This is the first ripple I’ve crocheted primarily from sport-weight yarns, rather than worsted or a double-strand of fingering-weight. I learned a few things during the process.
Sunshine
15,986 stitches – 506,924 stitches donated so far this year
I added stitches (148 in a row, instead of 136) hoping to make up for the difference in gauge. When I measured after crocheting its first few rows, it was 32″ wide, narrower than my usual 35″, but o.k. for a baby blanket. But, after I was completely finished, I found the weight of 99 rows had pulled it down to only 31″.
Luckily I had enough of the gold and light orange yarns left to add a border, so I started off using the gold yarn and added one row of half-double crochet, then one row of double crochet, just on the sides. That got me up to a 32″ x 50″ blanket.
After switching to the light orange, I did one row of half-double crochet on the zigzag ends and a half-double crochet all the way around. As you can see, I squeezed every bit of blanket that I could out of my yarn!! The finished measurement is now 33″ x 52″, a nicely proportioned blanket. Happy, happy!! It’s a good size for a baby or a senior’s lap robe.
Although I love the soft drape and light fabric of this blanket, it sure seemed to take longer than usual to crochet. The number of stitches in it gives a clear picture, 15,986 stitches compared to an average of 11,500 for a worsted-weight ripple! Even minus those extra side border stitches, I’m left with 14,794, which is almost 30% more stitches than usual.
I have another all-sport ripple on the hook and I will finish that one simply to satisfy my curiosity. I want to know how many stitches, how many rows, and how much sport yarn it takes to make a “real” child-sized (35″ x 54″) ripple. After that, I think I’ll follow Edith’s advice (in her comments on A Yarn Inventory) and use a double-strand of sport-weight yarn for any future sporty ripples.
P.S. Did you notice? I just went over the half-million mark in the total number of crochet stitches!! I don’t know what to think of such a figure. It sounds like such a humongous number and yet, it doesn’t feel like much of a feat. Maybe it’s because crocheting ripples for kids has simply become a regular part of my life! Forty-two blankets, half a million stitches, ho-hum. LOL!!
I’ll tell you how I got started with ripplemaking on Thursday.
alottastitches 
Another lovely ripple 🙂 How long does it take you to make one child-size afghan? Judy
Thank you. About ten hours when using regular weight yarns. The last time I was asked, I timed myself as I crocheted several ripple rows and then did the math. I remember I rounded up to allow some time for planning and finishing.
SweetPea65 wrote to me within Ravelry.
She said:
“I just ran across photos of your ripple afghans while looking for a new pattern. You did a great job with color choices! I make blankets for Project Linus and am always looking for interesting patterns that work up quickly. I happen to have the ripple pattern you used and will give it a try. Thanks for the inspiration and keep up the good work.”
I replied:
“Thank you so much. I always say choosing the colors is my favorite part of making a blanket! I have a great time figuring out a striping plan. It’s a fun challenge turning a bunch of partial skeins and scrap balls into blankets. 😀
I hope you enjoy the Rustic Ripple pattern as much as I do. It sure is a fast and easy one!”
This one reminds me of sand dunes in Namibia! I was interested to see what your mods would be for the sport weight ripple…number of rows, stitches etc. and what size it would be…thanks for doing all the hard work for me 😀
Now I want to go google “images of sand dunes in Namibia”!! Check out the ripples in this one!
Once I’ve finished the second sport weight I’ll some some real numbers for you, Edith. You can double check them when you make your sport weight ripple. Yes? 🙂