Christmas Bells and Stars

CHRISTMAS BELLS & STARS | FIVE-COLOR CROCHET BLANKET

Golden bells and cream stars alternate inside diamond frames on a rich burgundy ground. Bows, gift boxes, holly leaves and geometric bands bring a festive rhythm to this blanket, finished with its complete gold and cream picture frame.

PATTERN SPECIFICATIONS
Overlay Mosaic: 250 chart stitches x 285 rows.
Tapestry: 250 chart stitches x 285 rows.
Colors: A Burgundy; B Gold; C Cream; D Holly green; E Ochre gold.
Picture: 71,250 original color positions.
A Burgundy: 50,915 cells; B Gold: 8,964; C Cream: 8,311; D Holly green: 2,428; E Ochre gold: 632.
Both techniques retain every original cell, color and position. Visible color area is not yarn consumption.
Add 2 A edge sc on each side: 254 worked stitches per row. Foundation: ch 255.
English instructions use US crochet terms and right-handed directions.

TWO COMPLETE TECHNIQUES
Tapestry: 93 pages. Every chart cell is one BLO single crochet, on RS and WS.
Mosaic: 114 pages. A tapestry-overlay hybrid combines within-row color changes with 22,340 anchored overlay DC in selected A, B, D and E cells on odd RS rows. Each marked position has the same color in both cells below it; all remaining positions are sc. Cream C cells use sc. No extra picture row is added.
Mosaic CUT uses BLO sc on all rows. Mosaic NO-CUT uses BLO sc and marked anchored DC on odd RS rows, and FLO sc on even WS rows. A letter identifies the yarn; X identifies an anchored DC. Full stitch instructions and reading examples are included.
Both techniques carry all FOUR inactive yarns inside every stitch, even when a color is not visible in that row. This creates a substantial fabric; use the five-yarn sample to select your yarn, hook and drape.

CUT AND NO-CUT
Each technique includes separate setup and all 285 written rows for BOTH alternatives. Choose one method for the whole blanket.
CUT: keep RS facing; every row travels right to left. Fasten off all five colors after each row.
NO-CUT: keep all five attached and turn after EVERY row. Odd rows travel right to left, even rows left to right. Ch 2 at each turn, not counted as a stitch.
Written rows contain visible direction arrows, color/stitch counts and repeated groups. They are already in working order.

ENLARGED PRINTABLE CHARTS
Each Complete PDF includes 56 A4 chart sheets, arranged in 8 columns and 7 bands. Sheets cover 31-32 columns and 40-41 rows at 5.5 mm per square when printed at Actual size / 100%. A 10-cell scale bar must measure 55 mm.
Two readable assembly-map panels, a color/notation key, reading examples, row/column numbers and stronger grid rules every 10 cells support reading and assembly. Yarn letters make monochrome prints unambiguous.
Separate large-format vector single-page charts are for screen zoom. Use the A4 chart sheets for printing; fitting a full chart onto one A4 page makes its cells too small.

FINISHED SIZE AND MATERIALS
The picture is 50 x 57 in ONLY at 5 stitches and 5 rows per inch. Four added side stitches make the body 50.8 x 57 in (129.0 x 144.8 cm), before an outside border. Other gauges give other sizes.
For a washed 20-stitch width w cm and 20-row height h cm: body width = 254 x w / 20; body height = 285 x h / 20. A border b cm wide adds 2b to each dimension. Measure width and height separately.
Example: 20 stitches and 20 rows per 10 cm produce a 127 x 142.5 cm body (50 x 56.1 in). This is a gauge example, not a fixed finished size.
Choose five smooth, same-weight yarns and a suitable hook. Have scissors, a blunt needle, stitch markers, tape measure and a 0.1 g scale available.

YARN PLANNING
The 11-page yarn guide includes technique-specific measuring panels, written sample rows for CUT and NO-CUT, size formulas, label conversions and simple/envelope border instructions.
Weigh each color independently, including hidden carried yarn. Even minor color E travels through the whole blanket; do not estimate it from visible area alone.
Each color's body grams = its net measured 20 x 20 panel grams x 180.975. This includes an approximate side-edge allowance. Add an adjustable outside border in A (default 12% of combined body grams), applicable CUT row tails and 10% reserve for foundation chains, initial/final ends, joins and variation. Lifting chains remain included in the measured panel.
At 15 cm per row end, CUT adds 85.5 m per color. NO-CUT has no repeated row-tail allowance. Enter each yarn label's meterage and ball weight; round every color separately to whole balls.
Illustrative inputs only: sample weights A 3 g, B 2 g, C 2 g, D 1.5 g, E 1 g; all yarns 300 m per 100 g, 100 g balls; 12% A border and 10% reserve. These inputs yield:
CUT: A 856 g / 2,567 m / 9 x 100 g balls; B 430 g / 1,289 m / 5 x 100 g balls; C 430 g / 1,289 m / 5 x 100 g balls; D 330 g / 990 m / 4 x 100 g balls; E 231 g / 692 m / 3 x 100 g balls
NO-CUT: A 825 g / 2,473 m / 9 x 100 g balls; B 399 g / 1,195 m / 4 x 100 g balls; C 399 g / 1,195 m / 4 x 100 g balls; D 299 g / 896 m / 3 x 100 g balls; E 200 g / 598 m / 2 x 100 g balls
Replace example inputs with the actual swatch for your chosen technique and method before purchasing yarn.

PACKAGE CONTENTS
Five PDFs: two Complete patterns, two vector One-Page charts and an 11-page yarn/size/finishing guide.
Also included: original 250 x 285 cell-grid PNG and CSV, color preview, five-color offline yarn-and-size calculator, English/Chinese descriptions and English/Chinese start guides.
Digital instructions only. Yarn, tools and a finished blanket are not included.