There are makes you enjoy… and then there are makes that become part of your year. This blanket? Definitely the latter. After twelve months of crocheting, stacking, joining, and occasionally negotiating with my yarn stash, my 2025 Book Blanket is finally complete – and I’m honestly more than a little bit in love with it.
Pin for Later:
This project has been my slow, steady companion throughout last year. Each square represents a book I read and a story I escaped into. Looking at the finished blanket feels like flipping through a tactile diary of my reading life, like a reading temperature blanket, and what a satisfying ta-dah moment it is.
📏 The Finished Blanket
In total, the blanket contains 168 squares, worked into a 12 by 14 rectangle – almost perfectly sized to fit my daughter’s single bed.
Seeing it laid out for the first time was such a wow moment. All those tiny pieces, made across the seasons, suddenly forming one cohesive, colourful whole.
Did it make a dent in my yarn stash?
Oh yes.
Do I still have plenty of yarn?
Also yes. Let’s not too get carried away.
🧶 A Year in Yarn & Books
I can genuinely say I thoroughly enjoyed the majority part of this project. The choosing of colours, the memory of each book as I crocheted each square, the slow growth of the pile beside my chair – it’s been joyful from start to finish.
Every square tells a story. Some are bold and vibrant, others softer and moodier, depending on the book that inspired them. It was actually an unexpected delight that some of the squares brought together really pleasing palette combinations I never would have consciously thought of. Colours I might have hesitated to pair somehow just worked when inspired by a book’s cover. There are a few combinations in there that made me stop and think: Oh. That’s lovely, and you can be absolutely sure I’ll be revisiting some of those palettes in future projects.
🔗 Pattern & January Books
If you’d like to make your own book blanket, I used my own Paperback Patch Square (Free on the blog). I’ve now updated the pattern with the full finished blanket details, a PDF of which is available from the pattern platforms below:
Don’t want to scroll and look for all the books that I read in 2025? Well I’ve put together a list in my Amazon storefront so you can see all the books in one place: Go to the 2025 book list
And if you missed it, I’ve created a new book blanket square that I’m going to be using this year called the Readers Row Square (free pattern on the blog), and I’ve recently shared what I’ve read so far this year if you are looking for some book inspiration. For ease I’ve started a new list in my Amazon storefront so you can see all the books in one place: Go to the 2026 book list
💡 Lessons I Learned (The Real Talk Section)
Because no year-long project comes without a few learnings…
Lesson 1: Include the border as you go.
I did not do this in 2025. Which meant edging ?? squares at the end.
Friends… it took FOREVER.
By the time I finished, I felt like I had aged at least three crochet years.
Lesson 2: Stay on top of monthly squares.
I’ll be honest – towards the end of the year, they mounted up a bit. Life got busy, reading got enthusiastic, crochet got delayed.
Huge gratitude to my lovely mum, who stepped in to help weave in ends and rescue me from my growing square mountain 💕
Lesson 3: Weave in ends as you go.
Why do we never listen to this advice? Because weaving in a year’s worth of ends is… character building.
Lesson 4: Colour planning doesn’t always behave.
I carefully planned to make two squares of each design/colourway for cohesion. Technically, they mirror. Realistically? There are so many colours that I’m not entirely convinced anyone would notice if I hadn’t told you 😄 However it was a good way to make a bigger blanket by making two squares for each book that I’m going to repeat this year.
Lesson 5: White was the hero.
Using white in the centre and for the borders worked beautifully to pull everything together. It gave the blanket structure and calm among the colour chaos.
For next year’s squares, I’m switching things slightly – no central white piece this time, but again working with white borders because I think the layout will need more intentional mirroring.
❤️ The Best Part
This is the believe it or not this is the first really large granny-square-type blanket I’ve ever made, and wow – what a learning curve. Patience. Consistency. End management 😅 But also creativity, mindfulness, and the deep satisfaction of a long-term make. My daughter is loving sleeping under it, which makes every stitch, every woven end, and every border-that-took-forever completely worth it.
📚 Looking Ahead to 2026…
Of course, now I want to read even more books next year…which obviously means making the next blanket a little longer. I’m combining my love of reading and crochet with a fun twist – aiming to explore 50 new authors (and familiar authors) in each new colourful square. Purely for practical reasons. Definitely not because I’m already excited about it 😉
Stay tuned for next monthly progress update. Until then, happy hooking and happy reading!
P.S. I’d love to stay connected with you so please do sign up to blog (below) and / or my mailing list to get a reminder when new blog posts, giveaways, special offers or new pattern releases are available.
Subscribe to the blog:
Please note that some of the links in my blog are affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you purchase via these links, but the price you pay is not affected. You can read more about my affiliate links here.