Blankets & Afghans
A blanket is a commitment measured in weeks, so the two things that matter most are chosen before the first stitch: a yarn you'll still want to touch in month two, and a stitch pattern that stays interesting to repeat a few hundred times.
The patterns here give you the full starting chain and a repeat you can memorise, plus an honest yardage estimate and a note on how the fabric drapes. Where a blanket is worked in blocks or strips, the pattern says so up front - that changes how portable the project is.
Getting Blankets & Afghans right
Buy all the yarn at once, and check the dye lot
Skeins of the same colour from different dye lots can be visibly different in daylight, and the shift often only shows once the blanket is on a bed. Buy the whole quantity in one go, keep one ball band, and alternate skeins every couple of rows if you're worried.
Make a gauge swatch, then wash it
A blanket that's 10% off gauge is a foot too wide or a foot too short by the end. Crochet a swatch at least 6 inches square, wash and dry it the way you'll wash the blanket, then measure. Adjust your hook size, not your tension, until the numbers match.
Count your starting chain twice
The foundation chain is the one place an error costs you the whole first row. Count it, place a marker every 20 stitches, and count again after the first row of real stitches - it's much easier to add or unpick a few chains now than to notice the width is wrong at row 40.
Weave ends in as you change colour
A striped blanket can have fifty ends. Left to the finish, that's an evening of tedious work and a temptation to rush it. Weaving each end in along a row of the same colour as you go spreads the job out and makes it disappear into the fabric.
