Sophie's Universe CAL Pattern Review and Breakdown
This gorgeous pattern has been on my “To Make” list since I first saw it! I’ve made a blanket for each of my siblings, so this year, I made the Sophie’s Universe blanket for my sister- who is also my best friend! I had so much fun making this pattern for her! In this blog post, I’ll share my review of the pattern and my exact process for making it.
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The Pattern
You can’t spend too much time in the online crochet community without stumbling across this beauty! Even though I’ve been longing to make, I was intimidated by how complex the pattern looks and how large it is.
Is it hard?
In some ways, yes. There are definitely some challenging techniques in this pattern. However, the designer did an INCREDIBLE job of making the pattern easy to read and understand. Each round has a full photo tutorial, detailed instructions, and some even have video tutorials for harder stitches. Even though this is an intermediate - advanced pattern, I feel like it the perfect place for an adventurous beginner to take on some challenging techniques, since they are so clearly explained.
Will it get boring?
Never! I’m not one for making blankets because I find them repetitive and boring, especially since they take so long to make. With each unique row of the Sophie’s Universe pattern, my interested only deepened. I loved seeing each round build on the one before, forming an almost stained-glass window of crocheted beauty!
Should you make it?
YES! You definitely need to make this glorious pattern! Every crocheter will benefit from the skills learned in this pattern - and the joy of seeing it grow and blossom, like a garden!
The Designer
Dedri Uys is a passionate crochet pattern designer and author who makes her patterns, tips, and tutorials available for FREE on her blog! When designing the Sophie’s Universe pattern in 2015, she said “I wanted people to feel amazing about their ability to create something so complex so easily, regardless of their skill level.” She definitely succeeded!
Her blog
Dedri blogs about crocheting in general and posts new patterns as they come available. Use the button below to view her website.
Her Crochet Along
In 2015, Dedri published the Sophie’s Universe pattern as a 20 week crochet along. Complete with three different sizes, color schemes, kits, a book, and more, this CAL is one of the most well-known patterns in the online crochet community. Use the button below to check out the free pattern on her blog. This is the version I used to make my Sophie’s Universe blanket.
The Yarn
The designer used a cotton blend for her blanket, so I wanted to use something similar that was also available in a wide variety of colors.
Fiber Content
With all the details in this pattern, the cotton yarn helps those detailed stitches really pop! Since I was making this blanket for my sister, who lives in Florida, I also knew that acrylic or wool would be too warm for her to get much use from it. I settled on a cotton/acrylic blend yarn, the perfect mix of sturdy and soft.
The Colors
I consulted with my sister regarding the color scheme, since I made it for her. She wanted shades of blue and purple with just a pop of the yellow. I settled on white as the primary color of this blanket to give the eye a little visual rest between all the bright colors.
The Scheme
Having settled on Comfy Worsted from We Crochet (one of my favorite online yarn stores), I selected my colors and planned their layout.
Keep it simple
I knew I could easily get overwhelmed by trying to assign a color to each row, so instead, I decided to take the color scheme the designer implemented in her largest version of the pattern and substitute my colors for hers. This helped me also know how much of each color to order.
Stonewashed XXL
I followed the same scheme that she used for the Stonewashed XXL version of the pattern. The Comfy Worsted yarn is very similar to Paintbox’s Stonewashed XXL yarn, so I felt the substitution was fair. Below, I’ll list the colors as she has them laid out in the pattern and next to her color, I’ll list the one I used in its stead.
Her Color: My Color:
Moonstone White (18 balls)
Amazonite Clarity (3 balls)
Green Agate Hydrangea (3 balls)
Blue Apatite Celestial (3 balls)
Canada Jade Marlin (3 balls)
Lemon Quartz Honey (3 balls)
Deep Amethyst Blackberry (3 balls)
Garnet Lilac (3 balls)
Corundum Ruby Lilac Mist (5 balls)
Coral Whisker (3 balls)
The Crochet Hook
Of course, I can’t crochet without a hook - and even better if that hook matches! I used my Furls Streamline Swirl in the size 5.0 mm to make this blanket. While it isn’t necessary to have a hook that matches your project, I was filled with joy every time I picked it up and worked. The colors were just so satisfying!
Variations
To be completely honest, I did not finish every row. Time ran short, so in order to finish the blanket to give as a Christmas gift, I cut the pattern short after the row titled The Butterfly Border. After the border, I added a couple rows of single crochet to bring out the colors I most wanted to emphasize, then I used the white to work a reverse single crochet border all the way around the blanket.
