The Big Fish Little Fish Blanket: A Tapestry Crochet Pattern with a Colourful Twist

There is a particular kind of fabric design that lodges itself in your mind and refuses to leave. For me, it was a range of bold animal-print fabrics — the kind where the motif repeats in confident, graphic rows. Somewhere between looking at those and considering what might actually work in tapestry crochet, the fish arrived. Bold enough to read clearly in colourwork. Simple enough in shape to hold their own at scale. And — once the idea of alternating directions came to me — lively in a way that a static repeat never quite is.

The result is the Big Fish Little Fish Blanket: a tapestry crochet blanket worked in rows, with eight rows of eight fish swimming in alternating directions and each row in a different colour. As for the palette, I couldn’t settle on one, so I chose all of them.

The pattern is available on Etsy and Ravelry.

Where the Design Came From

I’d been looking at a series of fabrics featuring rows of bold, repeating animal motifs — the kind of print that’s confident and graphic without being busy. It got me thinking about what might translate into tapestry crochet: something with clear silhouettes, strong shapes, and the kind of movement that works well when you can flip the direction from row to row.

Fish turned out to be a good fit. The shape is simple and readable at tapestry scale, and the idea of big and little fish — slightly different sizes swimming in alternating directions — gave the design its energy. What I didn’t anticipate was the colour problem: I genuinely couldn’t choose between all the shades I wanted to use, so I stopped trying and went with a full rainbow of contrast colours instead. It turned out to be the right call.

What the Blanket Looks Like

The blanket is made up of 64 fish in total — eight rows of eight fish, with each row a different contrast colour against a neutral background. The fish alternate in size and direction, which gives the finished piece a sense of movement that a simple repeated motif wouldn’t have.

My sample blanket is worked in Stylecraft Special Aran in Parchment as the main colour, with eight contrast shades working from cool blues and greens through to warm yellows, pinks, and raspberry. The overall effect is cheerful without being loud — the neutral background does a lot of the work.

The finished size is 111 x 113 cm (approximately 43.5 x 44.5 inches), which sits comfortably in throw territory. The pattern includes instructions for adjusting the size if you’d prefer something smaller or larger. More on standard blanket sizes here.

The Tapestry Crochet Technique

The blanket is worked entirely in tapestry crochet — a colourwork technique where non-working colours are carried inside the stitches as you work, rather than cut and rejoined. This creates a dense, reversible fabric with the design appearing cleanly on the front.

This particular pattern uses UK treble crochet (US double crochet) as the main stitch. Treble gives the blanket a softer drape than a shorter stitch would have — which matters when you’re making something this size. The taller stitch also means the blanket works up relatively quickly for a tapestry project, which is also one of the appeals of working in aran weight.

One practical benefit worth noting: tapestry crochet produces a reversible fabric, with the design reading on both sides. For a baby or toddler blanket especially, that’s useful – there’s no wrong side to worry about.

If you’re new to tapestry crochet, the pattern includes photos demonstrating the technique, and I also have a full step-by-step guide and tutorial resources on the Tapestry Crochet Hub.

Because this pattern uses up to two colours at a time (the background and one contrast colour per row), the yarn management is relatively straightforward. You’re not juggling multiple balls simultaneously — you complete one fish colour row, then move to the next. That makes this a manageable introduction to tapestry crochet for anyone who hasn’t tried it before.

Pattern Details

• Yarn: Stylecraft Special Aran (aran weight; 196m / 214 yards per 100g ball; 100% acrylic)
• Yarn quantities (sample blanket):
  • MC (main colour): 5 x 100g balls — Parchment
  • CC1: 1 x 100g ball — Denim
  • CC2: 1 x 100g ball — Storm Blue
  • CC3: 1 x 100g ball — Duck Egg
  • CC4: 1 x 100g ball — Sage
  • CC5: 1 x 100g ball — Pistachio
  • CC6: 1 x 100g ball — Mustard
  • CC7: 1 x 100g ball — Pale Rose
  • CC8: 1 x 100g ball — Raspberry
• Total yardage: approximately 2,786 yards (2,548 m)
• Hook size: 4.5 mm
• Gauge: 14 stitches and 8 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) in treble crochet (UK) / double crochet (US)
• Finished size: 111 x 113 cm (approximately 43.5 x 44.5 inches), with instructions for adjusting size
• Construction: Worked in rows
• Skill level: Competent beginner to intermediate
• Terminology: Both UK and US crochet terms provided
• What’s included: Full written instructions, colourwork chart, technique photos, video tutorials for key techniques, tips

Choosing Your Colours

This is an unusually flexible design when it comes to colour. Because each row of fish is a separate contrast colour worked against a single background, you can use as many or as few contrast shades as you like. I used eight — one per row — but you could work the whole blanket in a single contrast colour for a graphic two-colour result, or pick three or four shades for something in between.

The main thing to consider is contrast. In tapestry crochet, the design only reads clearly if the background and contrast colours are sufficiently different in value (that is, light versus dark, not just hue). Parchment works well as a background precisely because it sits at a different tone from most of the mid-range accent shades. If you’re planning your own palette, I’d suggest checking your colours in greyscale before you start — it’s the quickest way to test whether the contrast is strong enough.

For more on choosing colours for crochet blankets, this post on how to choose colours for your crochet blanket covers the main principles.

A Note on Yarn Variations

Stylecraft Special Aran is a reliable choice for this blanket — good stitch definition, widely available, and comes in a strong range of colours. That said, any aran weight yarn would work. If you want a softer handle, a wool blend would give a slightly different drape. If you prefer a plant-based fibre, a cotton-acrylic blend is worth considering, though cotton tapestry fabric tends to be firmer and heavier.

You could also work this pattern in DK weight if you prefer, or a heavier yarn for a quicker make. Bear in mind that changing the yarn weight will change the finished size — sometimes significantly.

Get the Pattern

The Big Fish Little Fish Blanket pattern is available on Etsy and Ravelry. Both include immediate PDF download.

New to Tapestry Crochet?

If this would be your first tapestry crochet project, the Big Fish Little Fish Blanket is a good starting point — the construction is straightforward and you’re only ever working with two colours at once. You’ll find everything you need to get started, including step-by-step tutorials, on the Tapestry Crochet Hub.

If you’d prefer to begin with something smaller before committing to a full blanket, the free Starlight Square pattern is a good place to start — you can sign up to receive it below.

Explore More

If you enjoy bold, graphic designs, the Geo Georgie Blanket is worth a look – another aran weight tapestry crochet blanket worked in rows, with a striking geometric design. You can browse all the blanket patterns in the Blanket Pattern Page and find tips for making blankets in the Blanket Resource Hub.

Join the Email List

If you’d like to keep up with new pattern releases, tutorials, and tips on crochet blankets, you’re welcome to join my email list. You’ll also receive two free tapestry crochet patterns when you sign up.

About Catherine

Catherine is a crochet designer and teacher based in Surrey, UK, specialising in tapestry crochet and colourwork blankets. Her work has been published in crochet magazines, and she is a featured designer in the book 100 Crochet Tiles. She has designed patterns in collaboration with Sirdar and WeCrochet. You can find her patterns on Etsy and Ravelry, and her tutorials on YouTube.