Noflaye. Pronunciation: nof-lie

What is Noflaye you may ask?

Noflaye is a Wolof word. Wolof a language of my home country Senegal.

Closest definition I can think of: Utter Relaxation.

You know. That feeling you have when you are in your happy place.

For me it is lounging on the beach at sunset gazing at the ocean, feeling the cool breeze, this blanket wrap around my shoulder or or on my lap. Noflaye!

eventhough I’ve been living in the US more than twenty years, the memories of those summer night by the beach are still so vivid…

Alright, alright let’s get into the making of the Noflaye blanket.

Happy hooking!!

The making of this blanket was not planned. I made a border for a sweater using this stitch pattern and two color combo. And was curious to see how it will look with a bright multi color combination. I loved what I saw so I kept on going.

I pretty much used leftover yarn from other projects, since I had many skeins of the cream color yarn, I used the cream color to anchor the piece.

This blanket starts as a small square, you keep working it and can make it as big as you desired. This pattern would also make a beautiful pillow decor.

My Blanket size is about 46 x 46 inches

Material

worsted weight yarn

Hook size to match the yarn you are using. I used 5 mm hook

Abbreviation

ch chain

dc double crochet

hdc half double crochet

sc single crochet

sk skip

sl.st. slip stitch

sp space

st(s) stitches

pfst puff stitch = (yarn over insert hook in designated stitch, pull up a loop the height of a double crochet) 3 times. Yarn over pull through all loops

flatpuf3 flat puff st of 3 unfinished dc: (yarn over insert hook in designated stich, pull up a loop, yarn over pull thru 2 loops) 3 times, yarn over pull thru all loops

flatpuf2 flat puff st of 3 unfinished dc: (yarn over insert hook in designated stich, pull up a loop, yarn over pull thru 2 loops) 2 times, yarn over pull thru all loops

picot ch 3 after a dc, sl.st. to dc just made

Instruction

round 1 (cream color): ch 4, in the 1st ch put (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc, ch 1), 1 hdc in 3rd ch of beg ch 4 to close the round (the hdc instead of “ch 2 sl.st to 3rd ch” is to be be in the middle of the ch space where you need to be to start round 2)

this is really the same as working in a magic ring ch 3, 2 dc, (ch 2, 3 dc) three times, 1 hdc in 3rd ch of ch 3 to close the round

I personally like the first method better than the magic ring

Throughout the work I did not fasten off the color cream yarn. I just dropped and picked it up when I was ready to use it. Less ends to sew is always welcome, right?

round 2: ch 1, 1 sc in same space, ch 1, sk 1 dc, *(pfst, ch 2, pfst, ch 2, pfst) all in next dc, ch 1, *1 sc in next ch 2 space, (pfst, ch 2, pfst, ch 2, pfst) all in next dc, ch 1, repeat from * twice, sl.st to 1st sc

round 3: ch 3, 2 dc in same space, *ch 5, sk next group of 3 pufst, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next sc, repeat from * two times, ch 5, 3 dc in same sp as the ch 3 and the 2 dc of beginning, 1 hdc in 3rd ch of ch 3

round 4: ch 1, 1 sc in same space, ch 1, sk 1 dc (which is the ch 3 that counts as a dc), (pfst, ch 2, pfst, ch 2, pfst) in next dc, *ch 1, 1 sc in middle pfst of round 2, ch 1, sk 1 dc, (pfst, ch 2, pfst, ch 2, pfst) in next dc, ch 1, 1 sc in ch 2 space, ch 1, sk 1 dc, (pfst, ch 2, pfst, ch 2, pfst) in next dc, repeat from * twice, ch 1, 1 sc in middle pfst of round 2, ch 1, sk 1 dc, (pfst, ch 2, pfst, ch 2, pfst) in next dc , ch 1, sl.st. to beg sc

round 5: ch 3, 2 dc in same space, *ch 5, sk next group of 3 pufst, 3 dc in next sc, ch 5, sk next group of 3 pfst, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc ) in next sc (corner made), repeat from * two times, ch 5, sk next group of 3 pfst, 3 dc in dc, ch 5, 3 dc in same sp as beg ch 3, 1 hdc in 3rd ch of beg ch 3

round 6: ch 1, 1 sc in same space, ch 1, sk 1 dc, (pfst, ch 2, pfst, ch 2, pfst) in next dc, *ch 1, 1 sc in middle pfst of round 4, ch 1, sk 1 dc, (pfst, ch 2, pfst, ch 2, pfst) in next dc, ch 1, 1 sc in middle pfst of round 4, ch 1, sk 1 dc, (pfst, ch 2, pfst, ch 2, pfst) in next dc, ch 1, 1 sc in ch 2 space, ch 1, sk 1 dc, (pfst, ch 2, pfst, ch 2, pfst) in next dc, repeat from * twice, ch 1, 1 sc in middle pfst of round 4, ch 1, sk 1 dc, (pfst, ch 2, pfst, ch 2, pfst) in next dc , ch 1, 1 sc in middle pfst of round 4, ch 1, sk next dc, (pfst, ch 2, pfst, ch 2, pfst) in next dc, ch 1, sl.st. to beg sc

round 7: work in pattern – 3 dc in eac sc seperated by ch 5. At all 4 corners work (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc)

round 8: work in pattern

Pfst on middle(2nd) dc of every group of 3 dc

Sc on middle pfst (2nd pufst) of round 6, sc on corner ch 2

keep alternating round 7 and round 8 to the desired size

for this size blanket I made 20 rows of puff stitches

Working the border

I worked the border with the cream color. I started by creating a dense woven fabric that matches the blanket.

Border

round 1: is started after ending the blanket making in a puff st round. after sl.st.to beg sc,

ch 3, 2 dc in same sp, sk ch 1 space, 1 dc on next puff st, 1 dc on ch 2 space, 1 dc on next pfst, 1 dc on next ch 2 space, 1 dc on next pufst, 1 dc in ch 1 sp, 1 dc in next sc, 1 dc in ch 1 sp, continue working this way putting a dc in each pfst, each ch 2 sp, each ch 1 sp (skip all ch 1 space before and after a corner sc), each sc, to corner put a (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in each corner end with 3 dc in same space as beg ch 3, sl.st. to 3rd ch (I had 163 dc on each side seperated by a ch 2

round 2: ch 1, 1 sc in same space, *ch 1, sk 1 st , 1sc in next, repeat from * to corner ch 2 space, (1 sc, ch 1, 1 sc) in that space. Work this pattern all around, end with 1sc in same sp as beg sc, sl. st. to beg sc (81 sc in each side, (1 sc, ch 1, 1 sc) in each corner

round 3: ch 1, 1 sc in next ch 1 sp, ch 1, sk next sc, *1 sc in next ch 1 sp, ch 1 , sk 1 sc, repeat from * to corner (1sc, ch 1, 1 sc) in ch 1 space at corner, work this pattern all around end with 1 sc in same space as beg sc, 1 hdc to beg sc

round 4, ch 1, pull yarn to length of double crochet, flatpuf 2, *sk next sc, flatpuf3 in next ch 1 sp, repeat from * to corner, (flatpuf3, ch1, flatpuf3) in ch 1 corner sp, continue working this pattern all around, end with 1 flatpuf3 in same space as beg flatpuf2, 1 hdc to beg flatpuf2

round 5: ch 3, 1 dc in same sp, *2 dc between next 2 flatpuf, repeat from * to corner, (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in ch 1 corner sp, continue working in pattern all around, end with, 2 dc in same sp as beg ch 3

I wanted a wider border so I added a 5th round

Nice, right? hmmm maybe add a little bit of airiness and movement? I did just that by finishing the border with an open lace like design with picots to make the blanket more playful.

round 6: ch 1, flatpuf3 in same space, ch 1, 1 sc in each next 2 dc, sk 2 sts *(1 dc, picot, ch 1) 3 times ch 1, 1 dc all in same stitch, ch 1, sk 2 sts, 1 sc in next st, ch 1, sk 2 sts, repeat from * to 2 dc before corner ch 1 space, 1 sc in each dc, ch 1, 1 flatpuff3 in corner ch 1 space, ch 1, 1 sc in each next 2 dc, keep working in pattern, end with 1 sc in each last 2 dc, ch 1, sl.st.to beg flatpuff3

Note: if you have more stitches skip 3 dc between fan and sc.

The goal is to put the same number of fans on each side. I had 21 fans on each sides and 1 puff st in each corner.

Fasten off. weave in all ends (I like weaving in the ends every few rows, this way I don’t have too much to weave in at the end of a project)

Now we need to block this piece. I unfortuanetly did not take a picture of the blanket before blocking. oh My! what a difference blocking a work like this makes. The piece was not flat, and was pulling from the center.

I washed the blanket in my washer machine on delicate cycle. then pinned it as close as possible to the final measurement

Voila!! you just finished making your Noflaye blanket

this is a sneak peek of the sweater that inspired the making of this blanket.

Stay Tuned!