I love crocheting blankets. I do it more than anything else, but it’s time consuming. A blanket can be worked on for weeks or months or years.

I made a goal to donate more blankets to the local pregnancy center (see this post from last year), but I wanted quantity. Something that would work up quickly. Thus the Four-Hour Blanket was born.

So, you may be wondering what an “Oh, No!” blanket is. An “Oh, No!” blanket is perfect for the baby shower you forgot about until the night before. Or when your husband comes home from work and mentions that it would be nice if you made a blanket for his co-worker’s wife who just had a baby. It can be made quickly, but is still homemade. A thoughtful gift.

This blanket took me a under four hours to make, but I assume I’m a fast crocheter, so I rounded up. It’s not big–the final measurement is 24″ x 28″. Bernat Baby Blanket Yarn is washable, super-soft, and comes in a variety of colors. I bought two Big Balls, but only used 3/4 of one and less than half of the other.

Four-Hour Blanket

Yarn:  I used two 10.5 oz. balls of Bernat Baby Blanket yarn.

Hook: K-hook

Finished size: 24″ x 28″

Stitches: This blanket uses the chain stitch (ch), half-double crochet (hdc), and single crochet (sc).

Row 1: With color A, ch 56. Hdc in third st from hook and each st across. (55 hdc) Change to color B in the last st.

Row 2: Ch 2, turn. Hdc in next st. [Ch 1, sk st, hdc in next st] across to last st. Hdc in last st.  Note: The last hdc is the ch 2 from the previous row here and throughout.

Row 3: Ch 3, turn. Hdc in next ch 1 space. [Ch 1, sk st, hdc in next space] across.

Row 4: Ch 2, turn. Hdc in next st. [Ch 1, sk st, hdc in next space] across. Hdc in last st.

Row 5: Repeat Row 3.

Row 6: Repeat Row 4.

Row 7: Repeat Row 3.

Row 8: Repeat Row 4, changing to Color A in last st.

Row 9: Ch 2, turn. Hdc in next st and each st and space across. (55 st.)

Row 10: Ch 2, turn. Hdc in next st and each st across. (55 st.)

Repeat rows 2-10 three times and then 2-9 once more.

Border

Beginning in any corner, Ch 1, 3 sc in corner st. Sc around blanket working 3 sc in each corner and working 2 sc in each row down the sides. Fasten off. Weave in ends.