The Clarissa Blanket: A Three-Colour Tapestry Crochet Blanket Pattern

The Clarissa Blanket holds a special place for me. Of all my tapestry crochet designs, this is the one I find most elegant – there’s a softness to the botanical shapes that feels quite different from the geometric precision in many of my other tile blankets, and I love that contrast.

The pattern is available on Etsy and Ravelry.

In this post, I want to share the full details of the blanket – the design, the yarn, and what to expect if you’d like to make one yourself.

Where the Idea Came From

The Clarissa Blanket was inspired by ceramic tiles, as with my Midnight Diamond Blanket, but this time I wanted to explore something more classical and botanical rather than geometric. I was drawn to the kind of elegant, leafy shapes that appear in traditional decorative tilework, and I wanted to see whether tapestry crochet could capture that quality.

The colour choice was very personal. I love teal, and the combination of Dark Teal and Ultramarine against Bridal White felt immediately right to me – cool and fresh, with a slightly vintage quality that suits the botanical subject matter.

I also made a deliberate decision to work in 4 ply yarn rather than DK. With a design this detailed, a finer yarn allows the colourwork to be more intricate without the squares becoming unwieldy in size – and there are other good reasons to choose 4 ply for a blanket too, which I’ve written about here.

The mercerised cotton I used – Scheepjes Catona – has a lovely sheen to it, which adds to the overall elegance of the finished blanket. And, as with the Midnight Diamond, the colourwork pattern is designed so that it links up across the squares when they are joined together, creating one continuous design across the whole blanket.

What the Blanket Looks Like

Each square features a leafy botanical design, with elements of the pattern extending across the tile edges so that the motifs continue over the whole blanket when the squares are joined. It’s this quality – the way the design refuses to stay within individual squares – that gives the blanket its particular character.

The Clarissa uses three colours rather than the two used in most of my other tile blankets. That extra colour adds depth and detail to the botanical shapes, and it also makes the colour choices more interesting to think about. I made mine in Scheepjes Catona in Bridal White (background), Dark Teal (first contrast colour), and Ultramarine (second contrast colour and part of the border) – a combination I was really pleased with. The cool tones work well with the botanical subject matter, giving the blanket a slightly vintage, botanical-illustration quality.

Working with Three Colours

Using three colours in tapestry crochet is a step up from two, but it’s very manageable once you find a rhythm. The principles are the same – you carry the unused yarns inside your stitches as you work – but you do need to be a little more attentive to yarn management to avoid tangles.

I find the key is keeping the three balls separate and in a consistent position as you work. I’ve made video tutorials covering exactly this: how to stop your yarns getting tangled, how to carry your yarns up to the next round, and how to join the squares. Links to all of these are also included in the pattern.

If you’d like to explore the technique more broadly before you start, my tapestry crochet hub is a good place to begin.

Pattern Details

• Yarn: 4 ply (fingering weight). The original uses Scheepjes Catona (100% cotton, 125m per 50g ball) in Bridal White, Dark Teal, and Ultramarine. Other 4 ply yarns work well, and DK weight is also suitable if you’d like a larger or chunkier result.
• Hook size: 2.5 mm (though use whichever hook helps you meet gauge)
• Gauge: 21 stitches and 10 rows = 10 cm in rows of treble crochet (UK) / double crochet (US)
• Finished size: 96 cm x 128 cm in 4 ply (approx. 38″ x 50″)
• Construction: 12 squares, joined together
• Skill level: Intermediate – suitable for someone comfortable with basic stitches who would like to try tapestry crochet with three colours
• Terminology: Available in both UK and US crochet terms
• What’s included: Full written instructions, a colourwork chart, pattern notes, photos, and links to video tutorials for key techniques

Colour and Yarn Choices

The three-colour format opens up a lovely range of possibilities. My original teal and blue combination has a cool, slightly botanical feel, but this design would also work beautifully in warmer tones – terracotta, burnt orange, and cream, for instance, or soft sage, dusty pink, and white. The main thing to consider is contrast: your background colour and the two contrast colours should all sit at different values (lightnesses), so that the layers of the design read clearly against one another.

Cotton yarn works particularly well for this pattern. The smooth finish and good stitch definition of a cotton 4 ply means the details of the botanical shapes come through clearly, which is important with a design this intricate. A mercerised cotton such as Scheepjes Catona also brings a subtle sheen that suits the elegance of the design.

Get the Pattern

The Clarissa Blanket pattern is available on Etsy and Ravelry.

New to Tapestry Crochet?

If this is your first time trying tapestry crochet, you might find it helpful to start with a two-colour project before moving on to three. My tapestry crochet hub has resources to help you get started, including tutorials on the key techniques and suggestions for beginner-friendly patterns.

Join My 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 to try when you sign up.

About the Author

Catherine is a crochet designer 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.