Fireside Chunky Throw

Some winter evenings in Vermont, all I want is a fire going and something heavy across my knees. This chunky crochet throw is my answer to those nights. It’s one color of super bulky yarn, worked in half double crochet on a 10 mm hook, and it covers a lap after just a few evenings.

I keep mine folded over the armchair closest to the fireplace from October until the snow melts. There are no stripes to plan and no color changes, so the only ends to weave in come from joining new skeins. If you’ve been waiting for a first blanket that won’t take all winter, start here.

Is a chunky crochet throw in super bulky yarn a good first blanket?

Yes. The stitches are big enough that you always know where your hook goes, and after Row 1 every row is the same: 80 half double crochet stitches, 66 times over.

You’ll use three stitches. The foundation is a row of 82 chains. Every row of the body is half double crochet, and both border rounds are single crochet. Each border round closes with a slip stitch: insert the hook, yarn over, and pull the yarn through the stitch and the loop on your hook in one motion. If “hdc” and “sl st” still look like code, the Beginner Guide section on how to read a crochet pattern decodes them.

Two parts may be new: joining a fresh skein, which you’ll do several times, and the border. Its first round travels along the row-ends (the side edges of the rows), then along the underside of the foundation chain. In this yarn each row-end is too big to miss, so it’s a good place to learn.

Keep your loops relaxed, too. Super bulky yarn pulled tight turns stiff, and the guide to holding the hook and yarn helps if you’re still finding your grip.

Super bulky, weight 6: finding the right yarn for the Fireside throw

Look for the number 6 and the words “super bulky” on the label. Don’t mix it up with weight 7, often sold as jumbo. Jumbo yarn is much thicker, and on a 10 mm hook it makes a crowded, stiff throw.

Choose a soft, washable acrylic or acrylic blend: a wet wool throw this size is a lot to lift out of a sink. For a first try, I’d skip chenille and velvet-style yarns. They hide the stitches, so counting to 80 turns into guesswork.

Since the whole throw is one color, buy every skein at once and check that they share the same dye lot, the batch number on the label. In plain ivory, a slightly different batch would show as a band across the middle.

Skein sizes in super bulky vary a lot from one brand to the next, so let the label do the math. Divide 950 yd by the yards in one skein, round up, and add one spare. With 100 yd skeins, that’s 10 skeins plus 1.

No super bulky in your shade? Two strands of bulky (weight 5) held together come out at roughly the same thickness, but you’ll need about 950 yd of each strand. Either way, check your gauge, how many stitches and rows fit in 4 in. A 4 in square holds only 7 stitches, so chain 16 and work 10 rows of 14 hdc instead: it should measure about 8 × 8 in.

One shade, no stripes: choosing a color for big stitches

With a single color, the texture does all the work, and light shades show the rows of half double crochet best. A few one-color ideas:

• Fireside ivory: the original, bright and soft, though it shows a spilled coffee right away.
• Oatmeal heather: a flecked beige that forgives small marks.
• Cranberry: a deep red that looks warm against brick or dark wood.
• Moss green: earthy and calm, lovely on a gray sofa.
• Charcoal: striking, but harder on the eyes while you work.

For a first blanket, stay with a light or medium shade. On charcoal, finding the top of each hdc under a lamp takes real squinting, 80 times a row.

If one color feels too plain, my three-color striped throw keeps the same half double crochet body and adds wide bands of cream, sage and taupe in bulky yarn.

Fireside counts for a baby, throw, twin or queen blanket

The pattern is written for the throw. For another size, change the foundation chain and the number of rows; the rows and border are worked the same way.

• Baby, about 30 × 36 in (76 × 91 cm): ch 51 (49 hdc), 43 rows. Border Round 1: 234 sc, with 64 sc along each side. Yarn: about 400 yd (365 m).
• Throw, about 48 × 56 in (122 × 142 cm): ch 82 (80 hdc), 67 rows. Border Round 1: 368 sc, with 100 sc along each side. Yarn: about 950 yd (870 m). This is the size written in the pattern.
• Twin, about 66 × 91 in (168 × 231 cm): ch 114 (112 hdc), 111 rows. Border Round 1: 564 sc, with 166 sc along each side. Yarn: about 2,125 yd (1,945 m).
• Queen, about 90 × 92 in (229 × 234 cm): ch 156 (154 hdc), 113 rows. Border Round 1: 654 sc, with 169 sc along each side. Yarn: about 2,950 yd (2,700 m).

In Round 1, the top and bottom edges each take the number of hdc plus 4 (3 sc in both corner stitches, 1 sc in each stitch between). Each side gets 3 sc for every 2 row-ends, plus 1 in the last one. Round 2 adds 2 sc at each corner: 242, 376, 572 and 662 sc.

Every size has an odd number of rows on purpose: the side repeat (sc, then 2 sc) ends with a single sc in the last row-end, which only works out with an odd count.

I scaled the throw’s 950 yd to the area of each size, so the amounts are estimates with the same extra built in. For the twin and queen, buy a couple of spare skeins, and work the second half at a table, where the heavy finished part can rest.

The baby size suits supervised floor play or a stroller on a cold walk. For something lighter, Maple Lane, a striped blanket sized for the stroller, uses bulky yarn.

Holding on to 80 stitches when every hdc is this big

Big stitches are easy to see, and just as easy to miscount. These habits keep the Fireside throw square:

• Watch the ch 2. In super bulky, it looks almost like a real stitch. It doesn’t count, so if you work into it on the next row, you’ll have 81.
• Mark every 20th chain. A scrap of contrasting yarn at 20, 40, 60 and 80 makes recounting the 82 chains quick.
• Check your size after Row 5. Five rows should be about 4 in tall and close to 46 in wide. More than an inch off? Change hooks now.
• Look at the skein before each row. If it looks too small to finish 80 stitches, join the next one at this edge.
• Split thick tails before weaving them in. If your yarn is made of plies (thinner strands twisted together), untwist each tail into two bundles and weave them in opposite directions. They vanish far better than one fat tail.

Washing a heavy super bulky throw without stretching it

Check your label, but most acrylic super bulky yarns can be machine washed. Wash the throw on its own, cold and gentle, in a large front-loader if you can, since it fills a small washer quickly.

Wet, it weighs far more than it did dry. Lift it out with both arms underneath instead of pulling it by a corner, because the weight of the soaked fabric can stretch the stitches. If the label allows the dryer, use low heat and take the throw out while it’s still a little damp, then lay it flat to finish. Otherwise, spread it over a drying rack or across two chairs and turn it once.

Ivory shows marks, so dab spills right away with cool water, without rubbing. Store it folded, not hung, so its weight doesn’t pull it out of shape.

Questions about the Fireside throw

Can I make this chunky crochet throw with weight 7 jumbo yarn?

Not with these counts. Jumbo yarn is much thicker than super bulky, so 80 stitches would come out far wider, and the fabric would be stiff on a 10 mm hook. If you love jumbo yarn, use the hook on its label, make a gauge swatch, and work out a new chain from your own stitches per inch, plus 2.

My border ripples, or it pulls in. What went wrong?

Ripples usually mean too many stitches along the sides, and pulling in means too few. Count one side first: on the throw, it should be 100 sc for 67 row-ends. If the count is right and the border still waves, work it again with a smaller hook.

How do I make the throw longer without making it wider?

Keep the 82-chain foundation and add rows. Every 5 rows adds about 4 in (10 cm), and you’ll need about 70 yd (65 m) more yarn for each 5 rows. Stop on an odd row so the border repeat works out: 77 rows, for example, gives about 64 in finished, with 115 sc along each side in Round 1.

Is it normal for my hands to get tired with a 10 mm hook?

Yes, at first. A big hook and heavy yarn need a lighter grip than you might expect, so try holding the hook loosely and resting every few rows. Let the blanket sit on your lap or a table instead of hanging from the hook, because its weight pulls on your wrist as it grows.

Quick recap

1. Chain 82 and work Row 1 in half double crochet, starting in the 3rd chain from the hook: 80 stitches.
2. Repeat Row 2 up to Row 67, with a ch 2 that doesn’t count and 80 hdc in every row.
3. Join each new skein at the end of a row, leaving 6 in tails.
4. Without fastening off, work border Round 1 in single crochet, with 3 sc in each corner: 368 sc.
5. Work Round 2 for 376 sc, then fasten off and weave in the tails.

Once your chunky crochet throw is done, fold it over the arm of your favorite chair and claim the first evening under it. If a row or a count gives you trouble along the way, write to me through the Contact page and tell me which row you’re on.