Rocky Mountain Highway Blanket Strip

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Celebrate the journey west with this free crochet blanket strip pattern inspired by the awe-inspiring views of the Rocky Mountains as they rise from the plains of Colorado. This strip is part of the Road Trip Blanket Crochet Along—a collaborative, cross-country crochet adventure you won’t want to miss!

What is the Road Trip CAL?

The Road Trip Blanket Crochet Along (CAL) is a collaborative event featuring some of your favorite crochet designers, each contributing a free crochet blanket strip inspired by a unique location across the United States (and beyond!). Each strip tells the story of a destination—its landscape, culture, and essence—stitched into a cozy and meaningful heirloom blanket.

Throughout the event, a new strip pattern is released every few days, completely free on each designer’s blog for a limited time. Whether you’re new to crochet or a seasoned hooker, you’ll love building your blanket strip by strip and seeing how each design brings a new part of the journey to life.

Ways to Join the Road Trip CAL

There are two ways to participate:

🧶 Join the CAL for free – Visit Madame Stitch to see the full schedule and get links to each new strip as they are released. You’ll find tutorials, community support, and a list of all the featured destinations.

📘 Prefer to have everything in one place? You can purchase the Road Trip CAL eBook, which includes all 20 blanket strip patterns (plus a joining and border guide) in one convenient, ad-free PDF. It’s a great option if you want to work at your own pace or refer back to the patterns long after the CAL ends. Click here to get the eBook.

My Road Trip Story: Heading West to the Rockies

In 1991, I packed up my four-year-old son, popped a Sesame Street Sing-Along cassette into the tape deck, and left Massachusetts behind as we set out for a new life in Colorado. It was a leap of faith and a road trip I’ll never forget.

After crossing into Colorado from Kansas, the scenery slowly began to change. At first, there were only plains stretching endlessly in every direction—but then, just barely visible on the horizon, a faint silhouette began to rise. The Rocky Mountains.

Over the next several hours, the peaks grew taller and more defined, revealing foothills, red rock formations, and eventually, the snowcapped majesty of Pikes Peak.

We settled in Colorado Springs, and to this day, we still live in the shadow of that mountain. Even after all these years, the view never gets old. The Rockies reveal something new every day—changing with the light, the seasons, and the mood of the sky.

Details You’ll Need for the Rocky Mountain Highway Blanket Strip Pattern

I created the Rocky Mountain Ascent strip to honor that unforgettable journey—the slow unveiling of the Rockies as they rise up from the flat plains to meet the sky. This mosaic strip captures the layers of the landscape: the lowlands, the rugged foothills, the towering peaks, and the iconic blue Colorado sky above it all.

Whether you’ve experienced this journey yourself or dream of it someday, I hope this strip brings a little mountain magic to your blanket.

Scroll down for the full pattern details, including materials, gauge, and instructions.

And don’t forget to check out the other stunning blanket strips from my fellow designers in the Road Trip CAL. It’s a beautiful way to stitch your way across the country—no map or gas tank required.

Skill Level

Intermediate

Materials

• 5.00 mm crochet hook (US H)
• Worsted weight yarn (size 4)
  • 5 colorways (A, B, C, D, E)
• Tapestry needle
• Sewing scissors

Size

50″ x 5″ blocked

Stitch Abbreviations

beg – Beginning

CH – Chain

DC – Double Crochet

HDC – Half-double Crochet

SC – Single Crochet

SK – Skip a stitch

SLST – Slip Stitch

st(s) – Stitch(es)

XST – Cross-stitch (instructions below)

Gauge

15 sts X 8 pattern rows = 4” square

Rocky Mountain Highway Blanket Strip Pattern Notes

• Skill Level: Intermediate
• US Terminology 
• Sts worked through both loops unless otherwise indicated.
• When a row beg with a CH1, it does not count as a st. .

Special Stitches

HDC Cross-stitch (XST) Starting Stitch:

Step 1: Sk st, SLST into the next st and CH2.

Step 2: Yarn over and insert hook into the previously skipped st, draw up a loop, yarn over and draw through all three loops on the hook. (XST made)

HDC Cross-stitch (XST):

Step 1: Skip a st, HDC in next st.

Step 2: Yarn over and insert hook into the previously skipped st, draw up a loop, yarn over and draw through all three loops on the hook. (XST made)

For a video tutorial on how to do this stitch, follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZf0SP67tGk

Step-by-Step Guide to Crocheting the Juniper Ridge Blanket

Beginning with color A, CH181.

Turn.

Row 1 (RS): SC in 2nd CH from hook and in each st across. 180 sts

Row 2 (WS): CH1 loosely, turn. DC in the first st and each st across. 180 sts

Row 3: CH1 loosely, turn. DC in first st, *SK a st, 2DC in next st. Repeat from * across to lasts st. DC in last st. 180 sts

Row 4: CH1 loosely, turn. DC in first st, *2DC between next 2 2DC clusters below (see photo). Repeat from * across to last st. DC in last st. End color A. 180 sts

Row 5: Turn work. Attach color B with SC to first st. *SK 2 sts, 5DC in next st, SK 2 sts, SC in next st. Repeat from * 28 times. SK2, 5DC in next st, SK a st, SC in last st.

Row 6: CH1 loosely, turn. 3DC in first st. *SC in center st of next shell, 5DC in next SC between shells. Repeat from * 28 times. SC in center of next shell, 3DC in last st. Finish off color B.

Row 7: Turn work. Attach color C with SC to first st. *5DC in next SC between shells, SC in center st of next shell. Repeat from * 28 times. 5DC in next SC, SC in last st.

Row 8: CH1, turn. SC in first st and each st across. Finish off color C. 180 sts.

Row 9: Turn work. Attach color D with SLST to 2nd st of row. HDC in next st. SLST in next st. *CH3, SK 3 sts, SLST in next st, HDC in center of shell, SLST in next st. Repeat from * 28 more times. End color D.

Row 10: Turn work. Join color E with SC in first st of row 8. SC in same st. SK st. (Working in the 3rd and back loops of the HDC – see image A) SC in HDC from row below. *SK a st. Working over the CH-3 and into the sts from row 8 (see image B), 2SC in next st, SC, 2SC, SK st, (working in the 3rd and back loops of HDC) SC in HDC from row 7. Repeat from * across to last HDC. 2SC. SC in last st. 180 sts.

Row 11: CH1 loosely, turn. HDC in first st. *XST (see special stitches) across next 2 sts. Repeat from * across to last st. HDC in last st. 180 sts.

Rows 12 + 13: Repeat row 11

Row 14: CH1 loosely, turn. SC in first st and each st across. End color E. 180 sts.

Copyright Notice

This pattern and its images are copyright protected and the sole property of Made with a Twist by Crochetpreneur®, a division of Montgomery Grice Enterprises, Inc. Please do not redistribute, transfer, or sell the pattern, or alter it to claim as your own  You may sell any products you create from this pattern. Please credit the designer by linking online listings to www.madewithatwist.com or tagging @madewithatwist.