Strawberry Bubble Baby Blanket

Easy Textured Crochet Pattern – Sport Weight

A soft, squishy rectangular baby blanket covered in diagonal rows of 3-D strawberry bobbles. The front shows plump raised strawberries in strawberry pink topped with tiny cream caps; the reverse is a neat, smooth double-crochet fabric with clean two-color definition and no bumps. Finished with a delicate cream picot border. Perfect first textured project.

Skill Level: Easy
Finished Size: 48" wide × 60" long (122 × 152 cm) after light blocking
Yarn Weight: Sport

Materials

• Yarn (sport weight, approx. 12–14 wpi):
  – MC (Strawberry Pink): 1900 yd / 1740 m (approx. 12–13 oz / 340–370 g)
  – CC (Cream/White): 450 yd / 410 m (approx. 3 oz / 85 g)
  Suggested: any soft acrylic or cotton-blend sport yarn suitable for babies.

• Hook: US F/5 (3.75 mm) or size needed to obtain gauge

• Yarn needle

• Scissors

• Stitch markers (optional, for side edges)

• Blocking mats & pins (or clean towels)

Gauge

In strawberry pattern stitch (blocked):
18 stitches × 12 rows = 4" × 4" (10 × 10 cm)

Make a 6" swatch: ch 30, work Rows 1–18 of pattern, measure center 4".
Adjust hook size if necessary — textured bobbles are denser than plain dc.

Abbreviations (US Terms)

Special Stitches

Strawberry Bobble (worked on RS only)
Yo, insert hook in indicated st, yo, pull up loop, yo, pull through 2 loops (2 loops on hook);
(yo, insert hook in same st, yo, pull up loop, yo, pull through 2 loops) 4 more times (6 loops on hook);
yo, pull through all 6 loops, ch 1 to close.
Bobble pops to RS. Do not work into the ch-1 close on next row — skip it and work into the bobble top.

Picot
Ch 3, sl st in 3rd ch from hook.

Color Change
Work last yarn-over of the stitch with the new color. Carry unused color loosely up the side or along WS; never pull floats tight.

Colorwork Charts

Charts are read bottom to top.

• RS rows (odd): right to left
• WS rows (even): left to right
  Each square = 1 stitch. Repeat the 12-st panel across the row.

Chart A – Strawberry Diagonal Repeat (12 sts × 8 rows)

 8 (WS) | □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ |
 7 (RS) | □ □ ■ ■ ■ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ |  ← bobble row, offset
 6 (WS) | □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ |
 5 (RS) | □ □ □ □ □ ■ ■ ■ □ □ □ □ |
 4 (WS) | □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ |
 3 (RS) | □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ ■ ■ ■ □ |
 2 (WS) | □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ |
 1 (RS) | ■ ■ ■ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ |
         1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Key
□ = MC dc (or sc on setup)
■ = Strawberry unit: work bobble in MC, then immediately 1 sc in CC in the same stitch base (creates cream “leaf cap” sitting on top of pink bobble). On WS rows simply dc across in MC; the CC is carried and only used on the bobble tops.

Chart B – Border Picot Accent (optional visual)
Shown for one picot repeat only:

Round 2: … sc, picot, sc … (CC throughout)

Pattern Notes

• Blanket is worked flat in rows.
• Bobbles are worked only on RS rows so the back stays smooth.
• Always skip the ch-1 that closes a bobble; count the bobble itself as one stitch.
• Keep CC floats loose on WS (about ½" ease) so fabric does not pucker.
• Side edges: place a marker in the first and last stitch of every RS row if desired.
• Stitch count remains 218 stitches every row after foundation.

Blanket Body

Foundation
With MC, ch 220.

Row 1 (RS, setup): Dc in 4th ch from hook (counts as first dc) and in each ch across. (218 dc)
Turn. Fasten off MC if preferred, or carry up side.

Row 2 (WS): Ch 3 (counts as dc here and throughout), dc in each st across. (218 dc) Turn.

Row 3 (RS) – Begin Chart A, first diagonal:
Ch 3, dc in next 2 sts,
*work Strawberry unit (bobble in MC + sc cap in CC) in next st, dc in next 11 sts;
rep from * across until 3 sts remain, dc in last 3 sts.
(18 strawberries started) Turn.
(Carry CC loosely; change back to MC after each cap.)

Row 4 (WS): With MC only, ch 3, dc in each st across, skipping every bobble ch-1. (218 dc) Turn.

Row 5 (RS): Ch 3, dc in next 5 sts,
*Strawberry unit in next st, dc in next 11 sts;
rep from * across, ending with dc in last 8 sts. Turn.

Row 6 (WS): With MC, ch 3, dc across. (218 dc) Turn.

Row 7 (RS): Ch 3, dc in next 8 sts,
*Strawberry unit in next st, dc in next 11 sts;
rep from * across, ending with dc in last 5 sts. Turn.

Row 8 (WS): With MC, ch 3, dc across. (218 dc) Turn.

Row 9 (RS): Ch 3, dc in next 11 sts,
*Strawberry unit in next st, dc in next 11 sts;
rep from * across, ending with dc in last 2 sts. Turn.

Row 10 (WS): With MC, ch 3, dc across. (218 dc) Turn.

Rows 11–180: Continue the 8-row diagonal shift established in Chart A (offset strawberries 3 sts to the left each RS bobble row).
After every 4 bobble rows the diagonal will have marched fully across; simply keep shifting by 3 sts (or restart the offset sequence) so strawberries form continuous diagonal lines.
Always work WS rows plain dc in MC.
Maintain 218 sts.

Length check: After Row 180 you should have approximately 60" of patterned fabric. Add or subtract WS/RS pairs in multiples of 2 if a different length is desired, ending with a WS row.

Final Body Row (WS): With MC, ch 3, dc across. (218 dc) Fasten off MC.

Border

Join CC with sl st in any corner.

Round 1 (CC): Ch 1, 3 sc in corner,
sc evenly along each side (place approx. 3 sc per 2 rows on sides and 1 sc per st on top/bottom),
working 3 sc in each corner.
Join with sl st to first sc. Do not turn.

Round 2 (Picot Round): Ch 1,
*sc in next sc, picot, sc in next sc;
rep from * around, working (sc, picot, sc) in each corner sc.
Join with sl st to first sc. Fasten off.

Finishing

1. Weave in all ends securely on WS with yarn needle.
2. Block lightly:
   – Wet block or steam-block.
   – Pin to 48" × 60" rectangle.
   – Do not press bobbles flat — hover steam iron or pin only at edges so texture remains raised.
   – Dry completely.
3. Optional: add a small fabric label on WS corner.

Stitch Count Validation (inline)

• Foundation ch 220 → Row 1: 218 dc (ch-3 + 217 dc) ✓
• Every subsequent row: 218 sts maintained ✓
• Gauge 18 sts = 4" → 218 ÷ 18 × 4 ≈ 48.4" width ✓
• 12 rows = 4" → 180 rows ÷ 12 × 4 = 60" length ✓
• Strawberries per bobble row: 18 units ✓
• Yarn estimate within 1800–2200 yd total ✓

Care: Machine wash gentle cold, tumble dry low or lay flat. Softens beautifully with washing.

Enjoy your sweet Strawberry Bubble Baby Blanket — the raised berries are irresistible to little fingers while the smooth back feels lovely against skin!