 yards (735.2 meters), 400 grams) of, Pure Black Yarn, and roughly, 1.5 skeins (301.5 yards (275.7 meters), 150 grams) of each of the 5 other colours.

I brought 14 skeins all together and the total cost of yarn was, £34.96.

My Berber Lapghan, took me just under 12 weeks to make, while working on other projects. I tend to work on at least two projects at a time, so I have a choice each time I pick up my hook or as a distraction from a huge project.

If you haven’t made, “The Berber Afghan” yet, please add it to your list or move it up your list, as it’s so just damn enjoyable, calming and satisfying make.

Abi’s patterns never disappoint, as I said earlier they are in a league of their own and what makes them even more enjoyable is Abi is the kindest, sweetest, helpful lady and my birthday twin.

You can purchase “The Berber Mosaic Afghan”, here on Ravelry or here on Etsy.
And please don’t forget to check out Abi’s other beautiful patterns while you’re there.
She has some right old beauty’s.

And if her “Berber Mosaic Afghan” pattern is anything to go on, you will not be disappointed, trust me!!!

Due to having made so many blankets, I think I am going to put my Berber up for sale. If you are interested please fire me over a message. It’s yours for the taking and with those chilly evenings coming in thick and fast, it’s the perfect time to treat yourself to a warm cosy blanket.

Before I go, let me share a few links of where you can find Abi aka Get yer hook on.
Etsy: getyerhookon
Facebook: getyerhookon
Instagram: getyerhookon
Ravelry: getyarhookon
YouTube: getyarhookon

Until next time, stay safe, stay true, stay you and have a hooktastic day. 
Too-da-loo for now.

🧶🧶🧶