Little Stars Baby Blankets

Make a soft crochet blanket with a sage frame and a cream field scattered with little blue-grey stars. One design, five sizes: a 12 inch lovey, a 30 inch square, a 30 by 35 inch stroller blanket, a 40 inch square and a 36 by 52 inch blanket the size of a crib mattress. Every size has its own chart and written rows, with the stitch count checked on every row.

The cream field is yours to change. Keep the stars, move them, or clear the field and chart your own design or a name. It is all single crochet in three colours, worked in flat rows from the bottom up, finished with one round of edging. There are no closures, ties, tassels or fringe.

You'll need:

• Soft, smooth, washable sport or baby weight yarn (category 2) in three colours: sage, cream and a light blue-grey
• A 3.75 mm crochet hook, or the size that gives you the gauge
• A yarn needle and scissors

Gauge: 18 single crochet and 20 rows = 4 inches, washed and blocked. Make and wash a swatch first. Sizes: Lovey 12 x 12 in; Security 30 x 30 in; Stroller 30 x 35 in; Receiving 40 x 40 in; Crib 36 x 52 in (the size of a crib mattress, for a nursery chair, a play mat or an older child's bed). Finished sizes are within half an inch at gauge.

Important Safety Notes#

Not for the sleep area: Keep this out of the crib, bassinet and play yard with a baby under 12 months, and do not use it for sleep. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises a "firm, flat sleep surface" and a "fitted sheet only", with nothing else in the crib.

Not for swaddling: This blanket is not made or sold for swaddling. Pediatric guidance is to stop swaddling when a baby starts to try to roll over, and never to use weighted blankets or weighted swaddles.

Car seat: Thick handmade clothes and blankets must not go between a baby and the car seat harness. Buckle the baby in first, then lay a blanket over the buckled harness. You should not be able to pinch any slack in the straps at the shoulder.

Yarn and care: Use soft, smooth, washable yarn that does not shed or fuzz, and wash a swatch first. Weave in every end and check inside the finished item for loose strands, which can wrap around a baby's fingers or toes. Wash inside out.

Close stitches: Work a firm, closely stitched fabric. Gaps and lacy openings can catch small fingers and toes.

Nothing dangling: Do not add pompoms, tassels, fringe, ribbons or bows.

If you sell what you make: Children's products sold in the US must meet CPSC rules, including testing, a Children's Product Certificate and a tracking label. Start at cpsc.gov.