This challenge has concluded. Thank you to everyone who participated! Together as a community, we sent 332 blankets to Warm Up America as a result of this challenge!
We’ll see you next year!
We’re passionate about using our crochet skills to help others through our annual Crochet Challenge for Warm Up America. Every year, hundreds of people just like you come together to make a specific handmade gift (the challenge project) for someone in need. We hope you’ll join us this year!
The 2023 Crochet Challenge for Warm Up America kicks off on January 27th, 2023 with the release of the pattern and tutorial at 11:00 am EDT. Challenge participants will have until February 28th to postmark your completed challenge project to Warm Up America to complete the challenge. Be sure to check out every detail on this page before then!
This page is your central home page for the challenge as it contains everything you need to know to participate in, and complete the challenge. We try to keep everything as simple as possible, but there’s a lot of information we need to share with you. This page is organized as follows:
- What is the Crochet Challenge for Warm Up America?
- How Warm Up America Will Use Your Donation This Year
- Challenge Important Dates
- The 2023 Challenge Project
- Skills Needed to Complete the Challenge
- Sending Your Finished Projects to Warm Up America
- Challenge Donation Form
- Challenge Facebook Event Page
- Yarn Information
- Yardage Requirement
- Hook & Notions Required
- Project Gauge and Sizing
- Pattern Notes
- Challenge FAQ’s
What is the Crochet Challenge for Warm Up America?
The Crochet Challenge for Warm Up America is the annual crochet-along here at B.Hooked. Every year features a new crochet project, and a new organization to receive the items made by challenge participants. But it wouldn’t be called a “crochet challenge” without a little challenge, right? Participants only have so much time to make, and send in their challenge project.
Challenge participants are provided a free pattern and tutorial on the start date, and are tasked to finish the project and mail it to Warm Up America before the challenge deadline. This deadline brings a fun challenge to our crochet-along, but it also ensures that Warm Up America can deliver the challenge projects to the selected organization at the same time.
If this sounds fun and you think you want to participate this year, keep reading for the details of this year’s challenge!
For more information about Warm Up America, visit their website here.
How Warm Up America Will Use Your Donation This Year
Every gift made and sent in for this challenge will be delivered to patients who are being cared for at Saber Healthcare Group.
It’s a leading senior care facility offering individualized care in a warm environment. With locations in 7 states (Delaware, Florida, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia), Saber offers customized care, and guidance to their patients and family members.
Let’s share in one common goal – to provide a handmade gift for as many of these patients as possible. Your handmade gift will signify hope, love and gratitude in the eyes of the Saber patients, and family member who receives it.
Challenge Events and Important Dates
We like to break the challenge into two main sections: the pre-challenge phase, and the challenge phase. Here’s what you can expect with each.
Pre-Challenge Phase: January 20th – 26th
During this time, prospective challenge participants explore the challenge requirements, acquire yarn to complete their donation, and start making acquaintances in the Facebook Event page.
Challenge Phase: January 27th – February 28th
Participants are provided the free pattern and tutorial on January 27th at 11:00 am EDT (right here on this page, and the B.Hooked YouTube Channel). During this time, they are asked to complete the challenge project, and have it mailed to Warm Up America (via the address below) by February 28th, 2023.
After the challenge concludes, Warm Up America will keep us updated on the total number of challenge projects they receive for Saber patients. Make sure you follow them on Facebook, and are tuned into the challenge Facebook Event page so you don’t miss these details!
The 2023 Challenge Project
This year, challenge participants will be asked to complete this beautiful blanket during the weeks of the challenge, and send it to Warm Up America before the deadline.
The stitch you’ll learn in this project is one of our absolute favorites; the feather stitch. It’s thick, and squishy, and makes for one of the warmest blankets you’ll ever snuggle under.
The “non-traditional” motions used to create this stitch are similar to the puff stitch. Each stitch is big, and each row is rather tall which makes for a blanket that comes together much faster than the use of traditional stitches. You can apply the skills you learn from this blanket in a variety of projects in the future.
Skills Needed to Complete the Challenge
Don’t be intimidated by the look of this stitch pattern. It truly is easier than it looks! All you really need are basic crochet skills to complete this challenge. Being familiar with holding the hook and yarn, and keeping a steady tension will go a long way. The project uses a row of foundation stitches, unique “feather stitches”, half double crochets, and slip stitches. Familiarity with these stitches are certainly helpful, but not required. The tutorial will walk you through everything step-by-step.
We’ll share more about this beautiful blanket (like what yarn and supplies you need to have ready for the challenge start date) after clarifying some important details below.
Sending Your Finished Projects to Warm Up America
To complete the challenge, you must ship your completed challenge blanket to Warm Up America at the address below, postmarked on or before February 28th 2023.
Warm Up America/BHooked
3740 N. Josey Lane
Suite 126
Carrollton, TX 75007
**Please do not send your donations to the address you see at the bottom of the B.Hooked newsletter. Your donations must go to Warm Up America to complete the challenge, not to the B.Hooked Studio. We will not be able to forward your package to Warm Up America if you ship it to us in error. Please, please only use the Warm Up America shipping address you see here.
Instructions for Packaging Your Challenge Blanket
In the shipping box with your completed challenge blanket, please also include a fully filled out WUA! donation form (find that just below), and be sure to include “Brittany B.Hooked” in the campaign section. You’re asked to fill this out so Warm Up America can know who made, and sent in a donation, plus they’ll use this information to make a final count of blankets received for Saber.
You may wash your blanket before sending it in, but it is not required. If you choose to wash it before shipping, Warm Up America asks that you use an fragrance-free detergent (to avoid any potential allergies), and that you wait until it is completely dry before packaging it up.
Multiple Donations
To complete the challenge you only need to send in one blanket, but Warm Up America welcomes as many as you’re able to make! Also, any additional hats or scarves you may want to include with your challenge blanket are always welcomed, and very much appreciated!
Challenge Donation Form
Every box shipped to Warm Up America must include one completed WUA! donation form. You can print this form, and fill it out completely, or use a piece of paper to hand-write the information included in the form. Please include “Brittany B.Hooked” in the campaign section of this form. That’s how the WUA team will be able to tally up the total number of blankets received from this challenge.
Challenge Facebook Event Page
It’s not required, but we encourage you to join the Facebook event to share progress photos, ask questions, and interact with others who are participating in the challenge. It will be available throughout the duration of the challenge.
Again, you do not need to participate in the Facebook group to complete the challenge, but it sure is a lot of fun!
Yarn Information
The pattern was written, and tested with Lion Brand Pound of Love so for the most reliable results, it’s best to use this yarn if you’re able to do so.
Why Pound of Love?
This yarn was selected for several reasons. It’s readily available from a variety of sources making it easy for participants to find no matter where they are located. It’s also an incredible value from a cost per yard perspective, making it more feasible to make a large project. The color options are beautiful, plus it’s pleasant to work with.
Color Requirements
For the blanket we’ll be sending to Warm Up America, we used four colors (terracotta, pink salt, waterfall, and white) which gives the pattern a lot of life, and makes it pretty to look at. Not to mention it really helps to break it up into “doable”, new color sections (if you know what we mean).
You can follow our color pattern exactly, but you don’t have to unless that’s the blanket you want to create.
Basically, we want this to be a fun and creative opportunity for you, so we encourage you to incorporate your own style, and creativity with the colors you choose.
There are no color requirements – use one color, two colors, ten colors….make stripes like ours, make color blocks, thick stripes, thin stripes…. whatever you want to do. Mix and match however you choose, or make it exactly like ours, to make a blanket you think is truly beautiful.
So while the stripe pattern and color options we used are included in the pattern, you’re free to make your own stripe pattern, and color options if that’s what you want to do.
Our only requirement is that you follow the rest of the pattern so every blanket is the same size, and uses the same stitch pattern.
Where to Buy Pound of Love:
- Order it on Amazon – I have affiliate links below if you want to go this route.
- Buy it directly from Lion Brand
- Both Joann and Michaels typically have Pound of Love in stock
We ended up ordering three of our four required skeins directly from Lion Brand, and one from Amazon to get the color palette we wanted. In total, we waited about a week for the yarn to arrive. So it’s important that if you plan to order yarn online, that you get your order in as quickly as possible.
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate (and at no additional cost to you) I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases if you use the links below. Please understand I have experience with these products & recommend them because they are optimal for this pattern, not because of the commission I make as a result of you buying them. Using these links is not required but is a big support!
Yarn Substitution
As much as we think Pound of Love is a great fit, we recognize the magnitude of a project this size, and realize that this can be a great opportunity for you to use up yarn you already have. That’s perfectly okay! Even if you don’t have Pound of Love yarn, you may absolutely substitute with a different yarn.
For the best results, choose a worsted weight (#4) yarn that’s similar to Pound of Love. Super Saver, With Love, One Pound, Super Value…are a few that come to mind, which are all great substitute options. Warm Up America also requests that the yarn be acrylic (so we can avoid any potential allergies), and washable (so the recipients can easily care for their gift).
Although it’s perfectly acceptable to use a different medium weight yarn to complete your challenge blanket, please know that yarn substitution can result in you using slightly more or slightly less yarn. Just keep that in mind when reading the yardage requirements below. If you substitute, you may need a little bit more, or a little bit less yarn.
Yardage Required
You only need 4 skeins of Pound of Love to finish this blanket. That’s what makes a four color option very appealing – you only need one skein of each color.
If you want to get more creative with color, or you plan to substitute yarn, a total of 3,345 yards will complete a blanket. This is a pretty exact amount for Pound of Love yarn, but please know it may be slightly more or less with a substituted yarn. Differences in yarn weight and thickness can lead to these variations, and with an abundance of options out there, it’s impossible for us to have an exact amount for all options.
If you want to replicate our color pattern you will need the following Pound of Love Yarn:
- Color A = Pink Salt = 937 yds (1 skein)
- Color B = White = 963 yds (1 skein)
- Color C = Terracotta = 778 yds (1 skein)
- Color D = Waterfall = 657 yds (1 skein)
Please note that yardage requirements are dependent on you matching the pattern gauge. Yarn substitutions may also result in using more or less yarn.
Hook & Notions
- 6 mm (J) Crochet Hook (or size needed to obtain gauge)
- Yarn Needle
- Scissors
#wuachallenge
to share your blanket and it’s progress!
Gauge & Sizing
Finished Size
45″ wide; 55″ long
(not including fringe)
Gauge
5.75 stitches x 10.5 rows = 4″
worked in feather stitch pattern
Pattern Notes
The challenge blanket is worked from side to side (rather than the traditional bottom to top approach) to create vertical stripes. So when you crochet the first row, you’re crocheting the long edge (the length) of the blanket.
The stitch featured in this pattern is called the feather stitch, a delightfully thick and fluffy stitch similar to a puff stitch. To make sure your stitch tension looks consistent, you should be mindful of how high you pull up the yarn overs. You may also have to play with this to obtain the proper gauge. This is important because we want all the blankets to be a similar size, but most importantly, so you have the right amount of yarn to finish it.
Our blanket took about 10 dedicated days to complete, from start to finish.
Abbreviations
This pattern is written using standard US crochet terminology.
- Ch Chain
- Cont Continue
- FS Feather Stitch **
- FHdc Foundation Hdc
- Hdc Half Double Crochet
- Hk Hook
- Prev Previous
- Rem Remaining
- Rep Repeat
- Slst Slip Stitch
- Sk Skip
- St(s) Stitch(es)
**Feather Stitch (FS):
YO, insert hk in ch 1-sp, YO and pull up a loop. YO, insert hk in ch 1-sp from row below (hdc from row below on first row only), YO and pull up a loop. YO, insert hk in next ch 1-sp, YO and pull up a loop. YO and pull through all 7 loops on hk.
Written Instructions
Row 1: With color A, make 161 fHdc. Ch 1 and turn.
Row 2: Hdc first st. *ch 1, sk 1 st. Hdc in next st. Rep from * to end of row. Ch 1 and turn.
Row 3: Hdc first st. Ch 1. *FS. Ch 1. Rep to last ch 1-sp (finishing the last feather stitch in the last ch 1-sp). Ch 1. Hdc last st. Ch 1 and turn.
Repeat: Rep prev row for entire pattern.
Stripe Pattern
Break color A and join color B after 5
feather stitch rows. Then use row 3 to
work:
- 2 rows, color B
- 2 rows, color C
- 2 rows, color B
- 2 rows, color D
- 2 rows, color B
- 2 rows, color C
- 2 rows, color B
- 6 rows, color A
- 2 rows, color B
- 6 rows, color A
- 2 rows, color B
- 2 rows, color D
- 2 rows, color B
- 2 rows, color C
- 2 rows, color B
- 2 rows, color D
- 2 rows, color B
- 6 rows, color C
- 2 rows, color D
- 2 rows, color C
- 6 rows, color D
- 2 rows, color C
- 2 rows, color D
- 6 rows, Color C
- 2 rows, color B
- 2 rows, color D
- 2 rows, color B
- 2 rows, color C
- 2 rows, color B
- 2 rows, color D
- 2 rows, color B
- 6 rows, color A
- 2 rows, color B
- 6 rows, color A
- 2 rows, color B
- 2 rows, color C
- 2 rows, color B
- 2 rows, color D
- 2 rows, color B
- 2 rows, color C
- 2 rows, color B
- 5 rows, color A
(If you’re using a different stripe pattern, please make 120 feather stitch rows, and proceed to the next row)
Do not fasten off after finishing the last feather stitch row.
Next Row: Hdc first st. *Hdc next ch 1-sp. Hdc next FS. Rep from * to last ch 1-sp. Hdc in last ch-1 sp. Hdc in last st. Ch 1 and turn.
Next Row: Slst each st.
Fasten off and weave in ends.
Finishing
Fringe is added to the top and bottom edge of the blanket (the beginning, and end of every row). Each individual fringe tassel is made up of 4 strands of yarn; two strands of color C, and two strands of color D.
Cut each strand of yarn to measure 6” long. Attach a fringe tassel around the hdc at the beginning, and end of every feather stitch row (row 3).
To do that, make sure the four strands of yarn are held even together, and fold them in half. Insert your hook through the space between the hdc and feather stitch, from back to front.
place the fringe loop (you created by folding the four strands in half) on your crochet hook, and pull it through. Release the crochet hook, and use your fingers to pull the ends through the loop. Pull tight to secure the fringe.
Repeat this so you have a tassel at each end of every feather stitch row.
By using this pattern, you agree to our terms of use:
This pattern is for personal use only. You agree not to modify, publish, transmit, sell, create derivative works or in any way exploit any of the content within this page, in whole or in part. If you wish to share this pattern, share a link to this webpage only. You may sell finished items made from this pattern.
Copyright, B.Hooked Crochet, LLC
see how it’s done
Step-by-Step Tutorial
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Left-Handed Tutorial on YouTube
Right-Handed Tutorial on YouTube
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As straightforward as we try to keep our challenges, we understand you may have some questions. Especially if this if your first year! Here are the answers to a few frequently asked questions. If you don’t find the answer you need here, please don’t hesitate to ask in the Challenge Event page!
Frequently asked questions
- When does the challenge begin? The challenge officially kicks off on January 27th at 11:00 am EDT with the release of the blanket pattern and tutorials. You will have until February 28th to complete and send your donation to Warm Up America at the address provided on this page.
- What do I do to join? You do not need to sign up to join the challenge. Simply make the blanket and send it to Warm Up America before the deadline.
- When is my blanket supposed to be finished? The challenge comes to a close on February 28th, 2023. You should finish your blanket by this day, and ship it to Warm Up America before the end of the business day in your area.
- Can I use a different yarn? The patterns were written and tested for Lion Brand Pound of Love yarn. We encourage you to use this yarn if possible, but if you’re comfortable making yarn substitutions, you may do so. Substitutions must be medium weight, and achieve the same gauge and size. Warm Up America asks that you select an acrylic yarn that is easy to care for.
- Can I donate my blanket to another organization? Absolutely. If you live outside the US and you would like to participate, I encourage you to find your local senior care facility and donate your items.
- What do I do now? Order the yarn, get your supplies, and sit tight for the pattern release on January 27th 2023. Join the Facebook Event Page, and strike up a conversation with your fellow yarn heroes!
- Who is Warm Up America? Warm Up America is a non-profit organization founded in 1992 by a courageous yarn hero named Evie. When her vision expanded beyond her capabilities, the Craft Yarn Council stepped in to continue her mission. I encourage you to read more about WUA! Foundation here.
- What if I can’t get the blanket finished before the deadline? Making a blanket is a big commitment, and life happens! We completely understand. If you’re not able to finish your challenge blanket and mail it in by the deadline, that’s perfectly okay. There are no sign ups or commitments, and it’s not our intent for you to feel like you have to finish it if you simply can’t. You can always finish it on your own terms, and donate it to a local senior care facility.