Feel free to pin the picture above to Pinterest or share the picture on other social media with a link to this page, so other crocheters can know about this free pattern too.

Free Pattern for a Crocheted Blanket

Pattern directions written by Sandi Marshall

You could have a lot of fun trying out different color combinations with this pattern. You could make it all in one solid color or alternate colors like I did in the example that I made, shown in the photo.

It’s an easy pattern to memorize so once you’re comfortable with it, you don’t have to keep looking back at the directions constantly.

I named it Fun Shells because I personally have a lot of fun with this stitch sequence. I enjoy crocheting this pattern so once I start, I don’t want to put it down and when I finished crocheting this afghan, I wanted to start right in on another one!

I hope you will enjoy it as well.

The stitch sequence is a simple variation that I thought of for the antique solid shell stitch (although I’m sure that many crocheters could easily think up the same thing or close to the same thing by starting with the traditional antique solid shell stitch and varying it). I like this way one step better than the
antique solid shell stitch because it makes a little gap between the stitches, giving it more of a lacy look than the look that happens with the traditional solid shell stitch. I wrote my directions out to make this easy for you to make for yourself.

The repeat is 6 stitches wide. So if you want to make a smaller crocheted piece, subtract from the starting chain in any multiple of 6 (a multiple of 6 means multiplying any number times 6 such as 6 x 2 = 12, etc). If you want to make a larger crocheted piece, add to the starting chain in any multiple of 6. I wrote the directions in such a way that they will work with any starting chain that you come up with.

Materials Used in The Example: Worsted weight yarn, US size H crochet hook. If you have something different in mind, simply substitute materials of your own choice to result in a different look or size.

When made with the materials used in my example, the afghan is about 45 inches long and 32 inches wide.

Pattern Note: In row 4 and in repeats of that row, where the pattern says to sc in last dc, that dc is actually the ch-3 that started the row before, so it looks different than the other double crochet stitches (but it counts as a double crochet) so you will make the sc in the top chain of that chain-3 (as if it were the top of a double crochet stitch).

Abbreviations: ch = chain, ch-1 sp = chain-1 space, dc = double crochet, ea = each, sc = single crochet, sl st = slip stitch, sp = space

In this pattern, a shell is made up of (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) all made in one same place.

These directions are written in American English crochet pattern terms.

Starting Chain: 110 chains (used for the example) or come up with your own starting chain length, adding or subracting from this starting chain in any multiple of 6.

Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in ea ch across.

Row 2: ch 1 to turn, sc in first sc, * skip next 2 sc, make (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) all in next sc, skip next 2 sc, sc in next sc **, repeat the directions between * and ** as many times as needed to go across the row.

Row 3: ch 3 (counts as first dc), 2 dc in first st (same place where ch-3 was just made, in other words, you will be making these two dc in the stitch at the base of that ch-3 that you just made), * ch 1, skip next 2 dc, sc in the ch-1 sp in the center of the shell, ch 1, skip next 2 dc, 3 dc in next sc **, repeat the directions between * and ** as many times as needed to go across the row.

Row 4: ch 1 to turn, sc in first dc, skip next 2 dc, skip ch-1, * make (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) all in next sc, skip ch-1, skip next dc, sc in next dc, skip next dc, skip ch-1 **, repeat the directions between * and ** as many times as needed to go across the row, until only 1 sc and the 3 dc at the end of the row remain, then make (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) all in next sc, skip ch-1, skip next 2 dc, sc in last dc.

Rows to follow: Repeat Rows 3 and 4 as many times as needed to reach the size that you want. If you began with a starting chain different than 110 chains, use your own judgement on the number of rows to do to get the result that you want for the size crocheted piece that you have in mind.

If you want to do something similar to the colors example that I have shown, here are instructions for the number of rows that I did for the wide color stripes:

Starting with a tan color, after the first row in single crochet, I did 9 pattern rows by doing rows 2 – 4 then repeating rows 3 and 4 three times.

Next, with white yarn, I repeated rows 3 and 4 five times.

Then, with a browns and blues multicolor, I repeated rows 3 and 4 five times.

I alternated back to white yarn and repeated rows 3 and 4 five times.

Continuing to repeat rows 3 and 4 five times for each color,
I used these colors in this order:
dark brown, then back to white, a blue-green (robin’s egg blue) color, then back to white again, ending with the same color that I started with, which was tan.

At the end, do one more row following the Row 3 directions (to have a more even edge at the top) then make a final row all in single crochet, making one single crochet in each dc and in each sc (but skip each chain-1). Directions for that final row are: ch 1 to turn, sc in each of first 3 dc, * skip ch-1, sc in next sc, skip ch-1, sc in ea of next 3 dc **, repeat the directions between * and ** as many times as needed to go across the row.

If you wish, you could continue around the other three sides of the afghan in single crochet (with extra stitches in each corner as you come to it, such as a few chains or sc, ch 2, sc in the corner; use your favorite method), to have an outside finishing round of single crochet made in which to work an edging.

Maybe you’ll want to have the fun of trying out different color combinations with this pattern, making your color stripes narrower or wider (or the same as in the example). Have tons of fun!

The edging that I made up to go on this afghan I called: Easy Slightly Scalloped Narrow Edging. You can get those free pattern directions on this page:
www.sandimarshall.com/easy-slightly-scalloped-narrow-edging

Copyright: My written directions and my pattern photos are copyrighted and are not to be reproduced elsewhere (in print or on the Internet), without my permission. Instead, you may give the url for this pattern page to anyone that you think would like to have the pattern so that they may come to this site for themselves. You may link to this page, if you wish to (you don’t have to ask me if you can link to it, you can just go ahead and do it, so others can benefit from this pattern too).

Of course, you may print out this page for your own personal use.

If you wish to, the pattern photo at the top of this page may be pinned on Pinterest with a link back to this page.

Finding yarn online: I have some small and some large photos and descriptions of some yarns to help you become familiar with some of the different yarns that are available, see: www.sandimarshall.com/yarn

Home Page: SandiMarshall.com