How to Plan a Successful Temperature Blanket
A temperature blanket is one of the most rewarding year-long projects an artisan can undertake. By recording one row or block for each day of the year based on the daily high temperature in your town, you create a tangible, colorful visual record of an entire year. However, without proper planning, temperature blankets often end up either unfinished, awkwardly sized, or running out of critical yarn colors by mid-July.
1. The Central Band Yardage Trap
The most common mistake crafters make is buying two skeins of every color in their palette. In reality, temperatures do not spread evenly across all twelve months. A typical temperate city might experience 90-degree days for only two weeks in August, but spend 120 days fluctuating between 55°F and 70°F. If you purchase equal skeins, you will exhaust your mid-tier colors while having untouched skeins of cold and hot extremes. Our calculator factors in standard meteorological distributions to provide an accurate shopping list.
2. Controlling Finished Blanket Length
A standard bed throw measures approximately 50" × 60" to 54" × 70". If you work 365 rows in single crochet with worsted yarn, your blanket will finish around 68 inches long—a great couch throw. If you work half double crochet (hdc) or double crochet (dc), 365 rows will easily surpass 85 to 110 inches! To keep length manageable, we strongly advise using the Moss Stitch (Linen Stitch), where alternating chains keep each row compact and supple.