Make a quick crochet baby blanket, an easy crochet throw, or a full size crochet afghan blanket in the easy crochet shell stitch pattern with these simple instructions and video tutorial by Marly Bird. Yes, crochet a blanket of any size!

Choose any worsted weight yarn and hook size for that yarn, then follow along with the the pattern to get your gauge, do a little math (don’t worry, I walk you through it) for the size you want to make and voila, you will have a crochet blanket you love in no time!

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SPECIAL ABBREVIATIONS

NOTES

• The stitch multiple is 6 (+2 for chain)
• Work row 1 in back bump of the chain stitch to create a nice edge of the pattern but it is not mandatory
• Ch 3 at start of row 3 counts as a double crochet

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Easy Crochet Shell Stitch Pattern

Instructions

Chain a multiple of 6 + 2

Row 1 (RS): Sc in 2nd ch from hook in the back bump of the ch, * skip 2 ch, 5 dc in next ch, skip 2 ch, sc in next ch; repeat from * to end. Ch 3, turn.

Row 2 (WS): 2 dc in first sc, * skip 2 dc, sc in next dc, skip 2 dc, 5 dc in next sc; repeat from * to last 6 stitches, skip 2 dc, sc in next dc, skip 2 dc, 3 dc in last sc of row. Ch 1, turn.

Row 3 (RS): Sc in first dc, * skip 2 dc, 5 dc in next sc, skip 2 dc, sc in next dc; repeat from * to end of row. Ch 3, turn.

Repeat rows 2 and 3 for the pattern, ending after a row 3.

Easy Crochet Shell Stitch Pattern Video

How To Use Stitch Pattern to Make a Blanket

Now that you can crochet the easy crochet shell stitch pattern, with a little math you can turn it into a blanket of any size as long as you know your gauge and the size blanket you want to make.

Gauge is a word that not many people understand but it is as simple as this: If you are crocheting the shell stitch pattern and your piece has a repeat that measures 2″, then for each repeat across the row your piece will increase by 2″. Therefore, if you have 10 repeats, you can calculate that 10 repeats x 2″ per repeat = 20″ wide. Yes, it is that simple.

Once you know your gauge, you need to know how many chains to do for a blanket 20″ wide. So, you calculate 6 chains for each repeat and you want 10 repeats … 6 x 10 = 60 chains, PLUS 2 chains at the end = 62 chains needed to make a blanket that is 20″ wide.

See, you can do this! Now you can use the chart to pick a size blanket you want to make and follow these instructions:

• Choose the size you want to make (example baby blanket): 30″ wide
• Know your stitch repeat gauge: 1 repeat = 2″
• Calculate how many repeats need to get the size blanket size you chose: 30″ wide / 2″ per repeat = 16 repeats
• Calculate how many chains you need for 16 repeats: 6 chains per repeat * 16 repeats = 96 chains + 2 chains = 98 chains needed.
• Now, make your blanket!

Just as a side note, the same type of calculations can be done with any stitch pattern not just the easy crochet shell stitch pattern. This is the basic math used by designers to make patterns.

Shell I Crochet a Blanket Pattern

In the video I show the baby blanket I made using an ombre yarn. To get that pattern (and downloadable PDF) click here. *coming soon*