Red Plaid Blanket Crocheted Pin Free Pattern

Introduction

This little crocheted pin is shaped like a folded camp blanket, the kind you'd drape over a bunk at a mountain cabin. It's a flat square worked in simple single crochet stripes of red and cream, with a short row of chain loops along one edge to suggest a wool fringe. Because it's only 10 stitches wide and 10 rows tall, it's a perfect first project, a scrap-yarn stash buster, or a quick gift you can finish in under an hour. The finished piece is tiny, soft, and slightly rustic, and it looks charming pinned to a jacket, a beanie, or a canvas bag.

Materials Needed

• Yarn: (3) Light/DK weight cotton or acrylic. Color A (red): 10 yd. Color B (cream): 8 yd.
• Hook: 2.75 mm (US C/2).
• Notions: Tapestry needle for weaving in ends and sewing on the pin back; one metal pin back (bar pin or brooch back); scissors.
• Finished size: Approximately 1.75 inches (4.5 cm) square, excluding fringe.

Abbreviations

• ch – chain: yarn over and pull through the loop on your hook.
• sc – single crochet: insert hook in stitch, yarn over, pull up a loop, yarn over, pull through both loops.
• sl st – slip stitch: insert hook in stitch, yarn over, pull through both the stitch and the loop on your hook.
• st(s) – stitch(es).
• rep – repeat.

Gauge

24 sts and 24 rows = 4 inches (10 cm) in single crochet. To check, work a small swatch in sc and measure a 4-inch section; if you have more stitches than 24, go up a hook size, and if you have fewer, go down.

Tips Before You Start

• Keep your tension even and slightly firm so the square stays flat and doesn't curl at the edges.
• Change colors on the last yarn-over of the final stitch of a row so the new color begins cleanly at the start of the next row.
• Don't cut the old color after every stripe if you like; you can carry it loosely up the side, but for a neat finish it's easiest to fasten off and rejoin.
• Work the fringe loops loosely so they hang softly rather than pulling the edge tight.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Square (worked flat in rows)

With Color A, ch 11.

Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across (10 sc).

Row 2: Ch 1, turn, sc in each st across (10 sc).

Change to Color B.

Rows 3-4: Ch 1, turn, sc in each st across (10 sc).

Change to Color A.

Rows 5-6: Ch 1, turn, sc in each st across (10 sc).

Change to Color B.

Rows 7-8: Ch 1, turn, sc in each st across (10 sc).

Change to Color A.

Rows 9-10: Ch 1, turn, sc in each st across (10 sc).

Fasten off.

Fringe (along one short edge)

With Color A, join yarn at the corner of one short edge (one of the 10-stitch-wide edges).

Fringe row: *Ch 5, sl st in next st; rep from * across the edge (5 loops).

Fasten off.

Assembly and Finishing

Weave in all ends on the wrong side with your tapestry needle. Sew the pin back securely to the center of the wrong side of the square, stitching through the bar openings and catching only the back layer of fabric so the front stays clean. Block lightly: mist the square with water, press it flat with your fingers or pin it to a towel, and let it dry completely so the edges lie straight and the fringe loops relax.

Pro Tips and Variations

• Swap the stripe colors for any two shades you love, such as green and cream for a forest look or blue and gray for a lake cabin feel.
• Add a second fringe row along the opposite short edge for a more balanced blanket look.
• Make a matching set in different colorways and attach them to a card as tiny handmade gifts.