Don’t be intimidated by the crochet hook seaming. The hook makes it simple to join and also even. We found it was easier to join the blocks horizontal making them 5 strips and then joining them down the strips to seam the blanket. Here’s how:

Slip Stitch Crochet Seaming Video

The toughest part of the border might be picking up the stitches EVENLY. Some of you might want to use math and divide the number of stitches on each block to get the total number needed but what I found easiest is to use a latching stitch marker to mark the middle of the block, then divide it again in half so it’s broken into 4 sections. I can set this up first and just worry about the blocks one at a time.

Once they are in place, divide the number of stitches per block so, 45/4 = 11.25 sts per 4th of a block. And, then work across the row to pick up the stitches. This keeps me from adding some too close together or too far apart. Also, by dividing the stitches per block, I can concentrate on each block and make it even throughout and am less subject to the type of fabric as in cables vs. lace vs. colorwork.

Here is a video to show you how to pick up stitches neatly along the edge for the border:

Picking up Stitches for Border Video

If you have left over yarn for any of the other colors and want to add them to your finished blanket, note how much you have before you begin. We’ve added all the colors as we felt it made our finished afghan more complete. Remember this is all up to you and the true beauty of a KAL is to be creative and make it your own!

To give a more consistent edge, pin each end/edge of 2 of the blocks together. Then, put pins in across the edge you are working on periodically across the block to hold them in place. The distance is more important than the number of stitches ratio you use. For example if you are seaming a block that has 64 sts across with one that has 54 sts you can’t seam 1:1 stitch ratio. It might be a 1:3 ratio or even a 1:5 ratio instead (depending on the block).

The other question is how well do your blocks “play” together. Will they line up or is there a huge difference in size. A block that is 12 x 12 is going to pucker and bulge next to a block that is 10 x 10. All of the blocks were pre-blocked by themselves first before seaming together. The edges have been lightly blocked. Any blocks that didn’t fit because they had either shrunk down in size over time or we felt wouldn’t fit as nicely in the afghan were re-knit. We also “practiced” the seaming technique on a few knitted pieces to figure out the consistency of stitches.

The 2 additional colors were knit in 2 row repeats. The amount of yarn used was approx. 41.07 grams for the 2 row colors and 61.60 grams for the 3 row colors. The 3 rows are including the pick up row plus 2 knit rows and the 2 rows + Bind off. Your amounts may vary depending on your gauge and ultimate size of blocks.

You can always join the blocks with the garter stitch edge and separate them or make them all have a crocheted border. If you are finding your border starts to ripple, if it’s not much, lightly steaming will help. If it’s really rippling, go down a needle size or 2 and redo. The placement is just a suggestion, too! We can’t wait to see your finished afghan!