Mar
Getting Started With The Ripple Thing
So I made my first ripple blanket in spring 2022 when I was stuck at home with a sprained ankle and needed something to do that wasn’t scrolling through my phone. The wave pattern looks complicated but it’s literally just increasing and decreasing in the same row over and over, which sounds boring but it’s actually kind of perfect because you don’t have to think too much once you get the rhythm down.
You’re gonna need a foundation chain that’s a multiple of your pattern repeat. Most ripple patterns work in multiples of 12 or 14 stitches, plus a few extra for turning. I usually do 14 stitch repeats because it makes a nice wave that’s not too pointy. So like if you want a throw blanket size you’d chain maybe 182 stitches (that’s 13 repeats of 14). Don’t stress too much about getting it exactly right because honestly you can fudge it a bit.
The Basic Pattern Structure
Each row creates one wave by doing increases at the peaks and decreases at the valleys. Here’s what one repeat looks like and you just do this over and over across the row:
- 3 double crochet in one stitch (this makes the peak)
- 6 regular double crochet stitches
- Skip 2 stitches or do a decrease (this makes the valley)
- 6 more regular double crochet stitches
That’s it. That’s the whole pattern. You chain 2 or 3 at the beginning of each row to count as your first double crochet, then you just repeat that sequence until you reach the end.
Yarn Selection And Why It Matters More Than You Think
I used Red Heart Super Saver for that first blanket because I had a bunch of it already and it’s cheap. The colorway was Mulit something, I think it was called Favorite Stripe? It worked fine but the blanket came out kind of stiff. For my second attempt in summer 2024 I used Caron Simply Soft in like four different colors and it was SO much better, way more drapey and soft obviously.
The thing that really annoyed me about the whole process was how the edges never stayed straight no matter what I did. Like the sides would get wavy and weird and I’d count my stitches and recount them and they’d be right but it still looked wonky. I think it has something to do with tension at the beginning and end of rows but I never totally figured it out, I just learned to live with slightly wavy edges and told myself it added character or whatever.
Starting Your Foundation
Chain your total number. Let’s say you’re doing 182 like I mentioned. Now here’s where people mess up – you need to work your first row into the foundation chain and it’s easy to lose track of where you are. I put stitch markers every 14 chains just to keep myself honest.
First row: Chain 2 more (this counts as first dc). Now you’re working into the 4th chain from hook. Do 1 dc in that chain, then 1 dc in next chain. Now 3 dc all in the next single chain – that’s your first peak. Then 6 regular dc, one in each chain. Then skip 2 chains (or you can dc2tog which means double crochet 2 together if you prefer that look). Then 6 more dc, then 3 dc in one chain for the next peak. Keep going.
Color Changes And Stripe Planning
If you want stripes you change color at the end of a row. When you’re doing the last stitch of the row, pull through with the new color on that final yarn over. It’s cleaner than starting the new row with new color. I did 2 rows of each color for my Caron blanket – dark grey, light grey, cream, and this dusty blue color.
You can also do the whole thing in one color which is actually really pretty and shows off the texture more, but I got bored with that after like 15 rows and started adding in random colors from my stash. My cat kept laying on the blanket while I was trying to work on it which didn’t help.
Tension Issues And The Struggle
Your tension is gonna be all over the place at first. The peaks want to be too tight and the valleys too loose, or maybe that’s just me. I found that I had to consciously keep my stitches looser than normal or the whole thing would start to curl up into this taco shape. If your blanket is curling, go up a hook size. I started with a 5mm hook (H) and ended up switching to 5.5mm (I) after like 20 rows and just accepted that the beginning looked different.
Some people say you should block ripple blankets but I’ve literally never done that and they turn out fine. They relax after you wash them anyway.
The Actual Stitch Breakdown For People Who Need Details
Okay so let me break down the stitches more specifically because the way I explained it before might be confusing:
- Chain your foundation in multiples of 14 plus 3 for turning
- Row 1: Ch 2, dc in 4th ch from hook, dc in next ch, *3 dc in next ch, dc in next 6 ch, skip 2 ch, dc in next 6 ch, repeat from * across, end with 2 dc in last 2 ch
- Row 2: Ch 2, turn, dc in first 2 stitches, *3 dc in next st, dc in next 6 st, skip 2 st, dc in next 6 st, repeat from * across, end with dc in last 2 st
- Repeat row 2 forever until it’s as long as you want
The ending is always a little weird because you’re trying to make the edge straight while keeping the wave pattern going, so I usually just fudge it and do whatever makes it look relatively straight.
Common Problems I’ve Had
Sometimes you’ll accidentally skip the first stitch after your turning chain and your blanket will start getting narrower. This happened to me constantly until I started really paying attention to that first stitch. Put a marker in it if you need to.
The waves might not line up perfectly and that’s actually normal. Like if you hold it up and the peaks aren’t exactly stacked that’s okay, it still looks good from a distance. I was watching The Bear while making my second blanket and got so distracted during one episode that I did like 3 peaks in a row instead of alternating peaks and valleys, had to rip out the whole row.
Also your stitch count can be off by one or two and you might not even notice until several rows later when suddenly nothing lines up anymore. I gotta be honest, sometimes I just added or skipped a stitch to make it work rather than frogging back.
How Big To Make It
For a baby blanket I’d do like 6-8 repeats across (so 84-112 chains) and work until it’s like 30-35 inches long. For a throw blanket maybe 10-13 repeats (140-182 chains) and work it to 50-60 inches. For a full size bed blanket you’d want like 15-17 repeats but honestly that’s a lot of chains to start with and I’ve never been that ambitious.
The blanket grows pretty fast once you get going, which is satisfying. Like you can do several rows in an hour once you’re not constantly counting anymore. My spring 2022 blanket took maybe 2 weeks of casual evening crochet, probably 15-20 hours total? I wasn’t timing it or anything.
Finishing The Thing
When it’s long enough just fasten off and weave in your ends. I don’t usually add a border because I think it looks fine without one, but you could do single crochet around the whole thing if you want it more finished looking. The edges are already defined by the wave pattern so a border seems like extra work for not much payoff.
If you did stripes you’ll have a million ends to weave in and it’s gonna take forever. I just put on a podcast and dealt with it. Some people crochet over their ends as they go but I always forget to do that until I’m already three stitches past where I should have started.
The pattern is pretty forgiving overall, like if you mess up one repeat it kind of just blends in with the waves anyway. It’s a good project for when you want something mindless but not boring, if that makes sense. And people are always impressed by ripple blankets even though they’re actually way easier than they look.
