Crochet Blanket Edging Tutorial - Bird Foot Stitch

Hi my lovelies
Thank you so much for all the flattering comments my Circle In Square Blanket in my previous post. It is really a gem I have to admit, I think it is the light colors and the duck egg blue that does the trick really. And the edging.

Today I'm sharing a tutorial for the edging as promised. I tried numerous edgings and border ideas for this blanket but in the end I just wanted something really simple. So once again, after rows of fiddling with lace edging pattern, I decided on making small "bird feet". I think the stitch is called Crow's Foot Stitch in real crochet terms. I have modified and improvised the original stitch until it came out the way I wanted it. I call this stitch "The Bird Foot Stitch" based on that it looks like a foot of a bird clinging onto the edging of my blanket. Ok, are you ready? Lets do this.
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THE BIRD FOOT CROCHET STITCH - A Crochet Blanket Edging Tutorial

Yarn:
I have used DK weight yarn from my stash. All amounts are approximate.
• 200g of Merino 120 from Lang, color 174 at Loveknitting.com (Duck egg blue)
• 100g of Acrylic DK weight from my stash, no brand (White)
• 50g of Special DK acrylic from Stylecraft, color Pomegranate 1083 at Woolwarehouse.com (Berry red)

Abbreviations in UK terms:ch - chain
tr - treble
dc - double crochet

Special stitches:
Granny cluster = group of 3tr (UK) in same stitch/space.

STEP 1 - DUCK EGG BLUE GRANNY CLUSTERS

Join duck egg blue yarn in any space between granny clusters (not between blocks) after you have joined all squares of your blanket. I joined at the middle of my second square before a corner.

Ch3 (counts as first tr), make 2tr in same space (first granny cluster), continue to make granny clusters (3tr in same space) in every space between granny clusters until you arrive to the joining  between crochet blocks.

At join make 1tr in the first block's corner space - bridge over with a tr2tog (1tr in first block's corner together with 1tr in following block's corner) - make 1tr in the following block's corner, makes a total of 3 stitches over the joining = 1 cluster. Great picture tutorial here.

In every corner make 3tr - ch3 - 3tr. 

Make a total of 8 rows.

STEP 2 - WHITE BORDER BASE
Join white yarn in any stitch approx. 4 inches/10 cm before or after a corner. Ch1, make 1dc in every stitch around the blanket. Make 3dc in every corner stitch.

Make a total of 5 rows.

STEP 3 - THE BIRD FOOT STITCH 

It is hard to describe exactly how to make this stitch with only words, but I hope that my pictures will help you, see an X that marks out which stitch to insert your hook into.

Simply put, the pattern is Bird Foot Stitch - dc in next 6 stitches - Bird Foot Stitch etc all around the blanket. Adjust the amount of dc's when getting to the corners if needed, and make your Bird Foot Stitch in every corner stitch.

Start:
Join with berry red yarn in 7th stitch after any corner stitch, make a dc in same stitch and in next 5 stitches (total of 6dc made).

Picture 1:
Yarn over (2 loops on hook), insert hook in stitch below in previous row below your stitch  and pull up a loop (3 loops on hook).

Picture 2:
Yarn over (4 loops on hook), insert hook in stitch below in 2 rows below and pull up a loop (5 loops on hook). 

Picture 3:
Yarn over (6 loops on hook), insert hook in stitch below in previous row below and pull up a loop (7 loops on hook). 

Picture 4:
Fetch yarn and pull through all loops. Make dc in next 6 stitches. Continue with bird foot stitch - dc in next 6 stitches etc. all around the blanket, finish with a slip stitch into your first dc made. Fasten off yarn and Voila! Your blanket is done. Hope you found this tutorial helpful. Good luck and thanks for popping by today. Tomorrow I'll share a full colour palette for this blanket as well. Stay tuned...

Kärlek
Annette

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