Babette Blanket

Yes, this blanket is beautiful in the suggested yarn. Many of us cannot afford to make a blanket for $300, especially one that's not very big at all. There are many, many gorgeous Babettes crocheted with a huge variety of yarns other than Koigu. Mine is done in acrylic, and although I'm still stitching it together, it's stunning. Many are done in much less expensive wool, cotton, and acrylic, in a huge variety of colors. For those who can afford to spend $300 on a small blanket, more power to you, but no one should hold back from using this awesome pattern due to the belief that it won't be good enough if you don't use Koigu or even natural fibers!

(Posted on 3/2/12)

This is the only granny-square based project I've ever done. My husband's cousin married an Indian woman and the wedding had so many beautiful colors that when I saw this pattern I had to make it for them. It also reminded me of a granny square afghan that my great aunt had made. I remember staying up at night as a child looking at all of the colorful squares on my bed, trying to find two that matched. Aunt Anna used scraps from leftover projects (hence all the colors). I used Caron Simply Soft (for cost reasons) and the blanket came out beautiful- I almost hated to give it up. However, now our cousins have two adorable twins and I hope they'll have as much fun with the blanket I made as I did when I was little!

(Posted on 1/3/12)

This is so beautiful... it reminds me of a Klimp Background, perhaps I will get around to making it one day. ;-))

(Posted on 9/1/11)

The Babette uses Koigu yarn. It's wonderful. It's beautiful. It's expensive. It's a joy to work with. Using other yarns does not produce the same quality or look. If you want to crochet a "granny square" blanket use any yarn you want, but the Babette uses Koigu.

(Posted on 6/4/11)

but who needs a pattern?...the photo tells ALL!

(Posted on 3/19/11)

May I suggest you check out the yarns at knitpicks.com. Palette and Wool of the Andes have many, many colors at reasonable prices. I made this afghan with Palette even though the gauge is very different. It is my experience that a pattern like this is adaptable to any yarn or needle size. (Just make a few extra squares)

(Posted on 1/1/11)

I''m French and I''ve bought this beautifull pattern but unfortunatly, event if I have help for translating all the special word, I can not do anything. My English is not good enough. ould it be possible to find "draws" of those squares? It''d easier for me!!!

(Posted on 10/17/10)

I actually took a section of this blanket and adapted it into a baby blanket. I used very washable baby friendly yarns in bright colors. The result was amazing. It is really easy to make the squares, but it is very time consuming.

(Posted on 10/16/10)

I hooked a rug in a version of this pattern which I found in one of Kaffe Fassette''s earlier books. The end result is spectacular, but it is not simple to make, largely because you not only have to have all the colors, you have to keep them cohesive with the surrounding colors as you work. Also, you need to keep track of value as well as color, so you don''t end up with a mish mash with dark and light so scattered that it looks like a mess, rather than a masterpiece. Working in apparently random style is considerably more difficult than working to a consistent pattern. That said, the result can be amazing. One of the other reviewers mentioned seeing a similar pattern in a magazine from the 1970s. Reminds me of the crochet patterns in a book called "Not Your Mother''s Crochet" virtually all of which are identical to patterns found in McCall''s Needlework and Crafts from the 1960s and 70s. Perhaps it could have been called "Your Grandmother''s Crochet" depending upon the age of the crocheter. However it was arrived at - seemed pretty arrogant and assumed no one older than 25 would ever see the book! So, be prepared for all the "innovative" crochet patterns to look familiar to anyone over 50.

(Posted on 9/21/10)

@Country Crocheter Kathy: which yarn did you find that you substituted? I couldn''t find one with a close enough gauge and all of the colors needed. Thanks.

(Posted on 9/9/10)

I was so excited to find this pattern - but quickly discovered it''s impossible to find all of those wonderful colors and the price of the yarn- oh la la! . . . . . not the patterns fault - just turned out to be not very practical . . . . I''ll redirect my thoughts and start saving scrap yarn as suggested by another review. But the beauty of this project really is found in the wonderful color combinations! Maybe some day . . . . . I''m saving the pattern!

(Posted on 7/20/10)

I bought the yarn for this pattern through Knitpicks and the cost was less than $45, and I will have plenty of leftovers for another project. In fact, I added a couple extra balls to get free shipping. The color pattern is amazing, it''s an easy project that makes an heirloom.

(Posted on 7/13/10)

I loved the retro look of this, but when I counted the skeins of yarn needed (22 total), and I Internet shopped the price--it would cost in the neighborhood of $300.00 (yes, 300) to make this. I get very disappointed by projects like this.

(Posted on 5/7/10)

Almost every style/design has a comeback and I think that Fassett is an innovative designer, but this design was in an issue of Woman's Day in the late 1960's, early 1970's. I still have the one that I made. Love it and it's a great way to rid of scrap yarn. Of course the Babette is not an exact copy, but close enough.

(Posted on 5/6/10)