I’ve decided that for 2021 I’m making a temperature blanket. If you don’t know what a temperature blanket is, it’s a blanket that you make over the course of an entire year. Each day, you crochet a row of the blanket with the colour of the yarn you use that day dictated by the temperature. Before beginning the blanket you assign one colour of yarn for different temperature ranges – usually blues and greens for colder and reds and oranges for warmer. I’ll be using Stylecraft Special DK for my temperature 2021 temperature blanket as there is a wide selection of colours to choose from. You can choose whether to use the highest or lowest temperature from that day or use the temperature from the same time each day. You don’t have to use the temperature from the current year either, you can use https://www.wunderground.com/history to find the weather from any year and location so you could make a temperature blanket representing your year of birth, the year you got married or any significant year of your life.
I started a crochet temperature blanket a few years back and really enjoyed seeing it grow slowly over time. However, I got to around March and realised that if I continued the blanket was going to be huge! As I was still fairly new to crochet at the time I hadn’t done any calculations before starting and I wasn’t following a pattern. I didn’t want a blanket that was going to be 8ft long so I scrapped the project. I’ve decided 2021 is the year I’m trying again and I’m doing lots of planning in advance to make sure I don’t run into the same problem as last time. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the colours I want to use, I’m not overly fond of the bright rainbow colours often seen in temperature blankets so I have been looking into alternatives. I’ve considered pastel colours or the idea of using one colour but in lots of different shades. For example, if I chose blue, I could use light blues for colder temps and darker blues for warmer temps.
I think for my temperature blanket I’m probably going to do my own pattern but, I’ve researched other temperature blanket crochet patterns whilst planning and have come across some really interesting ones, which led me to make this list. I was familiar with the standard striped temperature blankets but also found patterns made from squares, triangles and also Tunisian crochet patterns. I had no idea there were so many different types of temperature blankets and it’s given me a lot to think about when designing my own.
I hope this list helps you find the perfect temperature blanket, let me know in the comments which one you’ll be making in 2021!
Temperature Blanket
Link: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/temperature-blanket-7
Price: Free!
If you’ve never made a temperature blanket before, this pattern is a great place to start. It’s the standard striped temperature blanket, using just one stitch working back and forth. The pattern recommends using Stylecraft Special DK which is a personal favourite of mine!
Temperature Blanket Squared
Link: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/temperature-blanket-squared
Price: Free
This first pattern doesn’t just record one temperature – it shows the high and low temp as well as whether there was rain or snow on that day. Each of the squares represents a day so I imagine the blanket would get very big, especially if you’re using a thicker yarn.
Gradient Tunisian Temperature Blanket
by Amy Minard
Link: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/gradient-tunisian-temperature-blanket
Price: $6.00
This one is a Tunisian crochet temperature blanket and it’s made in nine separate panels which are joined together. I really like the colours the designer has chosen for this blanket.
CrochetKim Birth Temperature Blanket
by Kim Guzman
Link:https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/crochetkim-birth-temperature-blanket
Price: Free!
The zig-zag stripes of this blanket make it way more interesting than the standard striped temperature blanket patterns. The colours used in this one – especially the variegated yarn (Stylecraft Batik) work really well.
C2C Temperature Blanket MAL 2018
Link: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/c2c-temperature-blanket-mal-2018
Price: Free!
C2C crochet blankets are very popular so of course, there’s a temperature blanket pattern! It’s similar to the standard striped temperature blanket we’re used to seeing but the stripes are diagonal instead of vertical.
Split-Square Temperature Blanket
Price: $1.99
This one is really interesting, each of those big squares represents a month, each round within the square is a day. Half of the round is made using a colour to represent the high temp and the other half is the low temp. This pattern calls for Paintbox Simply Aran, a great inexpensive choice for a large project like this.
Mitred square temperature blanket
Link: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mitred-square-temperature-blanket
Price: Free!
Mitred squares are used to make this blanket. The middle of the square represents the amount of rainfall, the next row is the low temp and the new two rows are the high temp.
Neil’s temperature blanket
Link: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/neils-temperature-blanket
Price: Free!
This temperature blanket pattern caught my eye as it looks really different to the other ones I’ve seen. It’s made from lots of hexagons, each one being made of both high and low colour temperatures. This patterns also includes instructions for leap years.
Diamond Temperature Blanket
by Abby Fahmi
Link: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/diamond-temperature-blanket
Price: Free!
This temperature blanket crochet pattern take the standard temperature blanket and adds a twist. It has a textured diamond pattern, which is really easy to do. Also this blanket has a fringe which mean there’s no ends to weave in!
claudey’s Temperature Blanket
by Erin Terry
Link: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/claudeys-temperature-blanket
Price: Free!
The final pattern is another one which has it’s own take on the standard temperature blanket. It uses front loop only single crochets and slip stitches to give the blanket a really nice texture.
