When we got Stylecraft Candy Swirl DK in a couple of weeks ago both Rosie and I were itching to get started with it.
I tried a couple of things but wasn't happy with either of them, until I settled on a waffle stitch pattern. I'd been wanting to make something in waffle stitch for a while, and thought that the length of colour change on this yarn would be perfect to give it a little excitement.
So first, the yarn. Stylecraft Candy Swirl DK comes in gorgeous colourways inspired by sweet treats. It's £6.75 for 150g, so good value, and is deceptively soft and really nice to work with, exactly what you'd expect from Stylecraft. If you've not seen this yarn before check out our review.
Now, on to the stitch. Waffle stitch is one of those stitches that looks really complicated and impressive, but is actually really easy once you get into it.
The pattern runs in repetitions of 3. For one row you will do two double crochet stitches then one FPdc. This gives you the outline of your waffle squares. For the next row you will do one dc then two FPdc. This gives you the indented part of your waffle squares. These two rows set your pattern. That's literally all there is to it!
To do the FPdc you yarn over, then instead of going into the top of the stitch from the previous row you go around the back of it. Pull the yarn through and complete your dc as normal. That's it, much easier than it looks.
Once you have your stitch pattern going you can make your blanket as big as you like.
Here are a few photos of the finished article. I'm really pleased with how it turned out.
If you want to make your own waffle stitch baby blanket you can get the pdf for free here.