Sometimes you need a blanket; sometimes you need a sweater. With this blanket, you only need one thing.

I unbutton it to use the blanket when I curl up to read a book. I button the sleeves and wear it when I am in the kitchen making my hot chocolate.

You can wear it to a football game and switch it over to a blanket to cover sleeping children in the back seat while driving home.

The best part is that it is easy to modify the size for a child or an adult. You can use any knit or crochet stitch you prefer. I used a simple V stitch because it was easy and the resulting fabric is flexible, comfy, and has gaps that were the perfect size for the buttons that I wanted to use.

Step 1: Materials--

2 cones of sugar and cream cotton yarn--or the yarn of your choice (about 1200 yards)
size J crochet hook--or a size that works well with your yarn
12 buttons--choose buttons that fit into the stitches of the blanket
needle and thread--to sew on the buttons

I like the feel of natural yarns but I am allergic to wool. Cotton comes in some really nice colors and is one of my favorites. Since you will be using this blanket/jacket a lot, you want to make sure that your yarn is washable.

The blanket I made measures 36 by 60 inches which is big enough to use as a lap blanket and the jacket extends down both arms with a good amount of room inside. If you want yours bigger, you will need more yarn. For a child size, you could get away with considerably less.

Step 2: Crochet Pattern

I am going to assume that if you do not know how to crochet, you will find a u-tube video or something.

(If you do not know how to crochet, and you do not want to take the time to learn, you could always cut a piece of polar fleece and move on to the finishing step.)

This stitch is simple enough for beginners but it will take a bit of time for a beginner. You will probably want to make this your second project--rather than your first.

PATTERN

Chain 144 (or long enough to extend from wrist to wrist)
Row 1: double crochet in the 3rd stitch from the hook, *skip one chain, 2 double crochets in next chain, repeat from * until you reach the end of the chain, turn work.
Row 2 (and all further rows): single crochet into the space between the 2 double crochets of the previous row, chain 2 (this counts as one double crochet), 1 double crochet in the same space, *2 double crochets between each pair of double crochets of the previous row, repeat from * until you reach the end of the row, turn work.

For my blanket, I alternated 6 rows in the dark yarn (variegated green) followed by 4 rows of white and ended with 6 rows of the dark. Or I intended to end with 6 rows of the dark. I ran out after 3 rows of the dark when I was almost done. I just finished with white--rather than head back to the store.

You could use any other stitch you choose--you just want to be sure that that your blanket is not too stiff. You will need a certain amount of drape so that the jacket is comfortable to wear.

Step 3: Finishing Step--the Buttons

Before you start sewing on any buttons, make sure that they fit properly through the gaps between stitches of your blanket. If you need to adjust the size of your buttons, it is easier to do this before you sew them all on.

The picture shows the placement of the buttons as dots. You can adjust the number of buttons and the locations, if necessary, based on the size of the jacket you want to end up with.

The picture shows the placements of the button holes as X.

If you are making the jacket out of a polar fleece blanket, you will need to make small cuts in the fleece for the button holes. Keep the cuts small--you can easily make them bigger later if necessary. You can also make them a bit smaller with a needle and thread if necessary.