A baby blanket with a raccoon character, worked from Bernat Softee Baby Chunky yarn using two hook sizes: 5 mm (H8) and 8 mm (L11).
Why two hooks
The smaller hook makes the raccoon’s face and features, keeping them dense and well defined so the character reads clearly. The larger hook works the blanket body, producing a loose fabric with the drape a blanket needs.
Using one hook throughout would give you either a stiff blanket or a face that loses its shape. It is worth having both to hand rather than substituting.
Chunky baby yarn
Chunky is a good choice for a baby blanket, for a practical reason as much as a comfort one: it works up fast. A blanket finished before the baby arrives is worth more than a beautiful one finished at eight months.
Softee Baby Chunky is soft and machine washable, which are the two requirements. Any comparable chunky baby yarn will substitute – check the gauge, since chunky yarns vary more between brands than finer weights do.
Safety
Embroider the eyes and nose rather than using safety eyes. Baby blankets are chewed and dragged, and nothing attached should be assumed permanent. Embroidered features also let you set the expression, which fixed eyes do not.
Weave all ends in thoroughly and trim close. Loose strands are a hazard around infants.
Colours
Raccoons are grey and black with a white face, and sticking close to that reads clearly as a raccoon. Softer greys and creams look gentler in a nursery and still work.
Whatever you choose, keep real contrast between the mask and the face. Without it the raccoon simply looks like a grey animal.
Size
Check the finished dimensions against what you want. Chunky yarn makes a heavy fabric, and a very large chunky blanket is too heavy for a small child to move under comfortably. Pram size is usually the right answer here.
