I have a confession to make: I can’t crochet in a straight line. I can do all sorts of special stitches. I can crochet small. I can crochet large. BUT if I try to do nothing but a straight line it ends up all wonky. I lose stitches, I add stitches. It’s really a mess.

My Solution: The ripple blanket.

I’ve been praised for my ability to do something more than just a regular double crochet blanket, but I’ll let you in on a little secret. It’s easier to crochet a pattern. If I were to crochet a straight blanket, I might have to count to 140 or 210 or higher for every single row. When crocheting a ripple, I only have to count to three or five or seven or 13. Then I do something crazy like crochet two together, skip a stitch or crochet three stitches in one. Then, I count to three or five or seven or 13 again and keep going.

If this is your first time crocheting a ripple pattern, you do have to be careful of the edges–that they don’t look messy. With a little bit of practice, you will have even edges and won’t need a border.

Once you get the hang of the ripple, you can add fun little touches to fancy it up a bit. Check out some different ripple patterns here and here. If you do decide to mix things up with a bit of rippling crochet, post a picture of your creation in the comments.