Crochet Afghan

Quick Crochet Afghans

A crochet afghan is already a quick project, but some people (notably the folks a Lion Brand yarn) want to help you make the project even more quickly.

The company offers a pattern for a Five and a Half Hour Afghan (apparently clocked by the testers at Lion, and Michaels has a similar pattern that claims to take four and a half hours from start to finish.

The key to finishing an afghan quickly is much like the key to finishing any crochet project quickly: use big thread and a big hook. Fat thread crochets up much more quickly than fine thread, giving you almost instant gratification. A bigger hook means bigger loops, so fewer loops cover more ground and you can crochet more quickly.

If you’re looking for more quick-to-crochet patterns, check out the Mile-A-Minute Afghan, the Quick Crochet Blanket and the Quickie Ripple Throw.

Another thing many of these patterns have in common is that they are worked with more than one strand of thread at a time. This adds to the bulk, making crocheting quicker, and also makes for a warmer blanket when you are finished, since it has twice (or even three times!) as much yarn as a throw worked with one strand.

Sources for Crochet Afghan Patterns

If time is not an issue and you want to move beyond the basics, there are many other options for crochet afghan patterns. We’ve already listed some of them in another article, but here’s a quick-fire list of some other great sites that collect crochet afghan patterns from all over the web:

• Kris’s Afghan Patterns and Squares
• Martha’s Crocheted Afghan Links
• Crochet Pattern Central
• Knitting-Crochet.com
• All Fiber Arts
• Quick and Easy Patterns for charity projects

More About Crochet Afghans

Afghans are relatively big projects, and whether you knit or crochet, you’ll probably find that your project isn’t quite square when you are finished.

The good news is, this is relatively easy to fix through a process known as blocking. All you need to do is get the project damp but not soggy and stretch it out gently on a surface where it won’t be disturbed.

Stretch the sides until the project is square and the edges are straight all the way around. Then allow the project to dry. Some shrinking back may occur, but this will greatly improve the look of your work.

Afghans make great gifts. They are wonderful for babies, but people of all ages can enjoy having a warm cuddly thing around the house. They are wonderful for all occasions and don’t have to take more than a weekend to crochet, if you use a quick pattern.